YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Though stocks were quick to recover from an early slide, the broader market stagnated near the neutral line until word of possible quantitative easing pushed stocks into positive ground for a solid finish.

Moderate, yet widespread weakness had dropped the stock market for a loss in the early going. Near-term support provided a floor for a rebound, but the S&P 500 struggled to turn positive with the dollar holding out in positive territory.

The dollar finally dipped into the red following the release of the minutes from the FOMC's meeting on September 21. According to the minutes, members are prepared to provide additional accommodation, if needed, to support the economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with the FOMC mandate. While such accommodation may be appropriate before long, members made clear that any decisions would depend upon future information about the economic situation and outlook.

Relative to competing currencies, the dollar ended the day with a 0.1% loss after it had been up as much as 0.6% in overnight trade.

The dollar's decline helped induce enough buying to lift the broader market into positive ground. Financials made the biggest move, such that the sector settled with a 1.3% gain. Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM 40.40, +0.67) showed leadership ahead of its quarterly report tomorrow morning.

Tech stocks were also strong ahead of the latest from chip bellwether Intel (INTC 19.77, +0.21). Shares of INTC were atop the list of most actively traded names by volume this session, though overall volume on the NYSE was generally unimpressive again.

There were only a few headlines ahead of the latest round of earnings. Among them, Pfizer (PFE 17.48, +0.10) will acquire King Pharmaceuticals (KG 14.14, +3.99) for $14.25 per share, which makes for a 40% premium to the stock's prior session closing price.

Disappointing guidance from global steelmaker Posco (PKX 114.47, -5.03) weighed on domestic steel plays (-0.9%).

Among other commodity-backed plays, oil and gas drillers had been down 1.4% at their session low, but were able to book a 1.1% gain following news that the government lifted the moratorium on deepwater drilling after imposing stricter safety and operating requirements.

The U.S. Treasury market reopened from a Columbus Day holiday to solid support, which dropped the yield on the 2-year Note to a new record low. Early gains were eventually given back, though. It didn't help that dollar demand at the latest auction of 3-year Notes was the lowest since mid-2009. The $32 billion auction produced a bid-to-cover of just 2.95 on dollar demand of $94.4 billion and an indirect bidder participation rate of 29.0%.

Gains in commodities were led by the grains sector, which rallied for 2.2%. Dec corn futures settled higher by 4.2% to $5.79 per bushel, extending its recent rally to a fourth consecutive session. In fact, over those past 4 sessions, corn has surged for ~19%. The rally has been helped, in part, by Friday's bullish USDA report. Also worth mentioning is that the Dec contract traded to a new contract high at $5.83 per bushel. Jan soybeans rallied for 2.3% to finish at $11.90 per bushel.

Nov crude oil finished lower by 0.7% to $81.67 per barrel, after it rallied into the close to recoup most of its losses. Nov natural gas gained 0.1% to end at $3.61 per MMBtu, after it too pushed out of negative territory heading into the close.

Dec gold finished lower by 0.3% to $1346.70 per ounce, while Dec silver closed down 0.8% to $23.147 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: Financials (+1.3%), Tech (+0.7%), Consumer Staples (+0.3%), Materials (+0.3%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.2%), Health Care (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Utilities (-0.3%), Energy (-0.1%), Industrials (-0.1%)
Unchanged: TelecomDJ30 +10.06 NASDAQ +15.59 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +0.4% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +4.45 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1521/1.98 bln/1085 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1659/922 mln/1293