Are You a Bull or a Bear? Vote in Our Poll

The market continues to baffle investors. Where do you think it's headed next week? Please vote in our survey below.

Stocks in New York had an erratic session before ending lower Friday, as optimism surrounding the probability of more rate cuts had to contend with another sign the U.S. economy is in danger of sliding into, or already in, a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 100 earlier, rebounded to go positive, then proceeded to slide by more than 200 points. At the close, the index had fallen 146.70 points, or 1.2%, to 11,893.69. The S&P 500 was down 10.97 points, or 0.8%, at 1293.37, and the Nasdaq was off 8.01 points, or 0.4%, at 2212.49.

Breadth was poor. Roughly 4.48 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, and some 2.38 billion traded on the Nasdaq. Decliners outpaced advancers 3 to 2.

All three major averages were down substantially for the week thanks especially to the last couple of brutal sessions. Since Monday, the Dow slid 3%, the S&P lost 2.8%, and the Nasdaq gave back 2.6%.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting