WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have continued to experience choppy trading over the course of the session on Friday. The lackluster performance comes on the heels of the substantial volatility seen in recent sessions.
Electronic storage stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 2.4 percent.
The index is giving back ground after moving sharply higher in the two previous sessions but remains well off the two-year closing low set on Tuesday.
Notable weakness has also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent drop by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) is leading the sector lower.
Pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks have also moved to the downside, while energy stocks are seeing substantial strength amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.
Crude oil for October delivery is jumping $2.49 to $45.05 a barrel after surging up $3.96 to $42.56 barrel in the previous session.
In recent trading, the major averages briefly jumped into positive territory before pulling back into the red. The Dow is down 63.74 points or 0.4 percent at 16,591.03, the Nasdaq is down 7.54 points or 0.2 percent at 4,805.17 and the S&P 500 is down 5.24 points or 0.3 percent at 1,982.42.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX