YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Participants kept stiff and steady pressure on stocks all session. Their efforts came amid news that military tension has intensified between North Korea and South Korea, and ongoing contagion concerns for Europe.

Each of the major equity averages tumbled more than 1% today. Downside momentum took the Dow below the 11,000 before it settled on its 50-day moving average and the S&P 500 moved below 1180 before it recovered to that point. Sell-offs of a similar degree were made abroad. Collective weakness left the Dow Jones World Index to drop 1.9% in its worst single-session slide since August.

The push to dump stocks came in response to news that artillery fire was exchanged overnight between North Korea and South Korea. Though tension between the two nations has been persistent, the latest episode marks a dramatic escalation of the tone between them.

That development added to the distress of market participants, who have long held concern for the fragile state of finances among countries in the European Union periphery. Even Ireland remains a point of worry as it has yet to completely structure a bailout package and implement austerity measures.

Distress and uncertainty moved many into the relative safety of the dollar, which was up 1.3% against competing currencies at the close of trade. The advance marked its biggest one-day bounce in a month and put the currency at its best level in almost two months.

Only a few pockets of strength were seen this session. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 44.19, +0.94) was the only blue chip in the Dow to post a gain. Its strength was owed to better-than-expected earnings and upside guidance.

J.Crew (JCG 43.99, +6.34) registered a big gain in response to news that it will be taken private for $43.50 per share, a premium of about 15% relative to the prior session's closing price. It helped limit pressure against other retailers, but the group still booked a 0.8% loss.

Upward revisions to third quarter GDP failed to provide fodder for buyers. The data indicated that GDP grew 2.5% from July through September. Advance data had initially indicated that GDP had increased 2.0% in that time. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected the revised data to reflect growth of 2.4%.

Reflective of the GDP data, minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting generally indicated that the economic recovery has proceeded at a modest rate in recent months. However, there has been only a gradual improvement in labor market conditions. Also, inflation remains low.

Among meeting members, most saw the risks to growth as broadly balanced, but some saw the risks as tilted to the downside. A majority saw the risks to inflation as balanced, but some saw downside risks. Members also differed in their assessments of the likely benefits and costs associated with the latest program of quantitative easing.

Treasuries displayed strength in the early going as participants sought their relative safety, but they gave up a chunk of their gains following results from an auction of 5-year Notes. The auction attracted a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.65, dollar demand of $92.8 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 31.5%.

Commodities were mixed for a second straight session. Grains (+1.2%) were the largest advancing group, while industrials (-1.6%) was the largest declining group. March cotton fell 5.1% to its lowest levels in a month.

Dec gold rallied for 1..3% to finish at $1377.60 per ounce. Gold posted its biggest gains in over two weeks on the back of heighted tensions between North and South Korea. Dec silver ended up 0.2% to $27.57 per ounce. It was a rather uneventful session for silver.

Jan crude oil finished lower by 0.3% to $81.25 per barrel, while Dec natural gas ended off 0.2% to $4.26 per MMBtu.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-1.9%), Materials (-1.7%), Financials (-1.6%), Tech (-1.5%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.4%), Industrials (-1.3%), Health Care (-1.3%), Utilities (-1.1%), Consumer Staples (-1.1%), Telecom (-0.9%)DJ30 -142.21 NASDAQ -37.07 NQ100 -1.6% R2K -1.0% SP400 -1.1% SP500 -17.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 662/1.90 bln/1994 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 671/1.02 bln/2356