Market Commentary for March 15, 2007

Throughout the session trading volume was generally light with rather snug trading ranges. Comments from former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan added to the cautionary action in the markets today. Tomorrow day traders and investors face Quadruple witching, the third Friday of the month when stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures all expire. A day many traders treat as a holiday due to frequent Whipotile action. At the close, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 26.28 points to end the session at 12159.68; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 46.64 points to end at 9005.25; the NASDAQ moved higher by 6.96 points to close at 2378.70; the S&P 500 moved higher by 5.11 points to end at 1392.28 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 7.93 points to close at 783.61. 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 1.96 to close at 236.31 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved higher by 28.04 to close at 5852.64.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported today: La Nina may be forming, but not before July; La Nina Conditions can signal active hurricane season and April temperatures above normal in West, Central U.S.

New York Fed's March Manufacturing Index came in at 1.85 versus 24.35 in February; New York Fed March New Orders came in at 3.14 versus 18.93 in February; New York Fed March Employment came in at 11.37 versus 12.70 in February and New York Fed March Prices Received 10.47 versus 12.90 in February.

Comments form OPEC today: Agrees to hold current production unchanged; OPEC may meet again in June to review market; Qatar Oil Minister confirms OPEC holding production unchanged; OPEC to meet September 11 in Vienna, December 5 In Abu Dhabi – Qatar; Oil Market Volatility to continue in 2007; happy with compliance on OPEC output cuts; on-stream oil capacity 38 million barrels per day by 2010; oil demand for 2007 1.3M Barrels per day up on 2006 and members have 100 upstream projects worth $100 Billion.

Economic data released for the day:

Empire State Manufacturing Survey Index: A survey conducted by the New York Fed of manufacturers in the state of New York. The participants are from a variety of industries across the state and give their view of the likely direction of certain indicators, throughout the upcoming next six months. For the month of March, General Business Conditions Index Level came in at 1.9 compared to consensus of 16.00.

Jobless Claims: A weekly compilation of new unemployment claims to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The condition of the labor market is determined by an increase of the number of claims which suggests a deteriorating labor market. U.S. Jobless Claims for week of March 10th fell by 12K to 318K compared to survey of a drop by 3K and U.S. Weekly Continuing Claims for week of March 3rd, claims rose by 48K to 2,576,000.

Producer Price Index: A measure of the average price level for a fixed basket of consumer and capital goods paid by producers is the PPI. U.S. February Producer Prices rose by 1.3% versus consensus of an increase by 0.6%; U.S. February PPI Excluding Food and Energy rose by 0.4% versus consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. February PPI Intermediate Goods rose by 1.1%; U.S. February PPI Intermediate Goods Core rose by 0.2%; U.S. February PPI Crude Goods rose by 8.9%; .S. February PPI Crude Goods Core rose by 2.7%; U.S. February PPI Energy Prices rose by 3.5% and U.S. February Passenger Car Prices fell by 1.2% and U.S. January PPI unrevised at a drop by 0.6%.

Treasury International Capital: The flow of financial instruments into and out of the United States is tracked by this Treasury data. Tracking is included for: Treasury Securities, agency securities, corporate bonds and corporate equities. January Net Foreign acquisition of Long-Term U.S. Securities was $84.0 Billion; Net Foreign Capital Inflow to U.S. came in at $74.6 Billion in January; Net Foreign Buys of U.S. Treasury Notes and/or Bonds came in at $15.3 Billion in January; Net Foreign Buys of U.S. Agency Debt came in at $35.9 Billion in January; Net Foreign Buys of U.S. Corp Bonds came in at $43.2 Billion in January and Net Foreign Buys of U.S. Equities came in at $20.5 Billion in January.

EIA Natural Gas Report: Weekly information provided by the EIA (Energy Information Administration) on natural gas stock piles in underground storage in the United States and three regions of the country. Prices for natural gas products are determined by the level of inventories. For week of March 10th weekly change in Natural Gas supply fell by 115 Bcf.

Philadelphia Fed Survey: Philadelphia Federal Reserve district releases general conditions index from the business outlook survey which is a diffusion index of manufacturing conditions in the district. Philadelphia Fed March New Orders came in at 1.9 versus February drop by 0.5; March Employment came in at 2.3 versus February drop by 0.4; March Price Received came in at 16.3 versus February reading of 9.4; March Price Paid came in at 21.8 versus February reading of 15.8; March Business Index was expected at 4.2 and March Business Index came in at 0.2 versus February reading of 0.6.

On the commodities markets, the trend was lower across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.61 today to close at $57.55 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower by $0.02 to close at $1.69 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.10 today to end at $7.09 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed lower by $0.05 at $1.88 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved higher by $4.60 to close at $647.10 an ounce; Silver closed the day higher by $0.25 to end the session at $13.08 an ounce; Platinum moved nicely higher today by $14.70 to close at $1,215.70 an ounce and Copper ended the day with higher by $0.16 to close at $2.99 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs closed higher by 0.25 at 75.90; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 1.53 again today to close at 105.85; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.68 to end the day at 95.75 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.18 to close at 108.35.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower yet again today by 7.0 points to end at 397.75 and Soybeans moved lower today by 3.00 to close at 750.50.

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 5,476,375 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 109,531 to close at 9,320,450 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 174,156 to close at 7,710,099 for a total Open Interest of 17,032,201 for a total gain on the day by 283, 687.

Bonds were mixed across the board today: 2 year bond closed lower by 1/32 at 100 10/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 1/32 at 100 23/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 1/32 at 100 23/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 29/32 at 100 29/32.

The mini Dow ended the session at 12249. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 359,324 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 with the big boys were on the move today: Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (CME) plummeted today by a whopping 31.09 points for a closing price of $532.88 with a trading range of 42.99 points; CBOT Holdings Incorporated (BOT) rallied higher by 17.38% for a gain on the day of 28.86 points to end the session at $194.95; Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated (ICE) fell 3.83 points to end the day at $128.10; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) racked up 5.76 points on the session to end the day at $210.81 and NYMEX Holdings Incorporated (NMX) climbed higher by 5.86 points for a closing price of $133.42.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,886; decliners totaled 1,124; unchanged came in at 149; new highs came in at 47 and new lows came in at 53. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: USANA Health Sciences Incorporated (USNA) fell hard by 5.79 points to close at $52.97 for the day; WebEx Communications Incorporated (WEBX) posted a substantial gain of 10.29 points to rise by 22.29% for a close at $56.49; Asta Funding Incorporated (ASFI) gained 2.39 points to end the day at $39.71; Accredited Home Lenders Holding Company (LEND) moved higher by 3.19 points with an increase by 53.15% to end the day at $9.25 and MapInfo Corporation (MAPS) rallied by 51.25% to move higher by 6.77 points to close at $19.98 for the day.

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Millennium-Traders