YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: The stock market's six-session streak of gains ended in dramatic fashion as the S&P 500 suffered its worst percentage loss in two months following news that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has levied a charge against Goldman Sachs.

Moderate weakness in the early going became something much worse with midmorning news that the SEC has charged Goldman Sachs (GS 160.70, -23.57) and one of the company's vice presidents with fraud related to subprime securities. Goldman Sachs saw some $12 billion, or 13%, of its market cap evaporate. Concern that other investment banks and brokerages may be implicated led the group to a 9.4% loss. That undercut the broader financial sector, which fell 3.8% in its worst slide since February.

While selling was the worst among financials, more than 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 retreated into the red. Most market participants wanted to lock in profits after they had watched the S&P 500 climb nearly 4% over the course of the previous 10 sessions, 7 of which marked improved 52-week highs.

Not even better-than-expected earnings from blue chips Google (GOOG 550.15, -45.15), Bank of America (BAC 18.41, -1.07), and General Electric (GE 18.97, -0.53) could keep sellers at bay this session. Participants initially responded to reports from the trio with mixed interest as many believed plenty good news had already been built in to the share prices. Some wanted more in the way of improved outlooks.

Economic data was split between positive and negative. Housing starts for March hit an annualized rate of 626,000, which was more than the rate of 610,000 that had been expected and the highest rate in more than one year. Building permits for March came in at an annualized rate of 685,000, which was above the rate of 625,000 that had been expected and was also the highest rate in more than one year.

On the other side of things, the preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan came in at 69.5, which was not only below the 75.0 that had been widely expected, but it was also the worst reading since November.

The drastically soured tone turned some to Treasuries. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note saw its yield slip to 3.76%, which is roughly 25 basis points below where it sat about two weeks ago.

Market weakness and a stronger dollar pressured a broad range of commodities this session. The effort culminated in a 1.2% loss for the CRB Commodity Index.

News that the SEC has brought fraud charges against Goldman Sachs (GS 160.15, -24.12) led to a wave of selling in the broader market. Ensuing volatility helped the dollar secure its gain, such that the Dollar Index remains 0.4% higher.

Precious metals were under some of the stiffest pressure. Gold prices dropped 2.0% to $1137 per ounce, while silver slumped 4.1% to settle at $17.68 per ounce.

Oil prices were pushed 2.7% lower to $83.24 per barrel. It had been as low as $82.52 per barrel.

Natural gas was independent of the other primary commodities. Contract prices managed to make their way 1.6% higher to $4.05 per MMBtu.

Volatility also spiked in response to this session's selling. The Volatility Index, often euphemistically dubbed the Fear Index, spiked approximately 15%. Amid such action, many have come to question whether the stage has been set for a larger correction or if money will start to move in from the sidelines.

Trading volume surged to its highest level in nearly one month, but it is unclear how much of that is owed to this session's negative headlines since this was an options expiration session.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Financials (-3.8%), Materials (-1.8%), Industrials (-1.6%), Energy (-1.5%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.4%), Tech (-1.4%), Utilities (-1.1%), Telecom (-0.8%), Health Care (-0.6%), Consumer Staples (-0.3%) DJ30 -125.91 NASDAQ -34.43 NQ100 -1.3% R2K -1.3% SP400 -1.2% SP500 -19.54 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 726/2.85 bln/1962 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 571/1.75 bln/2465