Today's session started on a higher note after the nonfarm payrolls report exceeded expectations, and pointed to 171,000 jobs added during October. However, the bullish sentiment faded quickly, and the major averages headed into the red. The S&P 500 crossed its flat line 60 minutes into the session and held just below that level for the remainder of the morning. The afternoon brought out additional sellers as the index headed further into negative territory before ending with a loss of 0.9%. The afternoon weakness was largely driven by Apple (AAPL 576.80, -19.74) which lost 3.3%.

Stocks in the materials space saw the biggest weakness. Looking deeper into the sector, packaging and mining stocks underperformed. Rock-Tenn (RKT 67.49, -7.03) slid 9.4% after reporting mixed earnings. During the fourth quarter, the package manufacturer earned $1.39, which was $0.02 better than the Capital IQ consensus estimate. However, RKT's revenue of $2.35 billion was below analyst expectations. The management commented on the past quarter by saying that a containerboard price hike was implemented, and its full effects are not expected to be realized until the end of the March quarter. Peer AptarGroup (ATR 49.49, -3.64) slumped 6.9% after beating revenue estimates and missing on earnings.

Among miners, Newmont Mining (NEM 48.74, -4.48) lost 8.4% after the company's earnings of $0.86 and revenue of $2.48 fell short of the Capital IQ consensus forecast.

Also of note, steel stocks were broadly weaker. Worthington (WOR 21.43, -1.26), and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 36.27, -1.45) saw respective losses of 5.6% and 3.8%.

Consumer discretionary stocks outperformed due to strong earnings from several components. Priceline (PCLN 634.74, +48.64) spiked 8.3% after beating on the top and bottom lines. The travel site operator reported earnings of $12.40, which was $0.58 ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. Meanwhile, the third quarter revenue of $1.71 billion represented a 17.4% year-over-year increase, and was ahead of analyst expectations. Regarding the upcoming quarter, the company expects its earnings to be in-line with expectations. Peer TripAdvisor (TRIP 35.12, +5.71) jumped 19.4% after reporting earnings of $0.46, which was $0.04 ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. The company's revenue was in-line with expectations.

Starbucks (SBUX 50.84, +4.22) rose by 9.1% after reporting mixed earnings. During the fourth quarter, the coffee shop operator earned $0.46, which was $0.01 ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. However, the company's revenue of $3.36 billion did not meet expectations. SBUX management said it continues to target roughly 10-13% revenue growth and it plans to open 1,300 new stores during fiscal-year 2013.

Elsewhere, Ralph Lauren (RL 160.75, +1.71) added 1.1% after beating on earnings and revenue. The company reported earnings of $2.45, which was $0.29 better than the Capital IQ consensus estimate. Revenue of $1.86 billion was also ahead of analyst estimates. In addition, the company anticipates third quarter net revenue below consensus.

Looking at social media stocks, Yelp (YELP 20.51, -3.52) slid 14.7% despite beating on earnings. The company's revenue of $36.4 million was in-line with the September preannouncement, and ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. Regarding fourth quarter revenue, the company expects a top line result between $40 and $40.5 million.

OpenTable (OPEN 45.30, -2.06) slipped 4.4% despite beating on the bottom line. The company's earnings of $0.42 were $0.06 better than the Capital IQ consensus forecast while its revenue $39.74 was in-line with expectations. Following the earnings report, The Benchmark Company raised its price target for OPEN to $52 from $49.

One year ago, Groupon (GRPN 3.83, -0.20) began trading as a public company. Today, the stock fell 5.0% and traded at an all-time low.

Focusing on companies which made their public debut today, Restoration Hardware (RH 31.10, +7.10) settled 29.6% above its initial public offering price of $24.

Two energy stocks also began trading publically today. Southcross Energy Partners (SXE 22.35, +2.35) gained 11.8% after its 9-million share IPO was priced at $20, which was in-line with the expected range. Meanwhile, Delek Logistics Partners (DKL 22.35, +1.35) advanced 6.4% after shares priced at $21, which was at the high end of the expected price range.

In today's economic data, nonfarm private payrolls added 184K against the 130K consensus. The unemployment rate was reported at 7.9%, in-line with expectations.

Hourly earnings were unchanged while the expectations called for an uptick of 0.2%. Meanwhile, the average workweek was reported at 34.4, which was slightly lower than the 34.5 expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

Week in Review: Hurricane Sandy Cancels Two Days of Trade

On Monday and Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange was closed due to Hurricane Sandy.

Wednesday's session started on a strong note. However, the bullish sentiment failed to hold as major averages began sliding off their highs shortly after the open. The key indices then marked their respective lows in the early afternoon before rallying in the final hour to finish mixed. The S&P 500 finished flat, while Nasdaq lost 0.4%. OPNET Technologies (OPNT 41.71, -0.04) surged 31.0% after entering into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Riverbed Technology (RVBD 18.90, +0.10). Per the agreement, Riverbed will pay $43 per share, representing a 34.0% premium to OPNET's Friday closing price.

On Thursday, equities began the day with a bullish sentiment as the three major averages spent the first 90 minutes on a steady upward climb. After reaching session highs, the S&P 500 leveled off and held its gains into the afternoon before ending with a gain of 1.1%. However, the biggest tech component, Apple (AAPL 576.80, -19.74), underperformed with a gain of just 0.2%.