(RTTNews) - While selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued, stocks are seeing continued weakness in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday. The major averages remain stuck in negative territory, although they have moved well off their worst levels of the day.

Significant weakness remains visible among semiconductor stocks, while some pharmaceutical and banking stocks are also under pressure. On the other hand, gold, transportation, biotech, and oil service stocks are posting strong gains.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck modestly below the unchanged line. The Dow is currently down 35.90 at 9,735.54, the Nasdaq is down 3.51 at 2,045.69 and the S&P 500 is down 1.14 at 1,041.74.

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