[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks were confined to a narrow trading range just below the neutral line for most of the session, but a late bounce by financials gave the broader market its ninth gain in ten sessions and helped it close in-line with its 52-week high.

A subdued mood governed trade in the early going and for most of the afternoon. Participants appeared inclined to sit on recent gains amid a lack of market-moving headlines, including an initial jobless claims count of 462,000 for the week ended Mar. 6. The consensus had called for 460,000 initial claims that had been expected.

Meanwhile, continuing claims totaled 4.56 million, which was greater than the 4.50 million continuing claims that had been expected.

The trade balance for January came in with a $37.3 billion deficit, which was not quite as dramatic as the $41.0 billion deficit that had been forecast.

Data out of China did little to lift the spirits of global participants. News that the country's consumer prices for February spiked a stronger-than-expected 2.7% year-over-year rekindled concerns that the country may have to apply tighter monetary policy to keep from overheating. Arguably, such a move could slow the global economic recovery.

Meanwhile, Japan revised lower its fourth quarter GDP to a 0.9% increase from the preliminary 1.1% growth rate. However, reports suggested that the Japanese government may upgrade its economic assessment in its monthly report.

The broader market's reaction to the announcements was generally muted, but it followed financial stocks to higher ground as the sector shook free from its confines to climb to a 0.9% gain. Strength in the sector continues to be underpinned by banks, which advanced 1.7%, as measured by the KBW Bank Index. The KBW is up nearly 5% this week.

Leadership from the financial sector helped the stock market close at its session high, which is actually in-line with the S&P 500's 52-week closing high. The high has acted as a point of resistance in recent sessions.

While the close looked strong, volume was unimpressive as fewer than 1 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE. Such a scenario is often considered a sign of little conviction.

Advancing Sectors: Financials (+0.9%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.6%), Materials (+0.5%), Health Care (+0.4%), Tech (+0.4%), Telecom (+0.4%), Industrials (+0.3%), Utilities (+0.3%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: (None)
Unchanged: Energy

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are climbing to session highs as the dollar index is reaching session lows.

In the commodity space, May copper closed 0.7% higher at $3.38 pound. Copper futures spiked following news that another aftershock struck copper rich Chile. However, a report from Codelco stating there was no damage to any of its mines tempered the move to the upside.

Precious metals had a relatively quiet day after the move to the downside in the prior session. A decline in the dollar index allowed both gold and silver futures to move higher following early losses. April gold traded in narrow range. After hitting a session low at $1110.50 per ounce in the morning, it closed flat at $1108.20 per ounce. May silver closed 0.8% higher at $17.16 per ounce.

Crude oil futures also opened the pit trade lower but worked their way back to the flat line as the dollar weakened. April crude oil closed essentially flat at $82.11 per barrel.

Natural Gas futures sold off following an in-line inventory report this morning. April natural gas closed 2.4% lower at $4.45 per MMBtu. Natural gas this session hit its lowest levels since November 24 at $4.42 per MMBtu.

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are little changed as they head into the final hour of the session. Action has been lackluster all afternoon; in fact, the S&P 500 has traded within a four-point range for the past five hours.

A handful of companies are scheduled to report their latest quarterly results after the close. Aeropostale (ARO 27.00), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN 5.73, +0.02), and National Semiconductor (NSM 14.41, -0.42) are on the list.

[BRIEFING.COM] Consumer discretionary stocks make up the only major sector to trade with a gain. They are up just 0.1%, though.

Financials had been a relative leader earlier in the session, but the sector has since faltered. It is now in negative territory with a fractional loss. AIG (AIG 35.81, -0.43), which has been a primary leader among financials during recent sessions, has rolled over from a fourth-month high to trade in the red. Volume behind the stock is expanding.

[BRIEFING.COM] Results from a $13 billion auction of 30-year Bonds were released at 1:00 PM ET. The auction took a surprisingly good turn with buyers chasing the yield lower to 4.68% in an effort to grab the longer duration issue. The large chunk that went to the direct bidders was a record level, while indirects got significantly less-than-average at 23.9%. The auction's bid-to-cover ratio hit 2.89, which was well above the recent average of 2.47.

