Stocks Finish at Session Lows on Retail Earnings and Credit Fears

Indices
S&P 500 1,426.54 -1.82%
DJIA 13,028.92 -1.57%
NASDAQ 2,499.12 -1.70%
Russell 2000 762.87 -2.17%
Wilshire 5000 14,321.99 -1.84%
Russell 1000 Growth 575.11 -1.87%
Russell 1000 Value 797.67 -1.79%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 704.08 -1.60%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 997.48 -2.69%
Morgan Stanley Technology 613.49 -1.64%
Transports 4,850.25 -3.22%
Utilities 482.39 -2.25%
MSCI Emerging Markets 127.02 -2.01%

Sentiment/Internals
Total Put/Call 1.37 +37.0%
NYSE Arms 1.91 +125.40%
Volatility(VIX) 27.68 +4.18%
ISE Sentiment 101.0 -5.61%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 72.37 +1.05%
Reformulated Gasoline 197.40 +1.88%
Natural Gas 6.98 +2.77%
Heating Oil 198.0 +.69%
Gold 680.20 -.10%
Base Metals 243.47 +.60%
Copper 333.70 -2.81%

Economy
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.73% -3 basis points
US Dollar 81.48 +.54%
CRB Index 311.27 -.10%

Leading Sectors
Biotech +.71%
Medical Equipment -.72%
HMOs -.89%

Lagging Sectors
Road & Rail -3.70%
Homebuilders -4.18%
Oil Tankers -4.54%

Evening Review
Market Performance Summary
WSJ Data Center
Sector Performance
ETF Performance
Style Performance
Commodity Movers
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
S&P 500 Gallery View
Timely Economic Charts
GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Commentary
After-hours Movers
After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
- None of note

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Newark, NJ, will install acoustic sensors and 50 additional security cameras around the city as part of an effort to reduce gun violence and cut crime, Mayor Cory Booker said today.
- Agilent Technologies(A) said third-quarter profit dropped 19%, more than analysts estimated. The shares fell 11% in after-hours trading.
- Applied Materials(AMAT) said third-quarter profit fell 7.5% after the company filled fewer orders from memory-chip makers. The stock fell $.50 in after-hours trading.
- Copper in NY fell for the fourth time in five sessions on concern that demand for the metal will decline as global economic growth slows.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished lower today on losses in my Computer longs, Retail longs and Medical longs. I added to my (EEM) short and (QQQQ)/(IWM) hedges in the final hour, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. The tone of the market was negative today as the advance/decline line finished lower, almost every sector fell and volume was about average. Measures of investor anxiety were elevated into the close. Today's overall market action was bearish. Weekly retail sales rose 2.3% vs. a 2.9% gain the prior week. This is still mildly below average levels but up from 1.4% a month ago. The U.S. Dollar was higher again. As I cautioned a few weeks ago, sentiment had grown far too pessimistic on the greenback. Further modest upside is likely for the US Dollar, in my opinion, which will provide another headwind for commodities. Biotechs were relatively strong today. My favorite remains Gilead Sciences (GILD), and the recent pullback in the stock is providing investors an excellent entry point, in my opinion. The market reacted harshly to any new bit of negative news throughout the day regardless of its validity, which is not the type of action bulls would like to see at a bottom. Volume was only around average on today’s sell-off and the NYSE Arms was very high throughout the day, which are positives. The Nikkei is indicating a down 275 open in Japan.