STOCKS FALL: Here's What You Need To Know

Stocks made a move lower today. Still, the sell-off was modest and markets are within points of their all-time highs.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 15,736.7, -46.3, -0.2%
• S&P 500: 1,766.2, -5.6, -0.3%
• NASDAQ: 3,917.0, -2.7, -0.0%

And now the top stories:

• There wasn't a whole lot of market-moving news today. And for the most part, today's market action was nothing to write home about.
• Warning about an imminent stock market crash is en vogue. Many market bears have been making this argument for months and years. Among bears, the new fear is that this is an out right bubble, which means stocks could actually accelerate higher before crashing. "I continue to think that this bull market will end in an upside explosion," said the notably bearish newsletter writer Richard Russell. "I believe it is fated to go higher than anybody now believes."
• However, it's worth noting that interest rate and currency volatility has been returning to the emerging markets. The moves are reminiscent of the sell-offs triggered earlier this year by talk of the Fed tapering its quantitative easing program. "We see two risks ahead: the slowdown in global economic growth and the shift in US monetary policy, and both could trigger large capital outflows," warned Societe Generale's Patrick Legland.
• The National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index fell to 91.6 in October from 93.9 a month ago. "Washington paralysis is never good news for the economy, so it was no surprise that while politicians were arguing over whether or not the government should remain fully operational, small-business optimism measures deteriorated," said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.
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