YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks were slapped by sellers again this session. The subsequent slide sent stocks to a new low for July.

The three major equity averages sank steadily in the first couple of hours. All three were down in excess of 1% before pressure started to ease. The market's push up from its session low came after the S&P 500 had managed to resist extending its slide much below the 1300 line. June was the last time the S&P 500 traded below that line. The

broad market never really managed to make any kind of meaningful run higher, however. That left the major equity averages to settle with marked losses.

Tech stocks and energy stocks did a good job of staving off sellers. The two sectors logged losses of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. Tech was helped by Apple (AAPL 373.80, +8.88), which printed a record high. Halliburton (HAL 53.12, +0.04) helped oil and gas services stocks after it posted an upside earnings report.

Financials were down more than 2% at their session low, but managed to lessen that to a 1.4% loss. The sector was bogged down by weakness among banks and diversified financial services names like Bank of America (BAC 9.72, -0.28), which is scheduled to report its latest results tomorrow morning.

European bank stocks were especially weak amid lingering concern regarding fiscal conditions and sovereign debt in their home continent. Stress tests throughout the region late last week failed to quell concerns over the state of finances there. Threats of the matter imbued the broader market.

Financial media also focused on the lack of progress in raising the U.S. debt ceiling. The deadline for a decision is still a few weeks away.

Safe havens like gold and the greenback were on the short list of strong performers this session. Gold prices set a record high of almost $1608 per ounce in the face of a stronger dollar, which was up 0.4% at the end of the trading day. However, the dollar had been up close to 1% at its session high.

For 10 straight sessions gold prices have advanced. The latest round of action took the precious metal to $1603 per ounce for a 0.8% gain. The yellow metal actually set a record high of almost $1608 per ounce along the way. As for silver, prices climbed as high as $40.73 per ounce, but eased back to settle at $40.23 per ounce for a 2.9% gain. Silver hasn't settled above $40 per ounce in more than two months.

Oil prices were pressured all session. The energy component closed pit trade with a 1.3% loss at $95.93 per barrel. It had been down in excess of 2%, for a time. Natural gas traded as low as $4.48 and as high as $4.61, but finished the day flat at $4.54 per MMBtu.

In the backdrop, the dollar was strong all session, and was recently quoted with a 0.5% gain against a basket of major foreign currencies. Its strength comes as the euro turns lower in response to ongoing concerns related to sovereign debt in Europe, although lawmakers continue to struggle to raise the debt ceiling.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Tech -0.3%, Energy -0.4%, Consumer Staples -0.6%, Telecom -0.8%, Health Care -0.8%, Utilities -0.9%, Consumer Discretionary -1.1%, Industrials -1.1%, Materials -1.2%, Financials -1.4%DJ30 -94.57 NASDAQ -10.70 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -1.5% SP400 -1.3% SP500 -24.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 537/1.76 bln/2039 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 455/874 mln/2604