Major Averages Close Near Their Worst Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, as traders cashed in on some of the recent gains. Renewed concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program and worries about a potential government shutdown weighed on the markets.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the trading day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 6.3 percent. The index continued to give back ground after surging up by nearly 10 percent on Wednesday.

A notable pullback by the price of gold weighed on the sector, with gold for December delivery falling $36.80 to $1,332.50 an ounce after jumping more than $60 an ounce in the previous session.

Considerable weakness also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. With the loss, the index pulled back further off Wednesday's three-month closing high.

Steel stocks also came under pressure on the day, resulting in a 2 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. AK Steel (AKS) helped to lead the sector lower after forecasting a wider than expected third quarter loss.

Commercial real estate, defense, and oil service stocks also saw significant weakness, moving to the downside along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow tumbled 185.46 points or 1.2 percent to 15,451.09, the Nasdaq fell 14.66 points or 0.4 percent to 3,774.73 and the S&P 500 slid 12.43 points or 0.7 percent to 1,709.91.

Despite the losses on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Dow rose by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced by 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.