Stocks Hammered In Final Minutes Of The Day

On Friday, things were looking mixed until the final moments of the day, and then stocks surged. Today, it was the reverse. After only being down modestly, stocks really got hit hard in the final 15 minutes of trading.
But first, the scoreboard:
Dow: -126 (-1.24%)
S&P 500: -14 (-1.29%)
NASDAQ: -15.49 (-0.7%)

And now to the day's top stories:
* Today's markets were characterized by calm selling, which is a departure from last week's panic selling, but also indicative of a new mindset that when there's no major news, the default is to sell. And then of course, the markets dove in the final minutes. See Deutsche Bank's cause for bullishness here >
* Financial stocks were hit the hardest, as banking fears grow, and questions about financial reform linger. Losers included Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) Click here to see the hedge fund managers getting hammered >
* An issues that's been of concern for some time -- Spanish debt and the health of its banking system -- is starting to come into the fore. This weekend Spain seized one bank, and today investors were unnerved by an organized merger of four weaker institutions. For more on the Spanish banking crisis see here >
* The oil leak in the Gulf continues to spew unabated. Towns in Louisiana are already seeing a major hit to real estate. See what Grand Isle Louisiana, arguably ground zero, looks like now >
* One notable winner today was gold which, after selling off last week, rebounded nicely today.
Index Close % Change
Dow 10193.84 +1.25
S&P 500 1087.72 +1.51
Nasdaq 2229.04 +1.14
Nasdaq 100 1822.77 +1.26
Russell 2000 649.49 +1.48
Sox Index 349.12 +2.5
Bank Index 50.39 +3.98
Dow Transports 4241.59 +1.95
Dow Utilities 361.8 +0.55
Nikkei 225 9784.54 -2.45
Gold - Front Month 1176.8 -0.99
Silver - Front Month 17.66 -0.28
Crude Oil 70.16 -0.9
Dollar Index 85.33 -0.8
Euro Spot 1.26 +0.76
Long Bond 20-year 124.59 +0.45
FOTM - Yen Spot 89.99 -0.34
5/21/2010 4:02 PM