US Market Commentary(After Market Close): Strong Earnings Can't Keep Stocks from Slipping

Positive earnings surprises from Apple (AAPL 198.76, +8.90), Texas Instruments (TXN 23.66, +0.14), Caterpillar (CAT 59.61, +1.76), Pfizer (PFE 17.93, -0.05), and UnitedHealth (UNH 25.96, +1.04) couldn't keep the broader market from slipping to a loss as a stronger dollar pressured stocks and commodities alike.

Stocks looked poised to start the session on strong footing and extend the previous session's gains, but the positive tone among participants dwindled in the opening minutes as enthusiasm faded for the strong earnings of several widely-held companies. A bounce by the U.S. dollar also undercut stocks, basic materials stocks (-1.1%) and energy stocks (-0.9%) were hit particularly hard, given their correlation to commodity prices.

With the Dollar Index climbing 0.4% this session, the CRB Commodity Index retreated to a 0.5% loss as oil futures prices fell 0.7% to $79.09 per barrel. Gold prices were able to recover from negative territory to finish fractionally higher at $1058.60 per ounce, however.

Health care stocks also struggled this session. The sector shed 1.0% as Boston Scientific (BSX 8.57, -1.59) slumped in the wake of its quarterly earnings report, which actually contained a positive earnings surprise and an in-line earnings forecast. That couldn't stop a Wells Fargo downgrade from dragging down the stock, though.

Meanwhile, managed care providers (+2.2%) looked strong following better-than-expected earnings and reaffirmed upside guidance from UnitedHealth, but their gains couldn't overcome weakness in the rest of the health care sector.

Tech stocks settled as the best performing sector, even though it closed unchanged. The sector found strength as participants flocked to shares of Apple in the wake of its strong quarterly results. Apple was also a primary leader in the Nasdaq.

In economic news, the Producer Price Index for September made a surprise month-over-month drop of 0.6%, while core producer prices made a surprise 0.1% slip. Housing starts for September came in at an annualized rate of 590,000, which is below the rate of 610,000 units that was widely expected.