US Market Commentary (After Market Close): Closing out the day

Stocks closed lower as a stronger dollar put downward pressure on equities and other riskier investments, including commodities. Additional downward pressure came from a BOA-Merrill downgrade of chipmakers. Materials, energy and industrial stocks were among the hardest hit. NYSE breadth was 25-6 negative, NASDAQ breadth was 21-5 negative.

Gold and crude oil futures skidded as the dollar index rose. Treasuries moved higher. Economic data was a mixed bag: the Philadelphia Fed Index, Leading Indicators and mortgage foreclosures rose; weekly Initial Jobless Claims were flat.

Stocks are slightly above their intraday lows and all three indices are down more than 1 percent heading into the final hour. A stronger dollar and disappointing economic data convinced traders to take profits this morning. Profit taking could continue into the close unless an unexpected bit of good news hits the wires. Dow Chemical (DOW) and Whirlpool (WHR) are down 4%. Apple (AAPL) and Goldman Sachs (GS) are down 3%. GameStop (GME) is up 2%. The Put/Call Volume Ratio is at 1.02 while the Put/Call Open Interest ratio is at 0.92.