Within Striking Distance

The markets were choppy in early trading as price action moved north off the bell, down to its lows by noon ET, then into an uptrend that lasted into the close. Semiconductors, oil service, and computer technology were the biggest gainers; with gold and silver, financial, broker/dealers, and healthcare down modestly.

The Nasdaq Composite's low for the day was only 6% off its September low, while the Nasdaq 100 traded to its lowest levels ever. The S&P 500 is also just 6% form its September low, which means we're within striking distance of hitting levels not seen since 1998. The fact that the indexes were able to reverse from the day's lows gives us a bullish bias into tomorrow.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed up 1.05% at 9617.71. The S&P 500 ($SPX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed up 0.65% at 1020.26. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed up 1.46% at 1519.13.

U.S. Treasury Bonds were up 12 at 103 '12.

The economic event of the day came in the form of the Fed's "beige book," which described our economy as undergoing modest, but uneven growth.

Grabbing headlines was the arrest for insider trading of Imclone's (IMCL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), up 3.70% at 7.83, former chairman and chief executive, Sam Waksal. This story helped weigh on negative sentiment, as similar accusations were made to his friend Martha Stewart of Martha Stewart Living (MSL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), down 12.28% at 15.00.

Market breadth was mostly negative, with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 1.08, and down-volume over up-volume by a 1.42 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues came in at 1.25, and up-volume beat down-volume by a 1.29 ratio. The VIX was down 0.48 at 26.98. The TRIN was down 0.22 at 1.36.

Above-average volume moved the Dow to close at the top of its daily range after hitting a seven-month low earlier in the day, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at the top of their ranges after making eight-month lows earlier. The Semiconductor Index ($SOX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), up 3.57%, closed at the top of its range, taking back most of yesterday's losses. The Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), down 1.17%, closed at the top of its range after making an eight-month low.

The top sectors of the day were the Semiconductor Index ($SOX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), up 3.57% at 434.43, and the Oil Service Sector Index ($OSX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), up 2.91% at 95.97.

Losing sectors of the day were the Gold and Silver Index ($XAU.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), down 2.86% at 75.58, and the Nasdaq Combined Finance Index ($OFIN.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), down 1.68% at 2183.26.