Major Averages Close In The Red, Tech-Heavy Nasdaq Underperforms

(RTTNews) - After experiencing choppy trading last week due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Worries about developments overseas weighed on the markets, overshadowing upbeat U.S. manufacturing data.

Railroad stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 2.9 percent. The index added to the 4.8 percent loss that it posted last Friday, pulling back further off last Thursday's record closing high.

The sell-off seen by railroad stocks over the past two sessions reflected concerns about the impact that the recent sharp drop in oil prices will have on the industry.

Significant weakness was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over a year.

AK Steel (AKS), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), and A.M. Castle (CAS) turned in some of the steel sector's worst performances.

Internet, computer hardware, and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, contributing to a steep loss posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Most of the other major sectors also moved to the downside, although gold stocks bucked the downtrend amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

With gold for February delivery surging up $42.60 to $1,218.10 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumped by 7.9 percent.

The major averages all closed in the red, with the Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss. While the Nasdaq tumbled 64.28 points or 1.3 percent to 4,727.35, the S&P 500 slid 14.12 points or 0.7 percent to 2,053.44 and the Dow fell 51.44 points or 0.3 percent to 17,776.80.