What a Week: Blue Crush

"These are disconcerting signs for the bulls," says Joe Sunderman, director of trading at Schaeffer Research. "We were just starting off the earnings season, and obviously we're not starting on the right foot."

Amid evidence of slowing growth, investors rotated out of cyclical stocks. As oil prices continued to slide, energy issues and other cyclicals were shunned. If you were looking for a safe haven, health care and biotech issues were it. The S&P healthcare index gained 1.1% during the week.

Abbott Labs(ABT Quote) shares gained on the meager strength of in-line first-quarter earnings, released Tuesday.

There was little respite elsewhere, however, as major tech players sent paranoia through the system amid heightened fears of a slowdown in business spending.

IBM provided the biggest shock, posting unexpectedly early and unexpectedly bad results Thursday after the close.

On Wednesday, AMD(AMD Quote) likewise spooked the markets with bad results. The same day, ASML Holding(ASML Quote) -- the world's biggest chip-equipment maker -- issued a profit warning and the Semiconductor Equipment Association said semiconductor gear sales dropped for the first time in almost two years.

When the future's uncertain, it's hard to focus on anything positive. Even Apple's(AAPL Quote) shares were shunned before and after the computer and Ipod maker posted stellar earnings on Wednesday. Similarly, General Electric's(GE Quote) and Citigroup's(C Quote) solid earnings did little to lift overall sentiment.

"If we see oil prices continuing to slide and perhaps some decent earnings next week, then we could see a turnaround on Monday. But momentum to the downside is very strong," cautions Schaeffers' Sunderman, who's been short- and long-term bearish for quite some time.

Oil did continue to slide this week, edging towards the key $50 per barrel level, in Nymex trading. Crude for May delivery have fallen about 13% from record highs of above $57 a barrel two weeks ago.