[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices continue to trade with modest losses, which remain rather broad. As such, declining issues outnumber advancers by 2-to-1 in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Meanwhile, selling pressure has picked up against oil. In turn, contracts for crude are being priced 3.3% lower at $77.00 per barrel. Amid that slide and listless action in the broader equity market, energy stocks have fallen to a 0.4% loss.