Markets slide Tuesday, Proctor & Gamble quarterly disappoints, Tech Stays Afloat

Markets traded lower ahead of the Federal Reserve Interest Rate decision. Consumer staple Proctor & Gamble (PG) was down about 4% as quarterly results disappointed the Street. Technology stayed flat as announcements of announcements from Google (GOOG) and super sales of Apple's (AAPL) Leopard Operating System lifted Techs.

As Halloween approached for the Children, adults focused on the other Wicked Witch of the West; The Federal Reserve. The Fed proved it can move markets tremendously with its last rate cut and Investors are expecting another .25% rate drop this time around. This will be the single biggest trading issue throughout the rest of the week.

Consumer staple Proctor & Gamble fell after it posted results and an outlook that disappointed Wall Street. Traders took the opportunity to get out of this defensive play near its 52-week high. Shares fell almost $3 or 4%. Not to say the selling was only in defensive plays, the expectations game caught up to Casino high fliers Wynn (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS). After starting the day higher, nearing $176/share, Wynn drifted lower, eventually closing down almost 3%. Results caused the stock to take a hit in the after market and Wynn gaped down another 5% to $159. While not yet reporting, LVS was hit by the general downtrend, losing 4% in the regular session and another 3% in after hours trading. Steady as a lion MGM Mirage (MGM) lost only a couple percentage points overall maintaining above $90/share.

In Technology news, Google and Apple were both making headlines. Apple announced that it had sold 2 Million copies already of its new Leopard Operating System in its first weekend of release. Pretty amazing considering that an OS upgrade is not something the typical computer user looks forward to, and also given the fact that there are only about 20 Million Mac systems that could upgrade to Leopard. Google announced an announcement of sorts. The Wall Street Journal reported that Google will soon be ready to announce its much anticipated mobile software plans. This was big news to investors and it caused the stock to gap higher approaching $700/share. In fact stopped mere cents from the milestone. Google's well documented attempt to purchase DoubleClick was given the okay in Australia paving the way for further OKs down the line from other Governments.

Tomorrow will bring with it further anticipation, uneasiness and fear regarding the Fed; Investors and Traders alike need to be aware and in fact ready for just about anything. This life brings with it few guarantees and the Stock Market brings even less.