WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have come under pressure over the course of the trading session on Monday. The pullback on the day comes after the major averages turned in a mixed performance last week.
Despite the pullback by the broader markets, many of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves in mid-day trading.
Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index falling by 1.4 percent. Allegiant Travel (ALGT) is leading the sector lower after Raymond James downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform.
Health care and retail stocks have also come under pressure, with the Dow Jones Health Care Index and the Dow Jones Retail Index sliding by 1.1 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, gold stocks have moved sharply higher, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is climbing $7.50 to $1,063.70 an ounce.
Notable strength has also emerged among energy stocks, which are moving higher as the price of crude oil for January delivery is rising $0.64 to $42.35 a barrel.
The major averages have seen some further downside in recent trading, hitting new lows for the session. The Dow is down 66.11 points or 0.4 percent at 17,732.38, the Nasdaq is down 24.00 points or 0.5 percent at 5,103.52 and the S&P 500 is down 7.59 points or 0.4 percent at 2,082.52.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX