Market Commentary for April 04, 2007

Trading was sluggish again today, as we move closer to Good Friday and the Easter holiday weekend just ahead. Trading ranges were apparently tight with light trading volume for day traders and investors. Here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 19.75 points to end the session at 12530.05; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 17.10 points to end at 9398.56; the NASDAQ moved higher by 8.36 points today for a close at 2458.69; the S&P 500 moved higher by 1.58 points to end at 1439.35 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 1.00 points to close at 810.77. 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 0.60 to close at 247.69 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved higher by 3.25 to close at 6050.54.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard W, Fisher commented today: Fed must remain vigilant on inflation; sees a symmetry to Fed's current outlook; happy with Fed's current stance; inflation 'running at too high a rate'; meeting Fed's mission should keep markets happy; Fed should not focus on any one asset class; productivity is currently key economic indicator; Central Banks better now at controlling inflation; credit spreads are very low; low 10-Year Yield shows confidence in Fed credibility; low 10-Year Yield shows confidence in U.S. economy; U.S. Unemployment Rate is low; housing market to be helped by more affordable housing; careful sub-prime regulatory response needed; many new market innovations not fully stress tested; market innovations may raise risk of big shock; markets generally better at assessing risk; less clear now whether housing downturn is over; housing still a drag on growth; U.S. consumption rates remain robust; sub-prime trouble reminds markets about risk; economy, markets can weather sub-prime troubles and sub-prime mortgage trouble 'largely contained'.

Department of Energy information released today: data overstates implied gasoline demand for weed that ended March 30; part of big gasoline stock drop happened previous week and total gasoline inventory level unaffected by data glitch.

Economic data released for the day:

MBA Purchase Applications: Compilation from the Mortgage Bankers’ Association of various mortgage loan indexes. This data is the leading indicator for single-family home sales as well as, housing construction. For week of March 30th, Purchase Index Level came in at 402.9.

Challenger Job-Cut Report: Corporate layoffs comprised in a monthly, not seasonally adjusted report which indicates a trend in the labor market. Challenger Job-Cut Report for the U.S. in March came in at 48,997, down 41.7% from February.

ADP Employment: This report is a national employment report computed from a subset of ADP records that cover roughly 225,000 business establishments and approximately 14 million employees. Macroeconomic Advisors was contracted by ADP to compute a monthly report to assist in predicting monthly non-farm payrolls from the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation covering private payrolls. ADP- Macroeconomic Advisers see March Payrolls of an increase by 106,000.

Factory Orders: Dollar level of new Factory Orders for both durable and non-durable goods. U.S. Factory Orders rose by 1.0% In February compared to consensus of an increase by 1.8%; February Factory Orders Excluding Transportation fell by 0.4%; February Factory Orders Excluding Defense rose by 1.0% and January Factory Orders were revised down by 5.7% from a drop by 5.6%.

ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey: Compiled from approximately 400 non-manufacturing firms from 60 sectors across the United States. Included in the survey are retail trade, construction, agriculture, mining, transportation, wholesale trade and communications. U.S. ISM March Non-Manufacturing Prices Index came in at 63.3 versus February reading at 53.8; U.S. ISM March Non- Manufacturing New Orders Index came in at 53.8 versus February reading of 54.8; February Durable Goods Revised to an increase by 1.7% from an increase by 2.5%; U.S. ISM March Non- Manufacturing Business Index came in at 52.4 versus February reading of 54.3; U.S. ISM March Non- Manufacturing Business Index was expected at 55.0 and U.S. ISM March Non- Manufacturing Employment Index came in at 50.8 versus February reading of 52.2.

EIA Petroleum Status Report: EIA (Energy Information Administration) provides weekly petroleum inventories in the United States whether they are produced here or abroad. Prices for petroleum products are determined by the level of inventories. Department Of Energy released Petroleum Status: U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles rose by 4.3 Million Barrels for the week compared to expectations of an increase by 1.7 Million Barrels; U.S. Gasoline Stockpiles fell by 5 Million Barrels for the week compared to expectations of a drop by 1.0 Million Barrels; U.S. Distillate Stockpiles unchanged for the week, compared to expectations of a drop by 700,000 Million Barrels and U.S. Refineries Ran At 87.0%; Seen Up 0.5 Pt. At 87.5%.

On the commodities markets, the trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $1.26 today to close at $64.38 a barrel; Heating Oil closed higher by $0.03 at $1.86 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher by $0.09 today to end at $7.52 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.07 at $2.08 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved higher by $7.70 to close at $677.40 an ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.19 to end the session at $13.62 an ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $6.60 to close at $1,258.90 an ounce and Copper ended the day higher by $0.07 to end at $3.39 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs closed lower by 0.48 at 75.60; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 1.45 to close at 99.83; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.55 to end the day at 95.55 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.03 to close at 111.50.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today by 13.00 points to end at 380.50 and Soybeans moved lower today by 2.75 to close at 761.00.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed higher by 2/32 at 99 26/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 99 26/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 5/32 at 99 26/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 98 17/32.

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 2,843,868 Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 122,488 to close at 9,607,902; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 34,537 to close at 7,386,385 and the Open Interest for OTC moved higher by 216 at 2,932 for a total Open Interest of 16,997,219 for a total loss on the day by 87,735.

The mini Dow ended the session surprisingly higher by 13 at 12593. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 128,928 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.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,021; decliners totaled 1,220; unchanged came in at 123; new highs came in at 224 and new lows came in at 31. New York Stock Exchange movers for the day today: Oxford Industries Incorporated (OXM) fell by 4.11 points to end the session at $46.13; Acuity Brands Incorporated (AYI) tacked on 5.46 points to end the day at $60.51; Robbins & Myers Incorporated (RBN) rallied higher by 15.88% to move higher by 6.07 points to close the day at $44.30; Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (CME) moved higher on the listed market today by 6.20 points to end the session at $557.10 and The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) plummeted lower by 4.52 points to shed 16.92% on the day for a final closing price of $22.20.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,520; decliners totaled 1,518; unchanged came in at 140; new highs came in at 95 and new lows came in at 63. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Monster Worldwide Incorporated (MNST) fell sharply by 13.52% for a loss on the day of 6.56 points to end at $41.95; Panera Bread Company (PNRA) gave up 2.47 points to close the market day at $57.74; P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (PFCB) shed 2.21 points to end the session at $42.15; BioVeris Corporation (BIOV) rallied higher by 7.14 points to gain 52.53% on the day for an end of day closing price at $20.74 and Leap Wireless International Incorporated (LEAP) gained 1.84 points on the day to close at $69.51.

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Millennium-Traders