(RTTNews) - After falling sharply in the previous session, stocks saw some further downside at the start of trading on Friday. The major averages all showed notable declines, falling to their worst intraday levels in over a month.

The initial weakness in the markets comes on the heels of the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level since September of 2003.

Wireless stocks are seeing considerable weakness in early trading, with Nokia (NOK) leading the sector lower after warning of a drop in market share in the third quarter. Housing, financial, and software stocks have also come under significant selling pressure.

Meanwhile, some tobacco stocks are posting standout gains, with shares of UST (UST) up 24 percent on the heels of a New York Times report that Altria Group (MO) is in talks to acquire the tobacco products maker. Gold stocks are also bucking the downtrend.

The major averages have continued to move lower in the past few minutes, pulling back to new lows for the young session. The Dow is currently down 84.76 at 11,103.47, the Nasdaq is down 19.00 at 2,240.04 and the S&P 500 is down 9.51 at 1,227.32.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases, USA.

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