Market Commentary for June 21, 2007

As we moved through the first official day of Summer, trading action was heated up with a struggle between the Bulls and the Bears through out the trading session. Into the close, the Bulls clearly took control of the markets, moving the major indices into their highs of the trading day. Trading volume was heavy and trading ranges faired well for day traders. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a gain of 56.42 points to end the session at 13,545.84; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a gain of 55.71 points to end at 9,960.79; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 17.00 points for a close at 2,616.96; the S&P 500 moved higher by 9.35 points to end at 1,522.19 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 4.91 points to close at 839.81. 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 2.27 to close at 263.16 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 44.18 points to close at 6,399.69.

Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy, David G. Nason commented today: Terror Insurance extension must be short-term, limited.

Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Clay Lowery commented today: Sovereign Wealth Funds present some risks and 'best practices' for sovereign funds needed.

Canada Retail Sales rose by 0.4% in April from March and Canada Retail Sales excluding Autos had no change in April from March.

Economic data released for the day:

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 rose by 10K to 324K for week of June 16th compared to expectations of unchanged and U.S. Continuing Claims for week of June 9th rose by 39K to 2,523,000.

Leading Indicators: Ten economic indicators are compiled by the Conference Board that should lead overall economic activity. In the past 30 years the data has been revised many times especially when it has not done a good job of predicting turning points in the economy. U.S. Conference Board released Leading Indicators data today: May Leading Index rose by 0.3%; May Coincident Index rose by 0.2% and May Lagging Index rose by 0.2%

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 June 16th, Energy Information Administration reported a weekly change of 89 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 June New Orders came in at 18.3 versus May reading at 8.7; Philadelphia Fed June Price Received came in at 5.1 versus May reading at 2.2; Philadelphia Fed June Employment came in at 5.6 versus May reading at 12.9; Philadelphia Fed June Price Paid came in at 29.7 versus May reading at 32.3; Philadelphia Fed June Business Index expected at 7.0 and Philadelphia Fed June Business Index came in at 18.0 versus May reading at 4.2.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.21 today to close at $68.65 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session lower by $0.01 at $2.03 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.03 today to close at $7.57 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher by $0.02 on the session to close at $2.25 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved lower today for a loss of $5.80 to close at $654.20 an ounce; Silver closed lower today by $0.16 at $13.09 an ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $2.30 to close at $1,298.50 an ounce and Copper moved lower by $0.04 again today to close at $3.40 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 0.40 to close at 73.45; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 0.20 to close 95.03; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.58 to close at 89.93 and Feeder Cattle ended the at 108.10.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today to loss 7.25 for a close at 399.00 and Soybeans moved sharply lower today to post a loss of 22.75 to end the session at 851.75.

The e-mini Dow ended the session higher today, with a gain of 36 points to close at 13,644. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 190,559 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 lower across the board again today: 2 year bond closed lower by 1/32 at 99 25/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 4/32 at 98 18/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 13/32 again today at 94 13/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 28/32 at 91 21/32.

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 4,615,476; Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 45,855 points to close at 10,061,730; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 126,866 points to close at 8,962,375 and the Open Interest for OTC closed with no change at 5,367 for a total Open Interest of 19,029,472 for a total gain on the day by 172,721 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,739; decliners totaled 1,465; unchanged came in at 131; new highs came in at 118 and new lows came in at 78. Gainers and losers for the day on the NYSE: Ameron International Corporation (AMN) rallied higher on the trading session for a gain of 6.66 points to end the day at $89.95; Lindsau Corporation (LNN) bolted higher on the day to post a gain of 13.38% to climb by 5.25 points for a closing price of $44.50; Oakley Incorporated (OO) posted a gain on the session of a whopping 12.76% to tack on 3.22 points to end the trading day at $28.45; SL Green Realty Corporation (SLG) moved lower by 2.33 points with a high of $129.48, a low of $124.82 to end the trading day on the Big Board at $127.16; Terra Nitrogen Company LP (TNH) rallied higher on the trading day to tack on 10.45 points for a closing price on the session of $124.03 and ESCO Technologies Incorporated (ESE) plummeted on the trading session for a loss of 21.34% to shed 9.83 points to close at $36.24.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,585, decliners totaled 1,429; unchanged came in at 157; new highs came in at 71 and new lows came in at 74. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Buffalo Wild Wings Incorporated (BWLD) shed 2 points on the trading day to close at $43.89; Privatebancorp Incorporated (PVTB) moved lower for a loss on the session of 3.17 points for a closing price of $30.03 and Andersons Incorporated (ANDE) bolted higher on the trading day for a gain of 10.80% to gain 4.36 points to close the session at $44.76.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders

MTnews: What do you think of the ER2 moving from CME to ICE?

You would need to talk to one of our Moderators, they would be willing to help you out with that question I am sure.