YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: The major market averages finished sharply lower as the debt ceiling talks failed to make progress, and the Fed's Beige Book showed the economy's pace of growth is slowing. Also weighing on markets was the disappointing durable orders data that came out prior to the opening bell. The S&P 500 ended at its lowest level in a month, and closed below its 50-day moving average. Macro events offset some good earnings reports as online retailer Amazon, and aircraft marker Boeing released better than expected results. Dunkin Brands was the latest initial public offering to garner attention as its shares surged by 46.6% on its opening day.

Online retailer Amazon (AMZN 222.52, +8.34) hit an all-time high of $227.20 after reporting strong earnings and issuing in-line guidance. The company announced earnings per share of $0.41 versus the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.34 and saw revenues rise 50.8% YoY to $9.91 billion (Capital IQ Consensus Estimate is $9.37 billion).

Boeing (BA 70.63, +0.47) was one of a few industrial stocks to finish in positive territory, adding 0.7% after earnings per share of $1.25 which was $0.27 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The company raised its full year 2011 earnings per share guidance to $3.90-4.10 from $3.80-4.00. On the earnings call the company announced airline industry fundamentals remain sound with significant replacement demand, and noted global demand for its defense business is strong.

Juniper Networks (JNPR 24.66, -6.51) ended down 20.9% after releasing disappointing earnings following yesterday's closing bell on Wall Street. The company announced earnings per share of $0.31 which missed the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate by $0.02. Revenues rose 14.6% YoY to $1.12 billion, but fell short of the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.15 billion. Disappointing investors was the company's downside guidance of $0.26-0.30 per share ($0.38 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate) and projected revenues of $1.07-1.12 billion. Several firms have come out and downgraded the stock after the disappointing results.

Dunkin Brands' (DNKN 27.85, +8.85) initial public offering priced at $19.00 per share and opened for trade at $25.00 per share. The stock hit a high of $29.62 in afternoon trade, and closed up more than 46.5% on the session. The deal raised total gross proceeds of $427.5 million.

Market chatter about a possible US budget deal being near completion sent precious metals lower today. August gold ended down 0.2% to $1614.00 per ounce, while Sept silver shed 0.2% to close at $40.60 per ounce. Both metals attempted to halt their respective sell-offs in light of numerous denials from both sides of the aisle, but the rebounds did not last long and both metals continued their way lower. Gold eventually notched lows at $1608.90 while silver put in lows at $40.21, but both metals were able to bounce modestly off those lows to recoup some losses. Note that earlier in the session gold traded to a new all-time high at $1628.80, while silver notched fresh ~3 month highs at $41.47.

This morning's inventory data, which showed a slightly large build than was expected, pushed Sept crude oil, which settled lower by 2.2% to $97.40 per barrel, to its lowest levels of the morning at $97.28. Futures managed to bounce off those lows to trade back to around the $98 level, but faded again heading into the close to finish near lows. Sep natural gas ended down 0.2% to $4.32 per MMBtu.

Treasuries pared some of their losses as equities slipped deeper into the red, and finished the day well off their worst levels. The 10-yr yield added close to two basis points on the day and finished near 2.99%. Strength in the dollar knocked the euro down close to 150 pips to 1.4365 while the safe-haven plays in the yen and Swiss franc turned early gains into losses. The Australian dollar surged to a 30-year high of 1.1080. The VIX added another 14.7% today and is up more than 30% for the week.DJ30 -198.75 NASDAQ -27.05 SP500 -75.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 338/2.30 bln/2282 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 260/1.10 bln/2827