Market Wrap-Up

Investors came back from the Thanksgiving holiday to find a stock market heading severely south after five straight days of increases. The culprit: the official proclamation by the National Bureau of Economic Research that the U.S. economy has been in a recession for the last year. The rest of the world probably is in the same boat. That revelation was coupled with weak manufacturing numbers both here and abroad. And early reports from retailers indicated that sales from Black Friday were flat at best when compared to 2007.

Financials had a terrible session. Analysts continue to fret about just how and when the government's bailout plan will get these firms back on solid footing. It seems that many investors think it won't be for a long while. JP Morgan (JPM), a company that announced big layoffs, and Citigroup (C) dropped double digits during the session.

President-elect Obama announced his nominees for his national security team Monday, including Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, speaking at a conference in Austin, Texas, said his ability to lower a key interest rate, which now stands at 1%, may be limited but his agency can still buy Treasurys, for example, as a possible way to boost the economy. In a separate speech, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said some of the government's bailout plan money could be used to rescue homeowners.

Oil dropped over $5 a barrel to the $49 level because OPEC announced it was putting off a decision on whether to cut back production until it meets later this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down for the first time since Nov. 21. It plunged 680 points to 8,149.

Winners

If you were on the right side of the financial-services trade Monday you did quite well. The ProShares UltraShort Financials ETF (SKF) gained 30.2%.

Losers

However, the other side of that bet wasn't pretty. Financials absorbed another off day. It seems analysts are still concerned about the future prospects of the nation's biggest financial companies, despite government bailout money designed to get them back on track. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker Dealers ETF (IAI) pulled back 15.7%. This ETF tracks an underlying index that includes Goldman Sachs (GS) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) .

Monday's Industry Headlines

Closing Up Shop
X Shares Advisors announced after consulting with the board of directors of the HealthShares line of ETFs that it was appropriate to liquidate the four remaining funds in the family. The last day of trading will be Dec. 23. HealthShares offered a unique approach to health care investing, splitting that vast industry into thinner slices with a fund geared to each one. But the idea never caught on with investors.

Tuesday's Notebook

Earnings & Conference Calls
Beazer Homes, Isle of Capri Casinos, Marvell Technology Group, Sears, Staples

Economic Data
7:45a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales Index
8:55a.m. Redbook Retail Sales Index

Quick Take

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