CLOSING BELL

Dow 10625.83  +5.67, Nasdaq 2354.23  +7.38, S&P 1136.94  +1.26 

The stock market started the day on the positive side, but quickly slide into negative territory before buyers entered the market as they saw value in stocks.

Stocks fought their way from a -1% loss to a slight gain by the end of trading.  At one point 80% of the S&P 500 companies were trading in the red.  The declines can be again blamed on EU debt concerns.  The worst was the energy sector which was down more than -2% on weakness in oil.  Oil closed the day with a -2.1% loss and closed at $70.08 per barrel.  Cyclical stocks were also down more than -1% with materials, industrials and financials feeling the brunt of the selling before making their way from the day lows.

Cyclical stocks eventually made their way to positive territory, but buyers still favored defensive-oriented telecom +1.2% and consumer staples +0.9%.

In earnings news today the calendar was light.  Lowes (LOW) 25.26 -0.81, -3.11% reported earnings of 0.34 beating estimates by +0.03.  Agilent (A) 34.19 +0.33, +0.97% reported earnings of 0.43 beating estimates by +0.02.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom +1.2%, Consumer Staples +0.9%, Consumer Discretionary +0.6%, Tech +0.2%, Utilities +0.1%, Health Care +0.1%
Declining Sectors: Energy -1.0%, Industrials -0.3%, Materials -0.2%
Unchanged: Financials