US Market - Stocks Posting Steep Losses In Mid-Morning Trading

US Market

Stocks Posting Steep Losses In Mid-Morning Trading Stocks are down by substantial margins in mid-morning trading on Thursday, as anxiety regarding European financial stability and Greek debt are prompting significant selling pressure. The major averages are all firmly lower, with the Dow falling for the fifth time in six sessions. The downside for stocks comes amid strikes in Greece in opposition to the austerity measures proposed by the European Union. Consequently, traders are once again moving to the exits from riskier investments such as stocks and the embattled European currency. Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the euro is in danger and that the consequences will be "incalculable" if Europe fails to deal with the crisis. On the economic front in the U.S., the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region has continued to expand in May, with the index of activity in the manufacturing sector increasing by more than anticipated. The Philly Fed said its index of regional manufacturing activity rose to 21.4 in May from 20.2 in April, with a positive reading indicating growth in the sector. Economists had been expecting a more modest increase to a reading of 20.7. At the same time, the Conference Board released a separate report showing that its leading economic index edged down by 0.1 percent in April following a downwardly revised 1.3 percent increase in March. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to increase by 0.2 percent. Before the opening bell this morning, the Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended May 15th rose to 471,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 446,000. The increase surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to slip to 439,000 from the 444,000 originally reported for the previous week. The major averages have regained some ground in recent trading, but they currently continue to post steep losses. The Dow is down 255.14 points or 2.4 percent at 10,189.23, the Nasdaq is up 67.47 points or 2.9 percent at 2,230.90 and the S&P 500 is down 31.00 points or 2.8 percent at 1,084.05. Sector News Steel stocks are some of the morning's worst performers, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index posting loss of 5.9 percent. The decline has pulled the index down to its lowest intraday level in six and a half months. Oil service and gold stocks are also notably lower on the day, further reflecting the sell-off in resource stocks. The move comes as crude oil for June delivery is down by $2.09 to $70.39 a barrel and gold for June delivery is down by $13.00 to $1,180.10 an ounce. Railroad, networking, banking and defense stocks are also retreating by sharp margins along with many other equity segments, further indicative of today's broad-based selling pressure.