The S&P cash index closed lower by 6.40 points or .61% at 1044.38. The S&P mini futures contract closed at 1041.00 — 4.75 points off it’s low print of 1036.25, which was printed just after 10AM PST.

ES - 15 Minute

Overnight, credit spreads in Asia were wider by 9% on bearish news out of Aiful as well as a 30% dilutive secondary offering out of Nomura Holdings (8604.TSE). In the states, credit spreads were wider across the board. Default swaps were active with about 7 wideners to every tightener.

Gold came into the week at $1,006.15/oz. and closed slightly lower at $991.35/oz. Crude oil closed a tad higher today, but lower on the week to settle at $65.05. Crude has broken lower out of consolidation in what could be a harbinger of further weakness in the near term.

Crude Oil - Weekly

Research In Motion closed lower by 17% at $68.91, just above it’s low print of $68.47.
The $VIX closed at 25.61, up 2.65% on the day.

I’d sum up this week’s trade in equities as mildly distributive. I saw evidence of defensive posturing (risk aversion) amongst traders. In order for the sell-off to gain momentum, we will need a catalyst. What that catalyst could be is yet to be known. The situation will continue to be monitored and the beat will go on.

The S&P cars roared out of the gate and climbed a few points on euphoria from the better than expected employment claims headline: 530,000 versus 550,000 expected. 30 minutes after the open, existing home sales hit the wire and were light of expectations: 5.1 million Vs. 5.35 million expected or -2.7% month over month. After selling off, the market traded in a range for the remainder of the session, closing lower by 10.09 or just under 1%.

S&P 500 - September 24, 2009

Oil and gold mirrored weakness in equities as the dollar was well bid. Inversely, the Euro was weak.

US Dollar - 15 Minute

Volatility is beginning to pick up and closed higher by 6.22% at 24.95.

VIX - Daily

Credit spreads were wider across the board. US bonds were well bid. The 7 year $29 billion auction drew 3.005%, bid to cover ratio: 2.79 Vs. 2.63 prior. Indirect bidders took 61.2%. Even Rick Santelli — who grades on the curve — gave the auction an A.

After hours, Research In Motion (RIMM) traded lower on lighter than expected top line revenues and weak year over year margins: 44.1% Vs. 50.7% a year ago.

I have been cautious and positioned for risk aversion — strong dollar, weak equities and commodities. The market is pulling back and distribution is increasing. I will continue to watch how players react to the distribution. Whether this pullback will develop into something more meaningful is yet to be seen. For the short term, the path of least resistance is lower.

And the beat goes on.

The cash S&P 500 index closed lower by 1% or -10.79 points. The highlighted line in the chart below is the 15 minutes between 2:15 and 2:30 EST; The time of the fed announcement.

S&P Futures - 15 Minute

Initially the market traded higher, but the move was faded by the smart money. By 2:45 EST the market was on it’s way lower and sold off until the final 15 minutes.

Rates were expected to remain on hold at 25 bps and as widely expected the fed did not move the funds rate. There has been talk of the fed starting to reign in some of their easy money stance, and it was confirmed that the spigot will be tightened a bit. MBS purchases by the NY Fed will be smaller and not as frequent.

From what I could tell, the S&P traded lower on strength in the dollar. I continue to think a move higher in the USD will catch the majority off guard. If this happens, I am positioned to benefit.

As the dollar gained strength, and the S&P traded lower and the $VIX strengthened. In credit spreads, high yield and investment grade both closed at their respective wides of the day.

Volatility Index - VIX - 15 Minute

The intensity of the selling picked up today on the NYSE. Down volume was just about 76% of the total up/down volume.

I’ll be back at 9:30 AM EST or 6:30 AM PST.

Wherever I am, I will be there. And the beat will go on.

NY insurance regulator Hampton Finer is considering restricting Moody’s as a ratings agency.

“Insurers can hold certain securities without explicit regulatory approval if those investments are rated by an authorized firm.”

Watching Timothy Geithner.

He’s a decent poker player. He likely understands probabilities. He could use some help with bet sizing. He could use some work with sales. I’ve given him my opinion on a thing or two. He may make a decent cameo for the movie cc: theConsigliere et all