Treasuries pared their losses in the wake of the results. As such, the benchmark 10-year Note is down just one tick.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major equity averages have been stuck in negative territory for almost all of the session. The lackluster trade comes amid a lack of positive catalysts to keep buyers interested.

Stocks headed into this session with gains in eight of the past nine sessions, which combined for a near 4% gain and put the S&P 500 just below its 52-week high, which was set in mid-January. However, recent action has been generally range bound as stocks struggle to push to new highs.

Now that earnings season is grinding to an end, participants have been without market-moving corporate headlines. That has kept the focus on the dollar, data, and overseas developments.

This session, the dollar has danced along the unchanged line for most of the session. It, along with stocks, was unaffected by the latest dose of data, which showed an in-line initial jobless claims total of 462,000 for the week ended Mar. 6 and an unexpected dip in the January trade deficit to $37.3 billion.

A flurry of data also came out of China. Of primary concern, China reported sharper-than-expected increases in consumer and producer prices. That rekindled concern about tighter monetary policy in the country, which many have looked to as a leader in the global economic rebound.

Though there haven't been any key catalysts to guide participants this session, financials continue to display strength. The sector wavered in the early going, but has since recovered to trade with a 0.2% gain. That makes it the only major sector to trade with a gain at the moment. Regional banks (+1.6%) have underpinned the sector's strength this session.

Despite what has generally been lackluster action in the broader market, Treasuries remain under modest pressure. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note has climbed to 3.75%, which is a three-week high. The action comes ahead of the results from an auction of 30-year Bonds.

[BRIEFING.COM] Shares of Visa (V 91.83, +0.31) are on the retreat after they set a new 52-week high earlier this session. The company, which is hosting an Investor Day conference, reaffirmed earnings per share (EPS) growth of plus 20% through fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011. Visa expects to accelerate development spending in mobile, money transfer, and informational products and services in 2011. The company is actively seeking investment opportunities to expand its processing footprint outside of the U.S.

Though its strength is fading, Visa's shares remain in positive territory, unlike its close peer MasterCard (MA 248.05, -1.55), which has spent virtually the entire session in the red.

[BRIEFING.COM] There hasn't been much in the way of corporate news flow this morning. However, apparel and accessories retailer Hot Topic (HOTT 6.31, -0.24) reported for its latest quarter earnings of $0.18 per share, which was in-line with Wall Street's expectations. However, the company reported that it expects a modest loss for its first fiscal quarter.

Elsewhere in the retail space, Buckle (BKE 35.20, +0.61) reported for its latest quarter earnings of $0.90 per share, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.84 per share.

Overall, retailers are having a solid session. The group is up 0.3%, collectively.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices recently poked into positive territory, but resistance has increased to keep stocks just below the neutral line.

Financials haven't offered much leadership in recent action. During the early going financials looked like they would continue to provide support, but the sector has since been checked. It now trades with a fractional gain, which is generally in step with the broader market.

Despite lackluster action in the broader market, Treasuries remain under moderate pressure. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note has climbed to 3.75%, which is a three-week high. The action comes ahead of this afternoon's 30-year Bond auction results.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has recovered from its morning slide, such that the major indices now trade at the unchanged mark. The move comes as the dollar pulls back into negative territory to trade with a fractional loss.

The market's upward move has been quite kind to retailers, which are now up a collective 0.5%. That has underpinned a 0.2% gain among consumer discretionary stocks.

However, tech stocks are up the most. The sector currently boasts a 0.3% gain.

[BRIEFING.COM] Pressure has picked up a bit to take stocks another leg lower. Though the dip has been broad based so that all 10 sectors are now in the red, the overall scope of the slide remains relatively moderate.

While the broader market is down modestly, materials stocks are under considerable pressure. The sector is down 0.9% as steel stocks slide to a 1.1% loss and diversified metals and miners fall 1.4%. However, news of another earthquake in Chile could cause some price action in those stocks since Chile is a leading copper producer.

