YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Following a mostly uneventful, range-bound trading day, equities saw a late afternoon push to session lows. The major averages saw a notable divergence as the Dow slipped 0.4% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid 0.6% and 1.0%, respectively.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average outperformed the broader market as most components posted gains. Airlines United Continental (UAL 20.06, +0.36) and Delta (DAL 9.38, +0.10) ended higher by 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, trucking stocks also showed strength. JB Hunt (JBHT 52.16, +0.51) and Con-way (CNW 29.98, +0.38) both gained near 1.0%.

Technology stocks lagged as major names within the space traded lower. Intel (INTC 23.26, -0.93) slid 3.8% as it remained under pressure after lowering its guidance on Friday. However, Intel's peer, AMD (AMD 3.47, +0.02) gained 0.6% after Goldman upgraded the shares from ‘sell' to ‘neutral.' In addition, major networking stocks showed weakness. F5 Networks (FFIV 96.63, -3.64) finished lower by 3.6%, while Cisco (CSCO 19.15, -0.41) slid 2.1%. Elsewhere, two tech giants traded near their respective all-time highs. Apple (AAPL 662.74, -17.70) marked a fresh all-time best at $683.29, but reversed into negative territory and ended down 2.6%. Meanwhile, Google (GOOG 700.77, -5.38) shed 0.8% as it nears its all-time high of $714.87.

Shares listed in the materials space advanced as names within the sector benefited from China's plan to increase infrastructure spending. Companies specializing in construction materials were led by Martin Marietta (MLM 84.18, +3.05) which added 3.8% after being upgraded from ‘equal weight' to ‘overweight' at Stephens. Meanwhile, Vulcan (VMC 41.44, +1.09) and Headwaters (HW 7.38, +0.43) advanced 2.7% and 6.2%, respectively.

Four paper and packaging producers slumped after receiving downgrades from Deutsche Bank. Rock-Tenn (RKT 66.97, -3.37), International Paper (IP 34.97, -1.51), Packaging Corp of America (PKG 32.44, -0.83), and KapStone (KS 20.75, -0.47) all lost between 2.0% and 5.0% on the news. The downgrade took place after the stocks went on a sharp rally in anticipation of a price increase in the fall. Deutsche Bank is skeptical as to the true ability of the producers to implement and maintain the said price hikes.

Casino and gaming stocks were mostly higher after Nevada Gaming Control Board reported July Las Vegas Strip revenues increased by 27.5% year-over-year. Boyd Gaming (BYD 6.32, +0.21), Isle of Capri Casinos (ISLE 6.42, +0.14), MGM Resorts (MGM 10.92, +0.22), and Wynn Resorts (WYNN 103.09, +0.35) added between 0.3% and 3.5%. Meanwhile, Caesars (CZR 7.10, -0.12), and Las Vegas Sands (LVS 43.41, -0.89) started the session in the black but ended lower by 1.7% and 2.0%, respectively.

According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit decreased by $3.3 billion in July. This follows the prior month's reading of $6.5 billion, and is lower than the $10.0 billion that had been broadly expected among economists polled by Briefing.com.

Crude oil spent most of its pit trade chopping around in negative territory. The energy component slid to a session low of $95.34 per barrel in morning action. It then broke into positive territory but quickly fell back into the red. However, buyers stepped in as crude oil headed into the close and pushed prices up such that it closed 0.1% higher at $96.53 per barrel.

Natural gas came off its floor session low of $2.69 per MMBtu and inched higher for its entire session. A rally in the last half hour of pit trade took prices as high as $2.84 per MMBtu and had natural gas settle with a 4.9% gain at $2.81 per MMBtu. A stronger dollar and weak Chinese trade data put pressure on precious metals during today's pit session.

Gold spent its entire session in the red, dipping as low as $1729.20 per ounce. It settled slightly above that level at $1731.70 per ounce for a 0.5% loss. Silver came off its session low of $33.42 per ounce and briefly poked into positive territory where it touched a session high of $33.87 per ounce. Unable to hold on to the momentum, the metal fell back into the red and settled 0.3% lower at $33.63 per ounce

Tomorrow's economic data is limited to July trade balance which will be reported at 8:30 ET.DJ30 -52.35 NASDAQ -32.40 SP500 -8.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1006/1.53 bln/1448 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1194/616.1 mln/1802