CLOSING BELL

Dow 10002.18  -268.37, Nasdaq 2125.43  -65.48, S&P 1063.11  

-34.17 

The fiscal health of some Greece, Spain, Portugal the USA and UK and disappointing jobless claims numbers fueled a big selloff today.  Today was the market's worst single-session percentage loss since April.

The news caused traders to seek the safety in the dollar, which spiked +0.7% to a new six-month high. The stronger dollar also didn’t help stocks today.

In trading today 97% of the companies listed in the S&P 500 logged a loss. This drove the market to its lowest close in nearly three months. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped below 10,000 in trading today, for the first time since early November, but settled just above that psychologically significant line. Cisco (CSCO) 23.16, +0.09 was the only Dow component to book a gain today due to better-than-expected earnings and strong guidance.

The natural resource sector was among the poorest performers for most of the session.  The CRB Commodity Index hit a new three-month low and had a -2.6% loss. Oil prices plummeted -5.0% to $73.14 per barrel and gold fell -4.3% to $1064 per ounce.

Volatility spiked amid this session's sell-off.  That resulted in a near +21% rise in the Volatility Index, which is often dubbed the VIX, or more ominously the Fear Index.

While todays sell-off will weaken sentiment in the broader market, traders still have not seen the latest nonfarm payrolls report, which often brings volatility.  The nonfarm payrolls report for January is scheduled to be released Friday morning at 8:30 ET.

Advancing Sectors: (None)

Declining Sectors: Financials -4.2%, Energy -3.9%, Materials -3.8%, Industrials -3.1%, Tech -2.9%, Consumer Discretionary -2.9%, Utilities -2.6%, Health Care -2.6%, Telecom -2.4%, Consumer Staples -2.3%