YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Sloppy, listless trade gave way to a broad-based selling effort, which intensified into the close and culminated in another round of sharp losses.

Market participants returned from the extended holiday weekend to several of the same problematic themes of recent weeks. For starters, worries about the state of finances in Europe continue to linger, but news that the European Central Bank (ECB) said that eurozone banks face further writedowns over the next 18 months added to concern. Europe's major bourses buckled and the euro fell to a new four-year low of $1.211 in response.

Meanwhile, concerns about global growth came back into play in the wake of weaker-than-expected monthly manufacturing data from China.

In the face of the market's growth concerns, the Bank of Canada announced that it added 25 basis points to its benchmark interest rate, which now stands at 0.50%. The hike makes Canada the first G-7 country to raise rates.

U.S. data showed that the ISM Manufacturing Index for May hit 59.7, which is a bit better than the 59.4 that had been widely expected. Moreover, construction spending for April surged 2.7%, which easily surpassed the 0.1% monthly increase had been widely anticipated, to make for the best monthly increase since 1998.

Those announcements helped stocks swing from an early loss of more than 1% to a solid gain.

A pullback by the greenback also helped stocks, but the dollar was later able to stage a modest rebound so that it finished with a 0.3% gain against a basket of competing currencies.

Though stocks looked like they were on course for an impressive turnaround, trade quickly turned muddled. That left the broader market to chop along in lackluster action.

The lack of positive leadership left stocks susceptible to a late selloff, which focused on cyclical plays like materials stocks and energy stocks. The materials sector fell to a 3.1% loss as steel stocks dropped 5.9%. Meanwhile, energy fell 4.3%, collectively, as oil and gas equipment plays are imbued by BP (BP 36.52, -6.43), which continues to grapple with the consequences of its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A 1.9% decline in the energy sector helped the CRB commodity index to a 1% loss this session. July crude oil closed the session lower by 1.8% to $72.58 per barrel after trading with a loss for the majority of the session. July natural gas ended down by 1.9% to $4.26 per MMbtu.

The flight to safety, sparked by continued fears about foreign economies, helped August gold close higher by 0.9% to $1226.90 per ounce. July silver also partook in that safe haven move, finishing up 0.5% to $18.55 per ounce.

Weakness among energy stocks was exacerbated by a pullback in oil prices, which finished pit trade with a 1.8% loss at $72.58 per barrel.

Gold prices closed with a 0.9% gain at $1226.90 per ounce, however. July silver also shared in the safety trade; it finished up 0.5% at $18.55 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-4.3%), Materials (-3.1%), Utilities (-2.3%), Financials (-2.1%), Industrials (-2.1%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.6%), Health Care (-1.0%), Tech (-0.9%), Telecom (-0.8%), Consumer Staples (-0.2%) DJ30 -112.61 NASDAQ -34.71 NQ100 -0.9% R2K -3.1% SP400 -2.7% SP500 -18.70 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 455/2.13 bln/2224 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 642/1.43 bln/2403