WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving notably lower at the open, stocks have seen continued weakness over the course of morning trading on Monday. The major averages have remained stuck in negative territory, partly offsetting last Friday's standout gains.
The weakness on Wall Street comes as some traders look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to five-year highs.
The Dow ended Fridays' trading above 14,000 for the first time since October of 2007, although some analysts have suggested that the markets have become overbought.
Traders have also expressed some uncertainty about the political situation in Europe, as opposition leaders have called on Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign amid allegations of corruption.
Steel stocks continue to turn in some of the market's worst performances in late morning trading, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 1.8 percent. ArcelorMittal (MT) and Universal Stainless (USAP) are posting notable losses.
Considerable weakness has also emerged among healthcare provider stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss being posted by the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index. The loss by the index comes after it ended the previous session at a record closing high.
Oil, banking, and software stocks have also come under pressure, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves to the downside.
The major averages are currently lingering near their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 116.27 points or 0.8 percent at 13,893.52, the Nasdaq is down 21.47 points or 0.7 percent at 3,157.63 and the S&P 500 is down 11.80 points or 0.8 percent at 1,501.37.
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