WALL STREET : Only four of the DJIA's 30 blue chips eked out a win

DJIA Surrenders 88 Points as Congress Plays Debt-Ceiling Chicken
U.S. stocks backpedaled right out of the gate today, as heightened debt concerns on both sides of the Atlantic sent buyers to the sidelines. In Europe, Moody's downgrade of Greek debt reminded traders of the potential ramifications of an extended stalemate on Capitol Hill, as a failure to up the federal debt ceiling by Aug. 2 could result in a debt downgrade -- or worse, a default -- for Uncle Sam. Against this uncertain backdrop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) swallowed a loss of 0.7%, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP) each gave up 0.6% by the close. Meanwhile, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 19.35) ballooned almost 10.5% -- further reflecting the collective jitters on Wall Street -- while gold futures assailed new heights on a massive flight to safety.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,592.80) finished north of its session low of 12,536.19, but still surrendered 88.4 points, or 0.7%, by the time the dust settled. Limiting the blue-chip barometer's fall was its 10-day moving average, which hasn't been compromised on a daily closing basis in more than a week. Among the Dow components, tech titans Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) led the four advancers with gains of 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively, while Boeing (BA) paced the 26 decliners with a loss of 1.9%.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,337.43) also ended off its session low, but gave up 7.6 points, or 0.6%, by the bell. In similar fashion, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,842.80) tagged an intraday nadir of 2,828.91, but trimmed its deficit to 16 points, or 0.6%.

Crude lower for 1st session out of 5

Despite a softer greenback, dollar-denominated crude futures ended lower for the first session in five today. Pressuring black gold were global debt concerns, which sparked fears about fizzling energy demand. By the close, September-dated crude oil gave up 67 cents, or 0.7%, to end at $99.30 per barrel.

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