By Greg Peel

The Dow closed down 105 points or 0.7% to 14,897 while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1642 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%.

It was another resilient performance on Bridge Street yesterday, aided by a rise in the S&P 500, propped up by the banks and assisted by some reasonable earnings reports, albeit not all of them. A weaker currency is also on Bridge Street's side, and as we speak the Aussie is trading below 90, down over a cent.

With earnings reports in focus, Australia is trying not to be overly influenced by Wall Street and the endless taper-talk but is also ignoring the current rout going on in the stock and bond markets of peripheral emerging markets. Countries such as India, Indonesia and Thailand are being gutted as foreign investment dollars flow out on fears the spigot of free Fed money is about to be turned off.