YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Equities stumbled out of the gate before the September Chicago PMI added to the risk-off sentiment. The survey revealed a contractionary reading of 49.7, while expectations called for the number to be closer to 52.9. After marking session lows, equities remained near the bottom of the range until the results of Spain's bank stress test were announced. The reported EUR59.3 billion capital shortfall was within the expected range which brought on a round of buyers who took the key averages to their session highs. The brief rally was short lived as the major indices followed it with a return to their opening levels. As a result, the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.5%.

Industrial stocks outperformed slightly. Electrical equipment manufacturer AZZ (AZZ 37.98, +3.22) jumped 9.3% after beating on earnings and revenues. In addition, the company issued upside full-year guidance and announced the acquisition of Canadian Galvcast Manufacturing.

Pentair (PNR 44.82, +1.44) advanced 3.3% after authorizing an initial stock repurchase program in the amount of $400 million. The program was first announced in March 2012 and will commence immediately.

Farm equipment stocks were generally higher following this morning's Department of Agriculture crop report which showed a notable decline in grain inventory. Deere (DE 82.47, +0.37) and AGCO (AGCO 47.47, +0.55) added between 0.5% and 1.2% each. The PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA 29.41, +0.44) saw notable outperformance as it gained 1.5%.

The bellwether Dow Jones Transportation Average has been a notable underperformer on the quarter, and it trailed the broader market again today. Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG 6.60, -0.45) was a notable laggard within the group as shares of the shipping company fell 6.4%. Railroads remained weak as CSX (CSX 20.75, -0.36) and Kansas City Southern (KSU 75.78, -1.18) both lost near 1.5%.

Financial stocks showed intraday strength, but ended up mostly in-line with the broader market. The SPDR Financials Select Sector ETF (XLF 15.59, -0.05) shed 0.3%.

Bank of America (BAC 8.83, -0.14) slid 1.6% after announcing that it has reached a $2.43 billion settlement in Merrill Lynch acquisition-related class action litigation. Due to the litigation expense, Bank of America sees a third quarter charge of $0.28.

American Express (AXP 56.86, +0.29) added 0.5% and was the only major name which ended higher on the day.

The University of Michigan's final Consumer Sentiment Survey for September fell to 78.3 from the 79.2 which was posted in the preliminary Survey. Economists had expected the reading to be revised down to 79.0.

Personal income increased in August by 0.1%, which was below the expected increase of 0.2%. Personal spending increased by 0.5%, which was in-line with expectations. Core personal consumption expenditures were higher by 0.1%, which was also in-line with expectations.

On Monday, the ISM Index and construction spending data will be released at 10:00 ET.

Week in Review: Stocks Stumble as Focus Turns Back to Spain

On Monday, stocks began the week on a down note after Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index missed expectations. The major averages marked their session lows during the opening minutes before setting on a day-long climb towards the unchanged line. Due to weakness in Apple, the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed with a loss of 0.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 shed 0.2%. Apple (AAPL 667.10, -14.21) ended lower by 1.3% after reporting selling just five million iPhone 5s over the weekend, while some expected sales to reach as much as 10 million units.

Tuesday's session started slightly higher before equities received an additional boost from positive consumer confidence data. Despite the upbeat numbers, stocks were unable to maintain the bullish tone as the major averages slipped into negative territory around midday. Stocks then extended their slide which also coincided with weakness in crude oil and the euro. The selling was broad-based, but financials, materials, industrials, and technology were among the worst performers. As a result, the S&P 500 ended lower by 1.1%.German semiconductor maker, Infineon Technology (IFNNY 6.44, -0.12) slid 6.1% after the company lowered its fourth and first quarter guidance.

On Wednesday, equities started in the red 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%. Homebuilder stocks were broadly weaker as the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 24.83, -0.21) lost 2.3%.

Crude oil traded in positive territory for most of its floor session despite a stronger dollar. Although the energy component traded as high as $92.49 per barrel and settled the session at $92.19 per barrel, it closed the week 0.8% lower. Crude fell over the week despite heightened Iran tensions and bullish inventory data that showed a draw of 2.446 mln barrels when a build of 1.9 mln barrels was anticipated.

Natural gas dipped to a session low of $3.25 per MMBtu but quickly reversed and erased losses. It eventually settled floor trade at its session high of $3.32 per MMBtu for a 7.8% weekly gain. The weekly climb came despite yesterday's weaker-than-anticipated inventory data that showed a build of 80 bcf when a build of 75 bcf was expected.

Precious metals fell into negative territory as the dollar gained strength.

Gold briefly broke into the black and touched a pit session high of $1781.40 per ounce but was unable to hold the momentum. It brushed a session low of $1769.50 per ounce moments before settling floor trade at $1773.60 per ounce for a 0.3% weekly loss. Despite the slight decline, the yellow metal booked its biggest quarterly gain since September 2010 as the continuous contract closed the quarter 10.6% higher. The boost came as investors flocked towards precious metals following measures announced by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and various other Central Banks around the world aimed at stimulating the economy.

Silver fell off its session high of $34.83 per ounce and hit a session low of $34.40 per ounce in morning action. Although it broke above the unchanged line shortly after, it gave up the gains and closed the week 0.2% lower at $34.58 per ounce. Still, the continuous contract for silver gained over 25% in the quarter

Thursday's session got off to a strong start despite a string of negative economic data. The third estimate of second quarter GDP indicated growth of 1.3% which was well below the prior reading of 1.7%. Elsewhere, durable goods orders also showed notable weakness as new orders declined by 13.2% during August. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders decreased by 1.6%. Weekly initial claims were the sole bright spot as the reading of 359k was below the broadly-anticipated 379k. The major averages extended their gains after Spain announced its 2013 budget which included spending cuts and no tax hikes. The key averages continued rallying throughout the afternoon and the S&P 500 settled higher by 1.0%. Discover (DFS 39.73, +0.02) surged 7.2% after reporting earnings and revenues ahead of expectations.DJ30 -48.84 NASDAQ -20.37 SP500 -6.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 862/1.78 bln/1610 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1176/832.4 mln/1849