Market Wrap-Up

The stock market endured another chaotic week, posting triple digit gains or losses each and every session. Volatility has become the norm as the credit crisis continues to play out on the global stage.

As the heart of the third quarter earnings season got underway, there was a glimmer of a rally on Monday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke put his stamp of approval on the idea of another government stimulus plan. That revelation, combined with positive earnings results that day from Halliburton (HAL) and the announcement of some government bailout plans overseas, helped push stocks up 413 points. But those gains were quickly erased later in the week as weak corporate earnings from dozens of companies, rising crude inventories, a failing auto market and China's slowing growth forecasts helped remind traders that they are far from getting this down turn behind them.

Heading into the weekend, there were major concerns about a big sell off Friday morning after international markets dipped overnight. But after an initial 500 point drop after the opening bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed its way back. It eventually slipped 312 points Friday to end the week down 5%, or 473 points, to 8,379.

Oil was a particularly hot topic. All week investors speculated that OPEC would cut production rates when it met Friday. That body did, indeed, announce a production cut of 1.5 million barrels. Nevertheless, oil continued to sell off. It closed Friday at the $65 per barrel level. The prospect of a global economic slow down curtailing demand seems to be weighing on trading.

Winners

On Friday investors went back into gold-focused ETFs as a safe haven from the volatility of the equity markets. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) gained 2.5%.

As for the week, it paid to be short the market, especially emerging markets. There was growing concern all week on two fronts: the slow down in China; teetering developing markets from Russia to Eastern Europe to Latin America. Indeed, China announced its economic growth had slowed to around 9%. That's still a healthy clip compared to the U.S. but it's down from the double digit growth that most investors are accustomed to seeing from this part of the world. The ProShares UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXP) gained 48.6% the last five trading sessions.

Losers

The emerging markets theme also played out in the loser column. Over the last few weeks Russia has been dealing with a one-two combination that has stunned it: the credit crisis seeping into its markets and the free-falling price of oil. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) lost 14% on Friday and 24.9% for the week.

Solar ETFs also posted a dismal week. These funds, one-time highflyers in the beginning of the year, have been coming back down to Earth over speculation government subsidies in key markets may be cut and because of the drop in crude prices. (The thinking goes that as oil falls investors lose interest in alternative energy sources.) The Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy ETF (TAN) lost 23.9% this week.

This Week's Industry Headlines

(Re)Launching Pad
XShares Advisors announced four redesigned HealthShares ETFs began trading. The four funds they concentrate on cancer, European drug companies, diagnostics and drug discovery tools feature cheaper annual expense ratios and more diversified portfolios than their predecessors.

Next Week's Notebook

The third quarter earnings season continues in high gear. Keep an eye out for jobless claims data on Thursday. Any dramatic uptick could spook the markets. Also, Friday marks the close of the year for many mutual funds. That could make for some volatility heading into Halloween.

Earnings & Conference Calls
Monday: Alberto Culver, Arch Coal, Buffalo Wild Wings, Calamos, Canon, CAN Financial, Crane, East West Bancorp, FPL Group, Hanger Orthopedic, Hercules, Humana, Lowes, Lorillard, Penn National Gaming, Plum Creek Timber, Rent-A-Center, Travelzoo, Verizon, Verizon Wireless, Winn-Dixie

Tuesday: Aaron Rentals, Apollo Group, Bemis, Boston Properties, Boyd Gaming, BP, Buckeye Partners, Canadian Pacific Railway, Centex, Cephalon, Denny's, Dreamworks Animation SKG, Earthlink, Fiserv, FMC, Fresh Del Monte, Kansas City Southern, Lincoln Financial, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Masco, Patriot Coal, U.S. Steel

Wednesday: Advance Auto Parts, Aetna, Allied Waste, Ameriprise Financial, BorgWarner, Cardinal Health, CME, Comcast, Corning, DPL, DTE Energy, Famous Dave's, First Solar, Forrester research, Hanes Brands, Hess, Itron, Jones Apparel, Kraft, Legg Mason, Metlife, Moody's, Newmont Mining, Noble Energy, Office Depot, Owens Corning, Praxair, Procter & Gamble, Prudential, TSX Group, Visa

Thursday: Advanta, Akamai, AmeriSourceBergen, Apache, AstraZeneca, Avon, Callaway Golf, CBS, Chesapeake Energy, Chiquita Brands, Coinstar, Dominion Resources, Dover Motorsports, Eastman Kodak, Electronic Arts, Energizer, Exxon, Gartner, International Paper, Lear, Marathon Oil, Midas, Monster Worldwide, Newell Rubbermaid, Scana, Shaw Group, Stanley, Sun Microsystems, Unilever

Friday: AEP, Burger King, Chevron, Clorox, MDU Resources, PSEG, Republic Services, Tasty Baking, The Washington Post Company, Weyerhaeuser

Economic Data

Monday
10:00a.m. Sept. New Home Sales
10:30a.m. Oct. Dallas Fed Mfg. Production

Tuesday
8:55a.m. Retail Sales
9:00a.m. Aug. S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index
10:00a.m. Oct. Conference Board Consumer Confidence
10:00a.m. Oct. Richmond Fed Mfg. Survey

Wednesday
8:30a.m. Sept. Durable Goods Orders

Thursday
8:30a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
8:30a.m. 3Q Advance GDP
10:00a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer

Friday
8:30a.m. 3Q Employment Cost Index
8:30a.m. Sept. Personal Income
8:30a.m. Sept. Personal Spending
9:45a.m. Oct. Chicago PMI

Quick Take

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Friday.