DJ30 PointChange: -82.79 Level: 13032.75 NASDAQ PointChange: -11.37 Level: 3031.45 NQ100 PercentChange: -0.3 R2K PercentChange: -0.9 SP400 PercentChange: -0.4 SP500 PointChange: -5.64 Level: 1385.14 NASDAQ-Adv:746 Dec: 1734 NYSE-Adv:988 Dec: 2002

[BRIEFING.COM] The broad market spent the session bouncing along in negative territory. Its inability to push into positive territory left it to book a modest loss.

Stocks slid at the open of trade as market participants responded to weakness among Europe's major bourses, which were imbued by renewed concerns about Spain's financial health. The S&P 500 tried to trim its loss, but twice it retested the low that it set in the early going. Although support there invited buyers back into the fold, the move lost momentum when both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached their morning rebound highs. That left stocks to drift lower into the close.

Financials staged a mid-morning rebound that fizzled out when the sector came in contact with the flat line. It fell from there and spent the rest of the day dragging along with a sizable loss. It settled the day down 0.8%. BlackRock (BLK 196.01, -5.80) was among the poorer performers in the Financial sector following the firm's latest quarterly report. PNC Financial (PNC 63.78, +0.37) surrendered some of its gain, but still settled in positive territory following the release of its latest earnings results. Both outfits reported upside earnings surprises.

Both Intel (INTC 27.95, -0.52) and IBM (IBM 200.13, -7.32) bested what Wall Street had expected of their earnings results, but neither attracted buyers. Instead, their weakness weighed on the Tech sector, which suffered a 0.8% loss. Better-than-expected bottom line results helped both Seagate Technology (STX 28.96, +1.07) and Yahoo! (YHOO 15.49, +0.48) stage impressive advances, though.

Energy stocks managed to finish the day with only a 0.2% loss, despite lower oil prices. Crude oil futures contracts closed pit trade with the energy component priced at $102.67 per barrel, which makes for a 1.5% loss. Oil prices had actually pared losses in the minutes that immediately followed a bearish weekly inventory report. Oilfield services outfit Halliburton (HAL 34.17, +1.51) was a standout in the space, thanks largely to a positive response to its better-than-expected earnings report.

Earnings from Abbott Labs (ABT 60.46, +0.03) were also in play today. The stock experienced some whipsaw swings in the first half of the day, but ultimately finished a few cents higher.

Select shares of hotels, resorts, and casinos players helped the Consumer Discretionary sector put together a 0.2% gain, while Internet retailer eBay (EBAY 35.87, -0.21) traded lower ahead of its quarterly report. Consumer Discretionary stocks made up the only major sector that was able to settle in positive territory, but their general lack of weight undermined their ability to lift the rest of the market.

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary +0.2%
Declining Sectors: Consumer Staples -0.1%, Energy -0.2%, Materials -0.3%, Utilities -0.3%, Health Care -0.3%, Industrials -0.4%, Telecom -0.5%, Tech -0.8%, Financials -0.8%

Source: Briefing