U.S. Marhets >>> A Defining Week Ahead

Defining Week Ahead For World Markets

Tug-O-War Between Good Earnings and Bad Economic ReportsDJIA Drops 261 Points on Surprise Consumer Confidence Plunge
Traders had plenty of news to digest today: Goldman Sachs finally settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission; BP plc finally plugged its leaky oil well; Apple Inc. finally conducted a press conference to address "Antennagate"; and heavy hitters Citigroup, Google, General Electric, and Bank of America all reported quarterly earnings.
However, most of the day's mayhem can be traced back to a massive plunge in consumer confidence.By the time the dust settled, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 10,097.90) was sitting on a drop of 261.4 points, or 2.5%. The blue-chip barometer ended below its 10-day and 20-day moving averages for the first time since July 6, as all 30 of its components fell. Bank of America led the pack with a 9.2% plunge, while American Express (AXP), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Home Depot (HD) and GE all shed more than 4%.
The Dow ended the week on a drop of about 1%, reversing just a slim portion of last week's gains.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,064.88) swallowed a decline of 31.6 points, or 2.9%, bringing its weekly loss to 1.2%.
In the process, the SPX unceremoniously snapped a two-day winning streak above its 50-day moving average.
The Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,179.05) suffered the day's most dramatic percentage loss, giving up 70 points, or 3.1%, by the time the closing bell mercifully sounded.
However, the COMP notched the slimmest weekly loss, ending just 0.8% below last Friday's close.ANALYST QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"What was looking like a nice week turned into a huge sell-off," observed a Senior Technical Strategist, noting that the unfortunate combination of disappointing earnings and troublesome economic data "was all it took for the bears to take control.
Nonetheless, after a nearly 5% jump last week >>> a 1.2% drop for the week isn't all that bad."