YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Disregard for a large batch of better-than-expected earnings reports gave way to a stiff bout of selling pressure that put stocks on track for their worst loss in more than two months. However, financials were able to garner support into the close and help the broader market trim its losses.

Stocks set fractionally improved 52-week highs in the previous session, but momentum failed to carry over as global participants reacted negatively to news that China's authorities reportedly ordered some banks to curb lending in a move suggestive of tighter monetary policy. The order precedes the release of China's fourth quarter GDP numbers, so many have inferred that the report will feature a strong upside reading.

Concern about a forced slowdown of China's economy led some to consider the implications for the global economy's recovery. That weighed on both stocks and commodities and even led some to seek safety in the U.S. dollar. Support for the dollar helped the greenback gain 1.1% against a basket of foreign currencies, but it only exacerbated the burden on stocks and commodities.

Broad-based weakness pushed the stock market down as much as 1.8% and momentarily below its July to January trendline even though there were plenty of positive earnings surprises. IBM (IBM 130.25, -3.89), Coach (COH 35.35, -2.10), Wells Fargo (WFC 27.82, -0.46), U.S. Bancorp (USB 25.01, +0.52) and State Street (STT 46.28, +3.08) were among the more widely-held companies to top expectations. However, Morgan Stanley (MS 30.63, -0.53) came short of the consensus earnings estimate and Bank of America (BAC 16.49, +0.17) had a deeper-than-expected loss. Bank of America redeemed itself with news of more stable credit costs, particularly at the consumer level.

Amid the many earnings reports from financial players, several banking issues were able to garner support. Diversified banks buckled and gave up an early gain to finish with a 0.7% loss, but regional banks gained 1.7%. Their strength helped the broader financial sector climb from a 1.2% loss to finish the session just 0.1% to the downside.

Despite relative leadership from the financial sector, weakness remained widespread. As such, eight of the 10 sectors logged losses of 1% or more.

Health care held up relatively well. It finished the session just 0.5% lower. It had been up in early action amid continued support from those that speculate that health care reform could be stalled or stymied with the election of a Republican to the Massachusetts Senate seat.

Energy stocks suffered the most this session. They dropped 1.7% as a group. The sector's weakness was worsened by softer oil prices. February crude oil contracts, which expired at the close of pit trade, settled with oil quoted 1.8% lower at $77.62 per barrel, while March contracts closed with oil priced 2.2% lower at $77.55 per barrel.

Economic data was mixed overall and didn't do anything for market participants this session. More specifically, the December Producer Price Index increased 0.2% month-over-month, which was higher than the consensus call for a flat reading. Monthly producer prices had spiked 1.8% in November. Excluding food and energy, producer prices for December were flat from the previous month. An increase of 0.1% had been widely forecast following the 0.5% monthly increase that was posted in November.

Housing starts for December hit an annualized rate of 557,000, which is a slower clip than the expected rate of 572,000 units. It also marked a pullback from the annualized rate of 580,000 that was registered in November.

However, building permits hit an annualized rate of 653,000 in December. That was far higher than the annualized rate of 580,000 permits that the consensus had predicted and up from the previous month's annualized rate of 589,000 permits.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-1.7%), Materials (-1.5%), Tech (-1.5%), Telecom (-1.4%), Industrials (-1.3%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.2%), Utilities (-1.1%), Consumer Staples (-1.0%), Health Care (-0.5%), Financials (-0.1%)DJ30 -122.28 NASDAQ -29.15 NQ100 -1.5% R2K -1.5% SP400 -0.8% SP500 -12.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 729/2.38 bln/1968 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 787/1.05 bln/2249