Stocks Seeing Continued Weakness In Mid-Afternoon Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks are seeing continued weakness in mid-afternoon trading on Friday, as traders continue to express concerns about the outlook for the global economy. The major averages remain firmly in negative territory, although the Dow is well off the low it set in early trading.

After showing a steep decline at the open, stocks staged a substantial recovery over the course first half-hour of trading. The Dow bounced off its low and into positive territory after falling almost 700 points and dipping below the 8,000 level.

While bargain hunting contributed to the rebound, the markets were unable to sustain the upward move and moved back to the downside not long afterwards. Stocks have drifted lower since then, with the Nasdaq falling to a new low for the session.

The major averages are currently posting substantial losses, poised to turn in particularly weak performances for the week. The Dow is currently down 474.94 at 8,104.25, the Nasdaq is down 87.08 at 1,558.04 and the S&P 500 is down 50.89 at 859.03.

Dow Components

A vast majority of the Dow components are in negative territory in mid-afternoon trading, contributing to the steep loss being shown by the blue chip index. Of the thirty Dow components, currently only three are posting gains.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is turning in one of the Dow’s worst performances, with the oil giant currently posting a 13.9 percent loss. At its low for the session, Exxon Mobil was at its worst intraday level in well over two years.

A continued decrease by the price of oil is contributing to the substantial decline by Exxon Mobil. Crude for November delivery is currently down $9.04 at $77.55 a barrel, falling to its lowest levels in over a year.

American Express (AXP) is also posting a substantial loss amid lingering concerns about the effects of the recent credit market woes. The credit car issuer is currently down 11.5 percent, falling to an eleven-year intraday low.

Other Dow components posting notable losses include Alcoa (AA), Chevron (CVX), and Merck (MRK). Shares of Alcoa are currently down 12.4 percent, while shares of Chevron are down 11 percent and shares of Merck are down 8.9 percent.

On the other hand, JP Morgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C) are bucking the downtrend, posting gains of 5.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Bank of America (BAC) is also currently posting a modest gain.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw considerable weakness on Friday, as traders expressed concerns about the outlook for the global economy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended the session down 9.6 percent.

The major European markets also showed steep declines. The French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index fell 7.7 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index ended the day down 8.9 percent.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Japan, Releases, USA.