Market Commentary for March 02, 2007

The Bears maintained control of the markets today moving them lower into the red zone, as the session moved forward and into the close. Trading volume was moderate with fair trading ranges although, in the early session, trading was some what listless as it appeared that direction for the day was undecided.At the end of the trading day, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW(Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved lower today by 120.24 points to end the session at 12114.10; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved lower by 116.30 points to end at 8957.97; the NASDAQ moved lower by 36.21 points to close at 2368.00; the S&P 500 moved lower by 16.00 points to end at 1387.17 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 15.59 points to close at 757.83.The FTSE All-World Index ex-US (top Large/Mid Cap aggregate from over 2,700 stocks from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) which covers 90% of the worlds investable market capitalization) moved lower by 1.05 to close at 236.52 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved lower by 56.63 points to close at 5852.33.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, William Poole commented today: some quick Yen carry trade unwinding is visible; Greenspan recession comment not trigger for market fall; current Stock Market valuation not `elevated'; this week's stock Market declines not `huge issue'; China Monetary policy closely tied to U.S.; economic views not changed by recent events; does not see a recession coming; U.S. has had 'substantial overall price stability'; energy surge need not thwart Fed inflation oals;'misguided' to tie energy prices to inflation; higher energy prices largely due to demand; recent oil gains came in low-inflation economy; inflation can be kept low regardless of oil prices and energy shocks need not create recessions.

Economic data released for the day:

Consumer Sentiment: 500 households are surveyed by The University of Michigan's Consumer Survey Center, on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. The strength of consumer spending is directly related to consumer sentiment. University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment reported today: University Michigan End of February Sentiment came in at 91.3 compared to January reading of 96.9; End of February Current Index came in at 106.7 compared to January reading of 111.3; End of February Feb Expectations came in at 81.5 compared to January reading of 87.6; End of February Expectations came in at 81.5 compared to January reading of 87.6 and University Michigan Preliminary February Sentiment Was 93.3.

On the commodities markets, the trend was lower across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.36 today to close at $61.64 a barrel; Heating Oil closed lower today by $0.01 at $1.77 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.05 today to end at $7.24 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed lower by $0.01 today to end the session at $1.90 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved strongly lower by $21.00 to close at $644.10 an ounce; Silver closed lower today by $0.69 at $12.66 an ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower today by $33.40 to close at $1,211.80 an ounce and Copper ended the day lower by $0.05 to close at $2.71 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was higher across the board today: Lean Hogs closed higher by 0.23 to close at 66.35 Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 0.53 to close at 104.63; Live Cattle closed higher by 1.50 to end the day at 97.65 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 1.23 to close at 107.23.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower again today by 7.00 points to end at 421.00 and Soybeans moved lower again today by 8.50 to close at 753.50.

The end of day results for the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) which is comprised of the total Exchange Volume for Futures and Options (EVFO) including Electronic, Open Auction and Cash Exchange ended the day at 6,646,646 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 7,804 to close at 9,391,300 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 84,060 to close at 6,345,699 for a total Open Interest of 15,738,449 for a total gain on the day by 91,864.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed higher by 4/32 at 100 12/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 6/32 at 100 24/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 1032 at 100 28/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 14/32 at 101 18/32.

The mini Dow ended the session today with a loss of 90 to close at 12162. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 283,896 which are comprised of Electronic, Open Auction and Cash Exchange. Traders should review workshops available at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) Educational in-person seminars schedules available on CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) website.

New York Stock Exchange movers for the day: AMN Healthcare Services Incorporated (AHS) fell sharply lower by 15.06% to shed 4.18 points on the day to close at $23.57; Greif Incorporated (GEF) fell by 6.33 points to end the day at $110.58; Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated (ICE) plummeted by 12.00 points for a closing price on the day at $138.58; iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell by 6.41 points to end the session at $128.99 and streetTRACKS Gold Trust (GLD) shed 2.14 points to end the day at $63.69.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,052; decliners totaled 2,005; unchanged came in at 130; new highs came in at 39 and new lows came in at 108. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ:

Gulf Island Fabrication Incorporated (GIFI) fell sharply today by 9.12 points to shed 25.38% for a closing price at $26.82; Transaction Systems Architects Incorporated (TSAI) moved lower by 3.79 points to give up 10.83% for a close at$31.20; Google Incorporated (GOOG) lost 9.40 points to end the day at $438.83;

Focus Media Holding Limited (FMCN) shed 4.05 points for a closing price at $73.39 and Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) gave up 4.03 points to end at $102.19 for the day.

Thanks for reading.
Millennium-Traders