The modest move in today's U.S. trading session belies the beating that the European markets took.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 13,413, -44.0, -0.3 percent

S&P 500: 1,433, -8.2, -0.5 percent

NASDAQ: 3,093, -24.0, -0.7 percent
And now the top stories:
  • Investors in European stocks where happy to see markets those markets close today.  While markets closed off of their lows, they still got crushed.  Italy sank 3.3 percent. Spain tanked 3.9 percent and its borrowing costs surged.  Spain is waiting for its leaders to unveil the country's new budget.  But everyone expects it to come with harsh spending cuts.  Spaniards took to the streets in protest again today.  Greece's two largest labor unions also went on strike today, and things got violent. 

  • The German stock market also took it on the chin today, falling 2 percent.  The largest economy in Europe went into the debt markets to sell 5 billion euros worth of bonds, but they were only able to sell 3.19 billion euros worth.  Furthermore, their borrowing costs jumped to 1.52 percent from a 1.42 percent at a prior auction for similar debt. 

  • Today's new home sales report was mixed.  Sales unexpectedly fell 0.3 percent to 373k.  However, the median price was at a 5-year high.

  • The U.S. trading session was uneven with the Dow selling off modestly and tech stocks taking it on the chin. The biggest loser in the S&P 500 was Jabil Circuit, which missed earnings and issued weak guidance.

  • Despite the sell-off in the tech sector, U.S. stocks continue to be remarkably resilient.  BMO Capital's Brian Belski told Bloomberg's Tom Keene this morning that at least some of this resilience has to do with under-invested fund managers trying to play "catch-up" as the third quarter comes to a close.  This type of behavior is sometimes referred to aswindow-dressing.