YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Set against an already bearish backdrop, market participants reacted negatively to the Fed's decision to increase capital controls for banks and underwhelming data from both home and abroad. That left stocks to record their sixth straight loss and settle at new monthly lows.

The stock market's slide was extended to a sixth straight session, including an incremental loss late last week. In that time the S&P 500 has fallen more than 7%. In the face of the swoon, Deere & Co. (DE 74.72, +2.80) displayed strength, thanks to an upside earnings surprise and an optimistic outlook.

Broad market participants saw little reason to alter their bearish mindset when it was learned last evening that the Fed ruled that top-tier domestic banks with total consolidated assets of at least $50 billion must submit annual capital plans for review, bringing the number of banks under surveillance to 31. The decision comes at the same time that many investors have shown aversion to bank stocks and other financial issues for fear of their exposure to the precarious conditions in Europe.

The perception of Europe was hardly helped by news that Germany, the continent's strongest and most diverse economy, held a debt auction that drew disappointing demand. Germany also reported that its PMI Manufacturing reading for November fell to 47.9 from 49.1 in the prior month. The November Manufacturing PMI for the broader eurozone eased to 46.4 from 46.5 in October.

China also issued disappointing data. The country's Flash PMI Manufacturing reading for November fell to 48.0 from 51.0 in the prior month. Asia's major averages all moved lower in overnight action.

As for domestic data, initial jobless claims for the week ended November 19 totaled 393,000, which is barely changed from what was posted in the prior week. It is also on par with what had been expected by many economists.

Personal spending during October increased by 0.1%, which is less than the 0.3% increase that had been broadly expected, but personal income increased by 0.4% to exceed the 0.3% increase that had been anticipated.

Durable goods orders for October fell 0.7%, but that is still less than the 0.9% decline that many had expected. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders actually jumped by 0.7% in the face of the consensus call for no change.

Although still short of 1 billion shares, trading volume on the NYSE proved greater than what many had suspected ahead of a holiday. U.S. markets will be closed tomorrow in observance of Thanksgiving. They will re-open Friday for a half day of trade.

Efforts to pare risk prompted market participants to extend their efforts into the commodity complex. Selling pressure dropped the CRB Commodity Index for a 1.4% loss.

News of a surprise inventory draw failed to improve sentiment surrounding oil trade today. That left the energy crude oil prices to fall 1.9% to $96.15 per barrel. Natural gas prices also succumbed to selling pressure. The energy component closed at $3.61 per MMbtu, which was comfortably above its session low, but it still made for a 1.4% loss. Inventory numbers for natural gas also proved surprisingly positive.

Precious metals were able to trim losses after falling sharply in morning trade. Gold prices settled at $1696.80 per ounce for a 0.3% loss. Silver settled with a 2.8% loss at $32.02 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Staples -1.4%, Utilities -1.5%, Health Care -1.5%, Consumer Discretionary -2.1%, Telecom -2.1%, Industrials -2.3%, Tech -2.4%, Materials -2.8%, Energy -2.9%, Financials -2.9%DJ30 -236.17 NASDAQ -61.20 NQ100 -2.3% R2K -3.2% SP400 -2.7% SP500 -26.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 382/1.71 bln/2165 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 358/876 mln/2692