YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Equities spent the duration of today's session in the red. The S&P 500 lost 0.9% after House Speaker John Boehner cancelled Thursday's vote on his ‘Plan B' due to a lack of support from his party. In a morning press conference, the Speaker said he is not walking away from negotiations with President Obama. However, an agreement remains distant and the House of Representatives has adjourned until December 27. Upon returning to work, lawmakers will be left with just two business days before the calendar year ends.

The financial sector led yesterday's advance as market participants showed optimism ahead of the scheduled vote on ‘Plan B.' However, the vote never took place, and legislators will be left with just a couple business days when they return to work next Thursday. After adding nearly 4.0% between Monday's open and Thursday's close, The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 16.40, -0.19) lost 1.2%. Among the majors, Bank of America (BAC 11.29, -0.23) and Citigroup (C 39.49, -0.68) were two of the weakest performers as they finished with respective losses of 2.0% and 1.7%.

Looking at tech stocks, the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF (XLK 28.95, -0.25) settled lower by 1.2% and major sector components registered comparable losses. Apple (AAPL 519.33, -2.40), Google (GOOG 715.63, -6.73), and International Business Machines (IBM 193.42, -1.35) all lost between 0.5% and 0.9%.

In notable earnings, Research In Motion (RIMM 10.91, -3.21) slumped 22.7% after reporting its quarterly results. Although the smartphone maker beat on earnings and revenue, the company's subscriber growth was a point of concern.

Elsewhere, Micron Technology (MU 6.32, -0.47) slid 6.9% after reporting disappointing earnings and revenue.

Utilities traded largely in-line during the first half of the session. However, mid-afternoon buying lifted the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLU 35.31, -0.12) well off its lows. The ETF ended with a loss of 0.3% and companies specializing in production of industrial gasses were among the sector leaders. Piedmont (PNY 32.42, +0.25) added 0.8% after reporting earnings and reaffirming guidance in-line with the Capital IQ consensus. Among electricity providers, Entergy (ETR 64.52, +0.11) and FirstEnergy (FE 41.61, +0.07) registered gains following early-session weakness.

Defensive stocks have seen strength throughout the year. As a result, the PHLX Defense Sector Index has gained over 15.0% since January 3. Today, the space shed 0.3%, and registered narrower losses than the broader market. This came after the House of Representatives passed the defense budget bill, which would spare the sector from drastic cuts in the event the country goes over the fiscal cliff. In addition, a late-afternoon report from Reuters indicated the bill was also passed by the Senate, and sent to the President for approval. Looking into the 17-stock defense index, GenCorp (GY 9.00, -0.22) lost 2.4% and was the weakest performer. On the upside, Embraer (ERJ 27.70, +0.15) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 93.13, +0.63) added 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

In M&A news, Ameristar Casinos (ASCA 26.50, +4.43) was bought by Pinnacle (PNK 16.20, +2.85) for $26.50 per share, which represents a 20.0% premium to Ameristar's Thursday close. The deal was received well by investors as ASCA and PNK both gained near 20.0%. The strength in shares of Pinnacle was due to expectations of synergies and an improvement in margins.

Today's economic data was plentiful and most figures were reported ahead of expectations. November durable goods orders increased by 0.7%, which was better than the 0.2% increase that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. This comes after the prior month's reading was revised up to reflect an increase of 1.1%. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased in November by 1.6%, which was better than the 0.2% decrease that had been broadly anticipated. Prior month's reading was revised from +1.8% to +1.9%.

Personal income increased by 0.6% in November, which was ahead of the 0.3% increase expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Personal spending increased by 0.4%, which was ahead of the expected uptick of 0.3%. Core personal consumption expenditures were unchanged, which fell short of the broadly expected reading of +0.1%.

The University of Michigan's final December Consumer Sentiment Survey fell to 72.9 from the 74.5 that was posted in the preliminary Survey. The Briefing.com consensus expected the reading to rise to 74.8.

Commodities ended the day mixed with precious metals and copper showing gains and energy declining.

Gold and silver held most of their gains and finished the day just below their session highs. Feb gold ended 0.9% higher at $1660.00, while Mar silver ended 1.8% higher at $30.19.

Crude oil remained in negative territory all session. The energy component fell to the day's session low of $87.98 in early morning action. From there, oil inched higher for the rest of the session, recovering about $0.70 in losses to finish 1.7% lower at $88.69/barrel.

Natural gas was volatile and despite early morning strength it ended the day slightly lower at $3.45/MMBtu.

Week in Review: Stocks Climb Despite Lack of Budget Agreement

On Monday, the major averages registered broad gains during a low-volume session. The S&P 500 followed a modestly higher open with a steady climb to its session high. Shortly before midday, reports out of Washington indicated President Obama and House Speaker Boehner held a 45-minute conversation in an attempt to further the ongoing budget discussions. The developments had little effect on the markets as the key indices continued their upward drift. As a result, the S&P 500 finished higher by 1.2%. Caribou Coffee (CBOU 16.19, -0.08) will be acquired by Joh. A. Benckiser for $16.00 per share. The transaction carries a total value of approximately $340 million, and the purchase price represents a 29.9% premium to Caribou's Friday closing price.

During Tuesday's session, stocks registered broad gains as comments from Washington lawmakers indicated the budget debate is intensifying. Though an agreement remained elusive, the markets welcomed the developments and spent the duration of the day in an upward climb. As a result, the S&P 500 advanced 1.2%. Goldman Sachs (GS 128.44, -1.28) and Morgan Stanley (MS 18.92, -0.35) outperformed their peers as both saw gains over 3.0%.

Wednesday began on a slightly higher note as Tuesday's optimism regarding a fiscal cliff resolution lingered. However, the initial strength quickly faded, and the S&P 500 slipped below its flat line where it spent the remainder of the session. A recurring theme played out in Washington where lawmakers held another round of press conferences with both sides pushing back against the other. Most notably, Speaker Boehner said the House of Representatives will vote on his ‘plan B' on Thursday. The remarks kept the S&P 500 near its lows before a final round of selling dropped the benchmark index to a loss of 0.8%. Oracle (ORCL 33.76, -0.17) gained 3.7% after beating on earnings and revenue.

On Thursday, the major averages finished higher despite showing indecision in the early part of the session. The fiscal cliff remained as the focal point, and investors showed optimism in Washington's ability to get a deal done. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continued to exchange jabs, and Speaker Boehner said the President and the Democrats have not done enough to avoid falling off the cliff. Mr. Boehner touted the proposal he put forth, which was expected to face a House of Representatives vote around 19:30 ET. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% ahead of the scheduled vote. NYSE Euronext (NYX 32.25, 0.00) surged 34.1% after agreeing to be acquired by IntercontinentalExchange (ICE 126.25, -3.85) for $33 per share. The transaction price represents a 37.2% premium to NYSE Euronext's Wednesday close.DJ30 -120.88 NASDAQ -29.38 SP500 -13.54 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 816/2.15 bln/1671 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 982/1.88 bln/2071