4:15 pm : Equities ended today's session on their lows as global growth concerns reemerged. The three major indices all lost 0.9%, but the underperformance of small cap stocks was notable as the Russell 2000 slid 2.5%.

Although most markets across the globe were closed in observance of Labor Day, some countries continued reporting their economic data.

China reminded investors of its importance to the global economy as the decline in the country's Manufacturing PMI (50.6 actual, 50.9 prior, 51.0 consensus) along with a disappointing U.S. ISM Index (50.7 actual, 51.3 prior, 51.0 consensus) pressured commodities and commodity-related sectors.

As a result, energy and materials both ended with losses near 1.7%. Crude oil settled lower by 2.7% at $90.95 after today's inventory report revealed that crude stockpiles climbed to 6.696 million barrels, a record high dating back to 1982 when the Energy Information Administration began tracking the data.

Meanwhile, the materials sector declined throughout the day as related metals sold off. Gold futures fell 1.1% to $1455.90 per troy ounce after being down as much as 2.1% intraday. Meanwhile, copper was unable to bounce off its lows as the red metal declined 3.8% to $3.068 per pound.

The relative weakness of gold pressured miners as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 29.65, -0.71) settled lower by 2.3%. Steelmakers also displayed weakness throughout the day, and the Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 41.56, -0.87) slumped 1.9%. Disappointing manufacturing data from China and the U.S. weighed on the group, and Alcoa's (AA 8.43, -0.07) announcement of a possible curtailment of its smelting capacity reflected the

6:59AM Plains Exploration beats by $0.23, beats on revs (PXP) 45.16 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.23 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.82; revenues rose 135.0% year/year to $1.23 bln vs the $1.2 bln consensus.

• Total daily sales volumes averaged 170.4 thousand barrels of oil equivalent, a 92% increase per diluted share compared to first-quarter 2012
• Oil daily sales volumes averaged 129.2 thousand barrels, a 158% increase per diluted share compared to first-quarter 2012
• Phobos discovery well announced, encountering ~250 net feet of high-quality lower Tertiary oil pay in the Gulf of Mexico

6:58AM Liquidity Services reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; reaffirms FY13 EPS guidance (LQDT) 32.53 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 3.7% year/year to $130.32 mln vs the $140.14 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.49-0.54 vs. $0.55 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co reaffirms guidance for FY13, sees EPS of $1.90-2.02 vs. $1.96 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:45AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

• JAKKS Pacific (JAKK) has expanded its worldwide agreement with Lucasfilm to include the Revenge of the Sith 501st Legion Clone Trooper and Shock Trooper to its 31" Giant Figure lineup.
• R. R. Donnelley & Sons (RRD) has been awarded a multi-year multi-million dollar agreement to provide catalog services to AmeriMark Direct and its Dr Leonard's Healthcare business. The agreement extends and significantly expands the cos' relationship.