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Substantial Weakness Remains Visible On Wall Street - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Stocks continue to see substantial weakness in mid-day trading on Wednesday after moving sharply lower at the open. The initial weakness dragged the major averages down to their lowest levels in several months, with the Dow falling nearly 370 points and dipping below the 16,000 level. The major averages have climbed off their lows for the session but continue to post steep losses on the day. The Dow is down 278.23 points or 1.7% at 16,036.96, the Nasdaq is down 63.49 points or 1.5% at 4,163.68 and the S&P 500 is down 33.65 points or 1.8% at 1,844.05. The continued weakness on Wall Street reflects a number of negative catalysts, including ongoing concerns about global economic growth and news of another confirmed case of Ebola in the US Disappointing US economic data has also weighed on the markets, with a report from the Commerce Department showing a bigger than expected drop in retail sales. The report said retail sales fell by 0.3% in September after climbing by 0.6% in August. Economists had been expecting sales to edge down by just 0.1%. Excluding a pullback in auto sales, retail sales dipped by 0.2% in September compared to a 0.3% increase in the previous month. Ex-auto sales had been expected to rise by another 0.3%. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that business activity in the New York manufacturing sector grew at a substantially slower rate in the month of October. Among individual stocks, shares of Intel (INTC) have moved sharply lower on the day even though the semiconductor giant reported better than expected third quarter results. Oil and natural gas producer Apache (APA) is also posting a steep loss following news that its Chief Financial Officer Alfonso Leon has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Meanwhile, shares of Ann (ANN) have surged higher after the women's apparel retailer announced it has signed a confidentiality agreement with private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Sector News Banking stocks continue to turn in some of the market's worst performances in mid-day trading, with the Dow Jones Banks Index down by 3.7%. With the steep loss on the day, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in almost five months. KeyCorp (KEY) has helped to lead the banking sector lower, tumbling by 7.8% after reporting weaker than expected third quarter results. Bank of America (BAC) is also under pressure despite reporting a narrower than expected third quarter loss. Significant weakness has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.8% loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Industry giants United Continental (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) are posting notable losses. Railroad stocks have also shown a substantial move back to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 2.3%. CSX (CSX) is down by 3.1% even after reporting third quarter results that beat analyst estimates. Defense, software, brokerage, and energy stocks are also under pressure in mid-day trading, reflecting another day of broad based weakness on Wall Street. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4%. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved sharply lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 3.6%, the German DAX Index and the UK's FTSE 100 Index plummeted by 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries have shown a substantial move to the upside amid the continued weakness on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 15.2 basis points at 2.054%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |