Market Wrap-Up

A mixed bag of corporate and economic news released Monday made for another volatile trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 64 points to 7,936. It was the first time the Dow finished below the 8,000 mark since Jan. 20. The benchmark also flirted with lows reached last November.

Weighing on trading were poor earnings from a range of companies. Mattel (MAT) missed Street estimates because of a dismal holiday shopping season. Dryships (DRYS) shares sank, continuing a selling trend that started last week when the company announced capital spending cutbacks. Macy s (M) announced it was laying off employees and the retailer will also cut its dividend.

One sector received a boost. Tech rallied after bargain hunters scooped up shares of Cisco (CSCO), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC). It s debatable how strong that rally is, though, especially given chip sales data show that part of the market is still ailing.

In Washington debate started on the stimulus plan that passed the House last week. There was also talk about the Obama administration tabling its bad bank idea until next week. In economic news, personal income fell 0.2% and construction spending fell 1.4% in December. But an index measuring manufacturing activity rose slightly. Consumer spending also slowed.

The economic data were a big contributor to why crude dropped about 4% to $40.37.

Winners

A reported drop in chip sales, the first yearly dip since 2001, seemed like terrible news for that sector. But some bargain hunters saw it as a sign chip makers had bottomed out. Shares of the Semiconductor HOLDRS ETF (SMH), which counts Intel among its top holdings, gained 2.9%.

Losers

The United States Gasoline fund (UGA) had its tank emptied after gas prices dropped 10.3 cents a gallon to close at $1.165. The ETF dropped 8.1%. The Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT) dropped 4.5% as shares of its major holding, Evergreen Solar (ESLR), took a hit Monday.

Tuesday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
Ace, Archer Daniels Midland, Centex, D.R. Horton, Electronic Arts, IAC, Jones Lang LaSalle, Manpower, Marathon Oil, Merck & Co., MetLife, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, TravelZoo, Tyco International, United Parcel Service, Walt Disney, Yum Brands

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales
8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales
10 a.m. December Pending Home Sales
4:30 p.m. API Oil Industry Report

Quick Take

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