Early movers: Trading up -- SMTX +61.8%, TEAR +37.6%, TVL +10.8%, TRIB +10.2%, PUDA +9.4%, GEOY +9.3%, IMAX +8.2%, ATAI +7.8%, GYMB +7.5%, SNV +6.9%; Trading down -- YUII -22.8%, FMR -15.3%, JTX -14.5%, CSR -14.4%, WG -10%, BLT -8.8%, INOD -8.1%, ZAGG -8.1%, CLRT -7.6%

[BRIEFING.COM] The broader market is under a mild fit of pressure in the early going, but financials continue to trade with strength. The sector is up 0.2% at the moment; it is the only major sector in positive ground.

Strong gains in recent sessions have given the financial sector considerable momentum heading into this session. Including their modest move into the green this morning, the sector is up 1.7% week-to-date, whereas the broader market is up just 0.3% during that time. AIG (AIG 37.12, +0.88) has been a primary leader for the financial sector in recent sessions; its shares are up more than 30% week-to-date.

[BRIEFING.COM] In the absence of any broader market catalysts, financials and tech issues led the major indices to varied gains in the face of choppy trade.

This morning's mood was generally subdued, but stocks were able to stage an early advance as financials garnered support in the face of news that some Senate Democrats will propose to expand the Volker Rule with new limits on proprietary trading by banks and nonbank financial firms.

Citigroup (C 3.96, +0.14) was a strong performer amid news that it has issued a $2 billion trust preferred offering. Renowned analyst Dick Bove also issued positive comments on the stock. Meanwhile, widely-followed financial analyst Meredith Whitney gave positive grades to Visa (V 91.52, +1.37) and MasterCard (MA 249.60).

Banks were among the best overall performers in the sector as regional banks scored a 2.9% gain and diversified banks climbed 1.8%. The KBW Bank Index closed 2.2% higher.

Tech stocks also displayed relative strength, which helped take the Nasdaq Composite to a fresh 52-week high. The Nasdaq has advanced in eight of the past nine sessions, outperforming its counterparts in each of the past three sessions.

The S&P 500 has also advanced in eight of its last sessions, but it ran into resistance when it came within striking distance of its 52-week high, which was set in mid-January. Failure to push through resistance left stocks to roll over and surrender gains.

Buyers stepped in to help stocks recover from their slide, but the broad-based S&P 500 remains roughly five points shy of its high.

In the week's first dose of data, wholesale inventories for January slipped 0.2% when a 0.2% increase had been expected. Though the decline can undermine GDP, some suggested that it could be indicative of stronger-than-expected demand.

The Treasury's budget statement for February showed a deficit of $220.9 billion, which was essentially in step with the $222.0 billion consensus, but deeper than the $193.9 billion deficit that was recorded in February 2009.

Neither the Treasury statement nor the wholesale inventory data did anything for stocks.

In a widely-watched $21 billion auction of 10-year Notes, bidders showed up in strong numbers, such that the bid -to-cover ratio was just shy of 3.5, which is well above recent averages. The indirect bid was relatively modest, though; it came in at 35.1%. The benchmark 10-year Note settled slightly lower, but that kept its yield a few basis points above 3.70%.

A mixed finish for commodities gave the CRB Commodity Index a fractional loss. Gold was a primary source of weakness -- it settled 1.3% lower at $1108.20 per ounce. Oil prices gained 0.7% to close pit trade at $82.09 per barrel. Oil prices had traded around $83 per barrel, which marked a multiweek high, in the wake of a smaller-than-expected inventory build of 1.43 billion barrels.

Trading volume on the NYSE hit its highest level in nearly two weeks by totaling 1.14 billion shares. That also put it above its 50-day moving average of 1.09 billion shares.

Advancing Sectors: Financials (+1.1%), Tech (+0.8%), Energy (+0.6%), Industrials (+0.4%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.3%), Health Care (+0.1%), Utilities (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Staples (-0.2%), Telecom (-0.1%), Materials (-0.1%)