12 PM MArket update

12:00PM: *(yhoo finance)

Market continues to sport broad-based losses and an overall bearish bias midday following mixed economic data, guidance and earnings reports... As expected, Fed Chairman's remarks have more or less mirrored yesterday's statement to the Senate, reiterating that inflation-adjusted interest rates remain "fairly low" and that a drop in yields on longer-maturity bonds since rate hikes began in June is a "conundrum," reflecting the increased possibility that further Fed tightening is necessary...
Jan Leading Indicators fell for the first time in three months, declining 0.3% (consensus -0.2%), versus a revised 0.2% increase in December... Weekly jobless claims fell 2K to 302K (consensus 315K), the lowest level since October 2000, but while layoffs remain at low levels, hiring activity has become a much more important employment indicator... Better than expected quarterly results have come from the likes of WMT, TGT, HPQ and BHI, but disappointing guidance from NXTL, RSH, GENZ and CCE have somewhat offset any potential momentum stemming from strong earnings...
Meanwhile, widespread profit taking, technical breakdowns in the indices and relative weakness in large cap names have kept virtually every sector under pressure... Technology continues to show broad-based losses while financial, health care, transportation, utility, retail and consumer staples remain influential leaders to the downside... Respectable gains in diversified metals and aluminum have limited losses in the materials sector while biotech, due to positive clinical data from BIIB (+1.6%) and ELN (+1.1%), and homebuilding, despite higher bond yields, have been the only notable sectors showing relative strength...