Major Averages Slide Into Negative Territory In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After turning in a mixed performance in the previous session, stocks have moved mostly lower in early trading on Friday. The major averages have all slid into negative territory, although selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued.

The early weakness on Wall Street is partly due to concerns about the situation in Greece, which continues to struggle to reach a new agreement with eurozone creditors.

Traders largely remain optimistic a deal will eventually be reached despite yesterday's news that Germany rejected Greece's proposal to extend its loan agreement for six months.

Nonetheless, some negative sentiment has been generated by recent reports indicating that a European Union official said reaching a deal tonight seems unlikely.

Oil service stocks have shown a notable move to the downside in early trading, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.7 percent. The weakness in the sector comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery sliding $0.42 to $51.41 a barrel.

Brokerage, networking, and electronic storage stocks are also seeing early weakness, while gold stocks are regaining ground following recent weakness.

Currently, the major averages are stuck in the red but off their lows for the young session. The Dow is down 63.82 points or 0.4 percent at 17,921.95, the Nasdaq is down 10.33 points or 0.2 percent at 4,914.37 and the S&P 500 is down 8.57 points or 0.4 percent at 2,088.88.