China's Surprising Reserve Rate Rise, Points to Bulls' Demise

After getting some clarity on whether Eurozone leaders will provide support to help the deficit problems in Greece, stocks are under pressure in morning action following a surprise rate hike out of China, which is dampening optimism about the global economic recovery. The uneasiness following China's actions is overshadowing a larger-than-expected rise in US retail sales in January. Treasuries are higher as the equity markets slide, and ahead of reports on consumer sentiment and business inventories. In equity news, Agilent Technologies topped the Street's profit expectations, while Ingersoll-Rand missed analysts' earnings forecasts. Overseas, Asia was higher before China's announcement, and Europe has pared early gains following the news out of China.