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The market closed mostly lower on the day as investors took profits and awaited earnings reports to guide the market action over the next few weeks. The Dow closed lower by 22 points and the S&P 500 finished lower by 5 points, or 0.32%. The Nasdaq bucked the trend and finished with a gain of 7 points.

The technology sector was the only major sector higher on the day. Energy stocks were leaders to the downside today.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) led the large cap tech stocks higher today, gaining nearly 4% on the day. The stock charged into the close, gaining about 2 points in the final 20 minutes of trading. Research in Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) continued its charge higher from its earnings last week, gaining 3.78% today. VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) shares jumped by 4.35%, closing at a new all time high. Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq:BRCM) shares shot higher by 5.82% after news that Samsung will use its chips in 3G phones. Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:JAVA) rose by 4.31% on the day.

Energy stocks closed lower as lower crude prices and profit-taking took a toll on the sector. Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) closed lower by 3.26% as equipment and services companies took a hit today. Transocean Inc. (NYSE:RIG) fell by 2.65% as offshore drillers were under pressure. National-Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) fell 3.19% on the day. One notable exception to the rule in the energy sector was Valero Corporation (NYSE:VLO), which traded higher by 3.54% after receiving an analyst upgrade.

As we noted here on Friday, the volume was light today as it was Columbus Day here in the United States. The Nasdaq traded only 1.5 billion shares on the day. Decliners outnumbered advancers on both exchanges, but new highs outpaced new lows.

Tommorrow we will receive the FOMC minutes from September's meeting which moved the markets so much. It will be interesting to see just exactly what the Federal Reserve based its decision upon.

As a side note, in the next few days posts will probably be slower and shorter than normal as I am in the process of moving. I'll keep the posts coming as often as I can.