Market Commentary for May 7, 2007

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the residents of Greensburg, Kansas after the horrific tornado struck this past weekend.

As we tread closer to the Memorial Day holiday at the end of this month, gas prices keep surging to higher highs, just in time for vacationers heading out on the first summer time holiday of the year. Apparently, problems with refineries are the culprit for the rise in gas prices.

The markets were rather quiet today with light trading volume and tight trading ranges. At the close a majority of the major indices were higher. Several major deals announced today provided for some nice gains for day traders as well as the investor. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher by 48.35 points to end the session at 13,312.97 which makes its first time ever close over 13,300 as well as in the last 27 sessions, its 24th trading day of gains; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a gain today of 32.09 points to end at 9,825.09; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 1.20 points today for a close at 2,570.95; the S&P 500 moved higher by 3.86 points to end at 1,509.48 just under its all time record higher of 1,527.46 set on March 24, 20000 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 1.01 points to close at 831.87. 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 2.37 to close at 258.95 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 closed higher by 17.14 at 6,327.64.

Economic data released for the day:

Consumer Credit: The outstanding dollar value of consumer installment credit. The state of consumer finances and portend future spending patterns is indicated by, Consumer Credit. U.S. March Consumer Credit increased by $13.5 Billion and February Consumer Credit was revised to Up $5.6B from Up $3.0B.

Commodities Markets

The trend was lower across the board again today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.43 today to close at $61.50 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower by $0.03 again today to close at $1.80 a gallon; Natural Gas closed lower by $0.15 at $7.79 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed lower by $0.02 at $2.19 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved higher by $0.60 to close at $690.30 an ounce; Silver moved higher by $0.11 to close at $13.64 an ounce; Platinum moved sharply higher again today by $22.10 to close at $1,350.90 an ounce and Copper ended the day lower by $0.04 today to end at $3.72 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs moved higher today by 0.05 today to close at 74.88; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 0.38 to close at 102.35; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.23 to end the day at 91.95 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.48 to close at 109.75.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today with a substantial loss of 11.75 points to end at 379.00 and Soybeans posted a loss today of 5.0 to close at 742.50.

The e-mini Dow ended the session higher by 20 points to close at 13339. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 126,649 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.

Bonds were mostly higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed with no change at 99 21/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 1/32 at 99 25/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 99 30/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 9/32 at 99 12/32.

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 3,410,855; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 2,679 points to close at 9,992,413; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 99,067 points to close at 7,101,196 and the Open Interest for OTC closed higher by 120 to close at 4,532 for a total Open Interest of 17,098,141 for a total gain on the day by 96,508.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,754; decliners totaled 1,448; unchanged came in at 162; new highs came in at 345 and new lows came in at 12. New York Stock Exchange movers for the day today:Armor Holdings Incorporated (AH) moved higher by 4.45 points for a close on the Big Board at $86.60 after buyout offer was announced in the amount of $4.1 Billion; Alcan Incorporated (AL) rallied higher by a whopping 34.54% to tack on 21.08 points for a closing price at $82.11 after a buyout offer was announced by Alcoa in the amount of $27 Billion; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) climbed higher by 6.98 points for a closing price of $269.11;Domino’s Pizza Incorporated (DPZ) fell sharply on the trading day for a loss of 39.36% to move lower by 12.74 points for a closing price of $19.63 and Tenaris (TS) moved lower on the day by 2.75 points for a closing price of $44.77.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,426 decliners totaled 1,628; unchanged came in at 153, new highs came in at 145 and new lows came in at 39. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Synalloy Corporation (SYNL) bolted nicely higher today for a gain of 11.32% to tack on 4.12 points for a close at $40.05; U.S. Global Investors Incorporated (GROW) moved lower by 16.64% to lose 4.64 points to close the trading day at $24.25; IDM Pharma Incorporated (IDMI) fell sharply lower on the day with a loss of 44.18% to shed 3.95 points to end the trading session at $4.99 and Ohio Casualty Corporation (OCAS) bolted higher on the day for a gain of 29.43% to tack on 9.80 points for a closing price of $43.12.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders