Markets Close Down 17th Time in Last 19 Mondays

The headline says all you need to know.

Stocks spent the entire day languishing in a narrow, negative range, on really ugly volume (it was, after all, a (half)holiday, Columbus Day), but pared early losses to finish marginally down, except for the NASDAQ, which was dragged down considerably by Apple (AAPL).

Other than the usual Monday blues, there was no economic data to report as traders await third quarter earnings reports, which will be kicked off by Alcoa (AA) Tuesday after the bell.

There's some noise coming from Europe, which may not be all good. The first meeting of the ESM was today, though the ministers spent most of the time arguing about just how big Europe's main bailout fund should be.

Here's a clue for them all: whatever you decide on, it will not be enough.

Dow 13,583.65, -26.50 (0.19%)
NASDAQ 3,112.35, -23.84 (0.76%)
S&P 500 1,455.88, -5.05 (0.35%)
NYSE Composite 8,358.86, -25.21 (0.30%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,173,675,250
NYSE Volume 2,305,869,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2020-3386
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 174-51
WTI crude oil: 89.33, -0.55
Gold: 1,775.70, -5.10
Silver: 34.02, -0.555