Market Reflections10/20/2009

A soft housing starts report that included a decline in permits sent the S&P down 0.6 percent to 1,091, offsetting a run of strong earnings reports led Tuesday by heavy equipment maker Caterpillar. The dollar index firmed slightly to 75.52. Commodities were little changed with oil ending at $78.50 and gold at $1,056. Money moved into Treasuries where the 10-year yield fell 5 basis points to 3.34 percent