Stocks were holding with slight losses until the president held another one of his daily crisis addresses followed by responses from the other side. Within minutes, stocks tumbled and selling continued steadily with prices closing near the low of the day. It seems that the public is getting tired of the talk and expects more than mere rhetoric from the Oval Office.

But a 0.41% dip in the S&P 500 is minor and of little consequence even if selling came at the end of a session. Stockholders have already proven that they are savvy enough to know that the dance of the politicians must go on until both sides tire of the tune. More importantly, no one, and especially not the president, wants to be named as the first chief executive of theUnited Statesto have lost the coveted AAA rating onU.S.bonds.

Thus far, 375 companies (as of Friday) have reported second-quarter earnings, and about 73% have beaten estimates. Industry analysts (according to Jeffrey Staut, the chief strategist at Raymond James) expect the S&P 500’s earnings in 2012 to come in at around $115. At today’s close, the index is selling at just 11.5 times next year’s earnings, and so my target for this year of 1,400, at only 12 times next year’s earnings, appears very attainable. Most analysts accept the theory that the market “discounts” 9-12 months into the future.

The first line of support for the S&P 500 is at the conjunction of its 20-day and 50-day moving averages at about 1,312, with ultimate support at the bottom of this year’s trading range at 1,260. If the dance of the politicians continues, we may still see some bargains emerge at the mid-point of the range at about 1,300.

Sellers appear to have less confidence in the U.S. dollar. It gapped down to $20.91 on the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE:UUP) breaking the support line of its triangle and setting the stage for a new run on commodities, a fact mentioned in yesterday’s Daily Market Outlook. But I cautioned that investors should focus “mainly on precious metals, copper and energy futures.”

Yesterday, copper, as portrayed in the chart of the PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund (NYSE:DBB), which consists of copper, aluminum and zinc, may be in the process of executing a series of breakaway gaps. If buyers follow through, we could even see a major break from its long-term trend as depicted in the weekly DBB chart. For DBB’s upside target, see the Trade of the Day.

• See Serge Berger’s Daily Market Outlook: Why Traders Shouldn’t Be Spooked By Sell-off
• See Sam Collins’ Trade of the Day: Base Metals Fund Gearing Up for Major Breakout