DJ30 PointChange: -167 Level: 12337.48 NASDAQ PointChange: -8.13 Level: 2839.08 NQ100 PercentChange: -0.2 R2K PercentChange: -0.7 SP400 PercentChange: +0.2 SP500 PointChange: +0.64 Level: 1316.63 NASDAQ-Adv:923 Dec: 1604 NYSE-Adv:1560 Dec: 1457

[BRIEFING.COM] Leadership from Financials had lifted the broad market to a nice gain, but a dive by the euro prompted participants to sell. Ensuing pressure sent the major averages into the red before a final rebound took the stock market to the flat line.

Financials led the broad market through choppy trade this morning. The sector was up about 2% with help from shares of banks and diversified financial services outfits. The Financial sector's gains petered out into the afternoon and were fully forfeited in the final hour, but a bounce off of the flat line enabled the sector to book a 0.7% gain.

Tech stocks, which were leaders in the prior session, generally lagged during trade today. The sector settled with a 0.3% loss. Energy stocks matched that move, but Materials slid 0.6% to suffer the worst loss of any major sector. Materials stocks had outperformed in the prior session by posting a 3% gain.

Many retailers were unable to sustain their gains, forcing the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 58.39, +0.05) back to the flat line after it had been up more than 1%. Quarterly reports from Best Buy (BBY 18.46, +0.29), Urban Outfitters (URBN 28.10, +1.94), and Polo Ralph Lauren (RL 150.27, +3.97) were in focus. Polo Ralph Lauren actually doubled its dividend to $0.40 per share.

News flow slowed in afternoon trade, so many traders opted to take their cues from the euro. The euro was down only modestly this morning, but selling pressure gained momentum into the close. As of the final bell the euro trailed the dollar by about 1.0%. Prior to the open of trade it was learned that the OECD now expects a mild economic contraction in the euro area.

The Japanese yen was also hit with selling pressure. Its weakness followed a decision by analysts at Fitch to downgrade Japan's long-term debt rating to A+ from AA.

The greenback's gain didn't help the case for commodities. Broad selling pressure there sent the CRB Index to a 1.1% loss.

The only dose of domestic data centered on existing home sales, which set an annualized rate of 4.62 million during April. A rate of 4.65 million had been broadly expected.

Advancing Sectors: Financials +0.7%, Utilities +0.6%, Consumer Discretionary +0.3%, Industrials +0.2%, Consumer Staples +0.1%
Declining Sectors: Telecom -0.1%, Health Care -0.2%, Energy -0.3%, Tech -0.3%, Materials -0.6%

Source: Briefing