Market Commentary for March 12, 2007

The markets were rather sluggish today as we begin a fresh week of trading. Trading volume was light and trading ranges held firmly through out the session. The sub-prime lenders continue to take it on the chin, as little light can be seen through their tunnel. Into the close, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 42.30 points to end the session at 12318.62; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 25.94 points to end at 9120.93; the NASDAQ moved higher by 14.74 points to close at 2402.29; the S&P 500 moved higher by 3.75 points to end at 1406.60 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 3.88 points to close at 789.00. 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 higher by 0.53 to close at 239.62 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved higher by 17.44 to close at 5918.11.

Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Randall S. Kroszner commented today: can't be complacent on inflation; sees 'solid' productivity growth persisting; natural for profit margins to come down a bit; hard to find link between asset prices, inflation; not sure if market volatility at right level; market volatility still low historically; moderate inflation shouldn't lead to complacency; public expectations key to good monetary policy; shouldn't narrowly focus on economic slack and wants `Eclectic` approach to monetary policy.

Execution speed: Average Execution Speed on all marketable orders for NASDAQ process in 3.2 seconds versus NYSE marketable orders taking 7.5 seconds.

What is ‘Effective Spread’? A measure of the difference in price between what investors actually pay for a stock versus the average buy or sell price.

What is ‘Quoted Spread’? A measure of the difference in price between the advertised price versus the average buy or sell price.

Economic data released for the day: N/A

On the commodities markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $1.14 today to close at $58.91 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower by $0.03 to close at $1.68 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.08 today to end at $7.06 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.01 today to end the session at $1.91 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved lower by $1.70 to close at $650.30 an ounce; Silver closed higher today by $0.12 to end the session at $13.09 an ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $10.10 to close at $1,213.80 an ounce and Copper ended the day higher by $0.07 today to close at $2.85 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs closed with no change at 67.95; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 2.03 to close at 107.20; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.58 to end the day at 102.03 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.03 to close at 108.83.

Other Commodities: Corn moved much lower today by 8.25 points to end at 409.25 and Soybeans moved higher today by 5.25 to close at 765.00.

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 4,931,332 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 2,188 to close at 9,128,209 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 124,358 to close at 7,321,771 for a total Open Interest of 16,451,620 for a total gain on the day by 126, 527.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 100 7/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 7/32 at 100 17/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 9/32 at 100 17/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 13/32 at 100 26/32.

The mini Dow ended the session today with a gain of 21 to close at 12313. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 186,291 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: WellCare Health Plans Incorporated (WCG) moved higher by 3.22 points to close at $86.77 for the day; Sierra Health Services Incorporated (SIE) rallied by 15.73% to gain 5.64 points with a closing price of $41.54; Dollar General Corporation (DG) gained 4.29 points with an increase by 25.57% to end the day at $21.07; Brown Shoe Company Incorporated (BWS) fell 3.28 points to end at $47.69 for the session and Trina Solar Limited (TSL) moved higher by 4.04 points to end the day at $47.98.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,762; decliners totaled 1,275; unchanged came in at 147; new highs came in at 56 and new lows came in at 57. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: First Solar Incorporated (FSLR) made a nice run higher by 5.93 points for a gain of 11.39% for the day to close at $57.99; Accredited Home Lenders Holding Company (LEND) fell 17.05% for a loss of 2.69 points to close at $13.09 and Akamai Technologies Incorporated (AKAM) rose by 1.69 point to close at $52.10.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders