What's Next? Stock Charts Ravaged, But Bottom Of SPX Range Holds For Now

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the broader stock market's "fear gauge," is threatening the psychologically significant "20" reading. It was pushed there late Thursday as part of an all-out assault across the S&P 500's (SPX) 10 sectors. That begs the big question: Was that our healthy back-to-school haircut? Or was it a reset that will force the bulls (and the Federal Reserve) to take a good look at the globe? Stock sellers came up for air briefly overnight, lifting some bulls' hopes that Thursday's plunge—the deepest loss of the year so far—could be short-lived. But another Chinese red flag spoiled the bulls' night. Activity in the economic giant's factory sector fell to a 6 ½-year low in August. China's Shanghai Composite closed down 4.3%. Europe's broad stock averages technically flirted with correction territory on Friday, on track to log their worst week of 2015. As global stocks recoiled, "defensive" gold was up some 4% early Friday. Oil prices fell but are holding just above $41 a barrel. But check this out: Oil is on track to log its 8th straight losing week, a streak last seen in 1986. With Thursday's retreat, main U.S. stock indexes turned negative for the year. The S&P 500 (SPX), in figure 1, shed over 2% to close at 2,035. The move pushed SPX below the 200-day moving average, a key technical level. The index is on track to lose nearly 3% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($

) logged its worst day in 18 months on Thursday. But the tech-studded NASDAQ Composite fared worse. It shed 2.8% to close at 4,877—its steepest one-day drop since April 2014. The index is off more than 3% for the week so far.

The latest turn adds another layer of complexity to the Federal Reserve interest rate debate. Some analysts were quick to drop the odds of a September rate hike to below 50/50. Others think a September rate hike could still be a go because the Fed won't want to spook markets by looking too worried about global deflationary pressures. Still, most industry analysts do feel the U.S. economy is currently less likely to reach 2% core consumer inflation in the medium term. Low inflation could keep the Fed sitting on its hands.

earned $1.53 a share in its fiscal Q3, down from $2.33 a share a year earlier. But Wall Street was prepared. In fact, Deere's result topped the Street expectation for $1.42. Sales fell 20% to $7.594 billion, topping Street expectations for $7.21 billion. The company said these results "reflected the continuing impact of the downturn in the farm economy as well as lower demand for construction equipment." Deere expects Q4 equipment sales to fall about 24% from its year-ago comparison. Shares shed some 2% in the morning response to the report as investors worry about the continued drag from weakening global markets. This stock is up 2.5% in the year so far, outpacing the S&P 500's (SPX) 1.1% loss.

Tale of the old versus new tech economy? Shares of cloud computing firm

gained after it raised its full-year outlook.

slipped in early action Friday after the PC maker logged its 15th revenue drop in the past 16 quarters. Good trading, JJ