Major Averages Posting Moderate Losses In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving notably lower the open, stocks have regained some ground over the course of early trading on Friday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows for the young session but remain in negative territory.

The initial weakness on Wall Street was partly due to a negative reaction to quarterly results from JP Morgan (JPM), with the financial giant falling by 3.3 percent.

The pullback by JP Morgan comes after the company reported first quarter earnings that fell year-over-year and came in below analyst estimates. The company also reported weaker than expected revenues for the quarter.

The disappointing results from JP Morgan have added to concerns about the impending earnings season, which will really start to pick up steam next week.

Banking stocks are seeing notable weakness following the news from JP Morgan, with the Dow Jones Banks Index down by 1.4 percent. However, the index has regained some ground since hitting a two-month intraday low.

Biotechnology and brokerage stocks are also seeing early weakness, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Currently, the major averages are posting moderate losses on the day. The Dow is down 77.71 points or 0.5 percent at 16,092.51, the Nasdaq is down 16.49 points or 0.4 percent at 4,037.61 and the S&P 500 is down 7.03 points or 0.4 percent at 1,826.05.