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[UpInArms]

Dow 10,419.59 -2.46 (-0.02%)
Nasdaq 2,116.84 +6.06 (+0.29%)
S&P 500 1,215.29 +0.67 (+0.06%)
10-Yr Bond 4.248 +0.72 (+1.72%)

NYSE Volume 2,009,334,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,641,660,000

Close: A Rita-roiled market maintained a wait-and-see stance throughout the session, ultimately finishing in mixed fashion and within a tight, day-long trading range that encircled the flat line. Staging a modest recovery mid-afternoon upon the hurricane's downgrade - to a still-dangerous Category Three - and amid a subsequent decline in energy prices, the market mirrored yesterday's downgrade-induced rebound, but today could not quite sustain gains as uneasy traders began the weekend anticipating Rita's arrival...

With a blank economic calendar and a similarly uneventful earnings docket to steal some attention, the market remained on a session-long Rita watch. Early reports that the hurricane's path veered, eyeing the eastern part of Texas as opposed to the Houston refining region, led to a sell-off across the energy complex (crude closed 3.5% lower to $64.19/bbl) that held throughout the session and fostered some modest bargain hunting action in the wake of 3.1%, 1.8%, and 2.3% declines on the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq, respectively...

A pair of disappointments on the corporate front, however, further infected the market's sentiment and undercut upward efforts. Alcoa's (AA 24.44 -1.46) Q3 profit warning sent its shares spiraling 5.6%, impeded the Dow, and left the Materials sector languishing for most of the day. Although managing to close with a 0.2% gain, the sector remained one of the session's laggards, second only to Energy - which declined 1.7% alongside energy price pullbacks and resulting reasons for profit-taking...

Oracle (ORCL 12.39 -1.13) delivered the second piece of disappointing news. While reporting in-line earnings last night, Wall Street was turned off by lower than expected Q1 (Aug) sales and earnings that reflected decelerating growth of about 2%, which sent shares tumbling 8.4%. Oracle's distress weighed heavily upon the Tech sector, which eventually found support as lifts in Texas Instruments (TXN 33.86 +1.13), Qualcomm (QCOM 44.76 +0.76), and Motorola (MOT 22.79 +0.64) offset ORCL's effect. But hardware's 1.7% decline, largely due to Palm Inc.'s (PALM) disappointing outlook, and software's 0.6% dip ultimately stunted an overall advance...

The Financial sector's 0.3% gain came with rebounds in banks (+0.2%) and brokers (+0.3%), despite a weak Treasury market, and lent muscle to the market; in the end, though, it was too modest to sustain the indices' gains... A particular area of strength today was within Consumer Discretionary (+0.2%). A turnaround in retailers (+0.4%), spurred by a 2.3% surge in Best Buy (BBY 42.91 +0.71) after UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and falling gas prices, a better than expected Q1 (Aug) report and a 400% dividend increase from Darden (DRI 29.75 +0.68), Goodyear's (GT 15.49 +0.49) announced turnaround plan, and an analyst upgrade on Delphi (DPH 3.46 +0.34), helped the sector maintain its positive footing throughout most of the session...DJTA +0.35, DJUA +0.18, DOT +0.10, Nasdaq 100 +0.28, Russell 2000 +0.58, SOX +0.79, S&P Midcap 400 +0.41, XOI -1.62, NYSE Adv/Dec 1683/1578, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1813/1176