YAHOO[BRIEFING.COM]: Sellers claimed control of the stock market for the second straight session, pushing the S&P 500 2.3% lower Friday. That left stocks down 0.7% for the week.

Stocks actually began the session with a gain after investors reacted positively to a better-than-feared GDP report. However, a closer look at the data revealed conditions are hardly sound. According to the latest data, the U.S. economy contracted at an annualized rate of 3.8% during the fourth quarter, marking the steepest drop in economic activity since 1982. The decline was less severe than the 5.5% drop that was expected, but that was largely due to an unexpected increase in inventories. Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70% of economic activity, remains weak as consumption expenditures dropped at a 3.5% annual rate.

However, government spending increased modestly and is likely to be a bigger contributor going forward with the enactment of a major stimulus plan. Though the House of Representatives passed an $819 billion stimulus plan earlier this week, many pundits believe the plan will become ensnared in political partisanship. There is also doubt that such a plan would have an immediate stimulative impact. Other initiatives, like a plan that would allow banks to sell their risky assets to an FDIC-run "bad bank," are being treated with skepticism since the plan would like prove to be an expensive stabilization program, not a cure-all.

Without a clear, effective remedy for banks at hand, financial stocks remain under pressure. The sector closed 2.5% lower with particular weakness in regional banks (-6.5%) and diversified financial services companies (-1.8%).

A lack of leadership weighed on the other sectors. Energy periodically sported a gain throughout the session, but still finished 1.2% lower. Industry giant Exxon Mobil (XOM 76.48, -0.52) posted better-than-expected earnings, but finished lower after spending almost the entire session trading higher. It failed to inspire a broader advance even though it is the largest company by market cap.

Online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN 58.82, +8.82) bested earnings estimates with ease; its shares logged their best single session performance since mid-2007 by surging almost 18%. It failed to share its strength with other stocks, though.

In other earnings news, Procter & Gamble (PG 54.50, -3.72) met analysts' estimates, and offered an in-line outlook. Industrial outfit Honeywell (HON 32.81, +0.14) did the same. However, the earnings announcements were largely relegated, given the implications of the day's economic data.

In the end, the week finished on a disappointing note as all 10 major sectors finished the session lower. Not one sector is showing a monthly gain. DJ30 -148.15 NASDAQ -31.42 NQ100 -2.0% R2K -2.1% SP400 -2.6% SP500 -19.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 866/2.09 bln/1797 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 791/1.51 bln/2224