The major equity averages have surrendered about half of the gains that they had achieved out of the gates. The downward chop comes after the S&P 500 encountered resistance near the 1145 line in the opening minutes of the session.
Financials, a frequent driver of broad market action, have been steadily falling out of favor. The sector is currently up just 0.3% after it had sported a gain of about 2% only minutes after the toll of the opening bell. Bank of America (BAC 6.66, -0.30) has been the heaviest drag on the financial sector. The stock's weakness has spread to other diversified financial services providers like JPMorgan (JPM 34.23, -0.12), which has slipped to a modest loss.