Major Averages Posting Substantial Losses In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After falling sharply in early trading, stocks have seen further downside over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. With the steep drop on the day, the major averages have offset the rally seen in the previous session.

Steel stocks continue to see substantial weakness in mid-day trading amid concerns about the outlook for global demand. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index has plunged by 4.7 percent.

U.S. Steel (X) and Allegheny Technologies (ATI) are turning in two of the steel sector's worst performances, tumbling by 8.6 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.

Significant weakness is also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent loss being posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The weakness in the sector comes as crude oil for September delivery is slumping $1.79 to $43.17 a barrel.

Computer hardware stocks have also moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.3 percent. Apple (AAPL) has helped to lead the sector lower, falling by 3.6 percent.

Most of the other major sectors have also come under pressure on the day, with brokerage, semiconductor and chemical stocks seeing notable weakness.

Currently, the major averages are just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 237.95 points or 1.4 percent at 17,377.22, the Nasdaq is down 66.20 points or 1.3 percent at 5,035.60 and the S&P 500 is down 23.76 points or 1.1 percent at 2,080.42.