YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM] : Light share volume on the New York Stock Exchange seemed to exacerbate the session's weakness. However, the stock market was still able to pare losses by reversing course late in the session.

Still, all 10 economic sectors finished with losses.

Sellers took hold of the market shortly after the session's opening bell sounded. Early declines were led by large-cap technology stocks, but weakness soon expanded into the broader market. Still, tech's influence caused the Nasdaq to lag its counterparts from beginning to end.

Financials (-4.0%) finished the session as the worst performing sector as investors continue to shun banks and other financial institutions. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 29.82, -0.50) and Wells Fargo (WFC 27.42, -1.94) were lagging movers in the sector.

Consumer staples (-0.1%) held up relatively well against the market's selling pressure, though it received little help from Walgreen (WAG 24.98, -1.10). Walgreen reported this morning quarterly earnings results that failed to meet analysts' expectations. CVS Caremark (CVS 26.91, -0.05) traded lower on related weakness, but was able to finish just modestly lower. CVS confirmed an in-line outlook for fiscal 2008.

In other corporate news, Toyota Motors (TM 60.88, -3.50) warned it expects to incur a loss of approximately $1.68 billion for its current fiscal year, which would be its first such loss.

Automakers traded lower as a group. Particular weakness was exhibited by Ford (F 2.59, -0.36) and General Motors (GM 3.52, -0.97). Even though U.S. automakers have been authorized to receive more than $17 billion in federal aid, plus some $3 billion that Canada is giving the Big Three's Canadian arms, dour economic conditions make the road to recovery extremely challenging.

Persistently weak economic conditions prompted the International Monetary Fund to indicate it may cut its economic forecast. The IMF also indicated that a lack of fiscal stimulus could worsen 2009.

President-Elect Obama intends to bolster economic conditions by creating millions of jobs in the U.S. However, the program will come with a heavy price tag, which could easily rack up government debt. That could pressure the U.S. dollar, which slipped 0.3% this session.

Despite the dollar's decline, crude oil futures finished nearly 6% lower at $39.91 per barrel. Oil futures prices are now down more than 70% from their highs. Oil's precipitous decline has led OPEC to slash production as part of an effort to realign supply with demand, though the cuts seem to have had limited impact.

The dollar's drop and oil's slide prompted investors to move into precious metals. Gold finished more than 1% higher at $847.20 per ounce.

Share volume is expected to remain light this week, given the holiday schedule.  The stock market closes early on Dec. 24 and is closed entirely on Dec. 25.  DJ30 -59.42 NASDAQ -31.97 NQ100 -2.3% R2K -2.3% SP400 -2.4% SP500 -16.25 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1873/911/1.67 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2141/979/1.22 bln