YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Equities began today's session on a down note after Spain and the country's fiscal struggles were put back in the spotlight. The major indices marked session lows during the first hour before reversing and attempting a return to the unchanged line. However, due to the lack of a catalyst, the key averages were unable to sustain a meaningful rally. As a result, the S&P 500 slipped 0.6%. The Nasdaq underperformed and settled lower by 0.8%.

Utility stocks led as the defensive sector rose on the back of today's risk-off sentiment. High-yielding major utility producers advanced as a group. Consolidated Edison (ED 60.09, +0.63), Southern Company (SO 46.11, +0.37), and PG&E (PCG 43.00, +0.35) all gained near 1.0%.

Technology stocks were under pressure as the sector trailed the broader market. Apple (AAPL 665.18, -8.36) continued its recent slump as the tech giant slipped 1.2%.

Two listings traded lower after reporting earnings. Jabil Circuit (JBL 18.90, -2.07) slid 9.9% after delivering a mixed quarterly report. JBL missed on earnings, but reported revenues above consensus. In addition, the company issued downside guidance for the first quarter and announced the authorization of a $100 million share repurchase program.

SYNNEX (SNX 32.45, -1.80) slipped 5.3% after missing on earnings and reporting in-line revenues. In addition, the company issued downside guidance for the fourth quarter. Following the earnings release, Needham downgraded shares of SNX from ‘strong buy' to ‘buy' while lowering the price target from $42 to $40.

Elsewhere in the sector, semiconductor makers continued selling off. Infineon (IFNNY 6.36, -0.24), which cut its guidance yesterday, was downgraded from ‘hold' to ‘underperform' by Jefferies. The stock settled lower by 3.3% while its peer Texas Instruments (TXN 27.57, -0.26) lost 0.9% after being downgraded from ‘positive' to ‘neutral' by Avian.

Lastly, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT 5.35, -0.29) slumped 5.3% after Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock from ‘buy' to ‘hold' while lowering the price target from $9 to $6.

Major financials continued their post-FOMC weakness. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 15.49, -0.10) shed 0.6% as it traded in-line with the broader market. Individual components which showed relative weakness include, American Express (AXP 56.14, -0.99), Citigroup (C 32.51, -0.35), and Wells Fargo (WFC 34.42, -0.30). The three names all lost close to 1.0%.

Also of note, Santander Mexico (BSMX 12.91, +0.72) closed higher by 6.0% on its first day of trading as an exchange-listed company.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average showed little change as it outperformed the broader market. Airlines were relatively strong as the 20-stock group was led by Alaska Air (ALK 35.74, +2.07) which added 6.2% after announcing a $250 million share repurchase program. Meanwhile, Delta (DAL 9.16, +0.14), Southwest (LUV 8.92, +0.08), and United Continental (UAL 20.16, +0.33) all gained between 0.9% and 1.7%.

Railroad stocks were down as a group once again. CSX (CSX 21.00, -0.17) shed 0.8%, while Kansas City Southern (KSU 75.36, -1.00), Norfolk Southern (NSC 64.57, -0.50), and Union Pacific (UNP 118.92, -1.46) were all down near 1.0%.

Shares of homebuilders were broadly weaker as the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 24.60, -0.57) lost 2.3%. The ETF began selling off after new home sales indicated 373k new homes were sold in August while a reading of 380k was expected. Shares of major homebuilders declined broadly as Ryland Homes (RYL 30.01, -1.81) fell 5.7%. Meanwhile, PulteGroup (PHM 15.30, -0.76), Standard Pacific (SPF 6.80, -0.35), KB Homes (KBH 13.90, -0.51), and Lennar (LEN 34.64, -1.62) all slipped between 3.5% and 5.0%.

In tomorrow's economic data, weekly initial and continuing unemployment claims will be reported at 8:30 ET. Durable orders, durable orders ex-transportation, and GDP-third estimate will also be released at 8:30 ET. Lastly, pending home sales will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Most commodities sold off this morning as a rising dollar index added pressure on the group.

Nov crude oil sold off hard today, declining below the $90 level and as low as $88.97/barrel, crude chopped higher following that LoD and ended its floor trading session just under $90. Crude ended the day $1.49/barrel lower at $89.93 and it now 9.5% off its recently-hit high, which was on Sept. 14.

Nov natural gas began to move sharply higher this morning. Overall, nat gas trended higher all session, hitting as high as $3.24/MMBtu. Nat gas ended the day 3.5% higher at $3.22/MMBtu.

Precious metals ended the day mixed as silver finished its pit trading session basically flat (down 1 cent) at $33.94/oz. Both gold and silver sold off sharply earlier this morning and while silver made it back into positive territory a short while before the close of floor trading, gold never made it back into positive territory. Dec copper ended the day 1.3% lower at $3.71/lb.

The U.S. Treasury will auction off 7-yr notes.DJ30 -44.04 NASDAQ -24.03 SP500 -8.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 909/1.71 bln/1530 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1229/738.7 mln/1823