Market Commentary for August 02, 2007

Trading activity appeared more stable and in control by the Bulls today with the markets moving nicely higher, as the session moved on. A slight dip into negative territory during the late morning session quickly saw a rebound higher, amidst a volatile trading session.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit gain again today of 100.96 points to end the session at 13,463.33; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a gain of 46.28 points to end the session at 9,619.33; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 22.11 points for a close at 2,575.98; the S&P 500 moved higher by 6.39 points to end at 1,472.20 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 6.08 points to close at 783.99. 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) posted a gain of 2.41 points to close at 255.53 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 27.50 points to close at 6,119.68.

Member of the Board of Governors, Randall S. Kroszner commented today: underscores central role of price stability; creditors must provide credit 'responsibly'; monitoring sub-prime 'very very closely'; real economy hasn't been affected by sub-prime; need to ensure inflation expectations stay contained; price stability 'crucial' to dual mandate; takes 'very, very serious' look at inflation; number of foreclosures likely to rise and Fannie should focus more on affordable housing.

U.S. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Monetary and Financial Policy, Mark Sobel commented today; not satisfied with China currency appreciation; China has made progress on currency flexibility; China currency Legislation `counterproductive'; unilateral currency bills could harm U.S. Economy; multilateral action needed for currency changes and 'remedial intervention' not effective tool.

President of The Governing Council for the European Central Bank, Axel A. Weber commented today: concerns about German banking crisis unfounded; global economic growth remains robust and German growth perspective remains favorable.

Economic Data:

BOE Announcement: Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee which consists of nine members meets for two days each month, during the first week of the month to determine the direction of monetary policy, in the near-term. No change was announced today and rate remains at 5.75%.

ECB Announcement: European Central Bank Governing Council decides on monetary policy. No change in rate and it remains at 4.0%.

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. Data released today: U.S. Jobless Claims rose by 4K to 307K for week of July 28th compared to survey of an increase by 9K and U.S. Continuing Claims for week of July 21st fell by 16K to 2,525,000.

Factory Orders: Dollar level of new Factory Orders for both durable and non-durable goods. Factory Order data released today: U.S. Factory Orders rose 0.6% in June compared to consensus of an increase by 1.0%; June Factory Orders, Excluding Transportation fell by 0.5%; June Factory Orders, Excluding Defense rose by 0.9%; June Durable Goods revised to an increase by 1.3% from an increase by 1.4% and May Factory Orders were unrevised at a drop by 0.5%.

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. As released today by the EIA for week of July 28th, weekly change came in at 77 Bcf.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher by $0.33 today to close at $76.86 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session higher by $0.01 at $2.07 gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.25 to close at $6.11 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher today by $0.01 to close at $2.04 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved higher today to post a gain of $0.70 to close at $676.90 an ounce; Silver closed higher today by $0.04 to close at $13.00 per ounce; Platinum moved nicely higher today for gain of $8.10 to close at $1,299.00 an ounce and Copper moved lower on the day by $0.01 to close at $3.57 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day higher by 0.13 to close at 74.70; Pork Bellies ended the day lower again today by 3.00 again to close at 84.50; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.65 to close at 98.15 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 1.05 at 116.35.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today for a gain of 5.25 points to close at 341.25 and Soybeans moved higher today for a gain of 5.75 points to end the session at 854.50.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,531 with a nice gain of 123 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 356,557 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 higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed higher by 1/32 at 100 2/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 100 1/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 4/32 at 97 28/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 4/32 at 97 14/32.

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 5,943,118; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 16,701 points to close at 10,157,160; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 59,610 points to close at 8,419,071 and the Open Interest for OTC closed lower by 213 points at 7,377 for a total Open Interest of 18,583,608 for a total gain on the day of 42,696 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,097; decliners totaled 1,125; unchanged came in at 101; new highs came in at 48 and new lows came in at 170. Gainers and losers for the day on the NYSE which received much attention from many day traders: MasterCard Incorporated (MA) had a very active day of trading again today with a high of $147.80 compared to yesterdays high of $152.45, a low of yesterday $139.00 was close to today’s low of $139.30 for a loss of 7.38 points with a final trading price on the Big Board of $147.80 as compared to yesterdays close$150.00; PRIMEDIA Incorporated (PRM) soared higher on the session with a phenomenal gain of 477.45% to climb higher by 11.22 points for some very happy investors with a final trading price on the day of $13.57; Getty Images Incorporated (GYI) moved sharply lower on the trading day with a loss of 19.40% to shed 8.70 points to end the day at $36.14; Alliant Techsystems Incorporated (ATK) made a nice gain on the session by 5.71 points to close the session at $109.76 and Dolby Laboratories Incorporated (DLV) racked up 12.57% on the day to climb higher by 4.21 points with a final trading price of $37.69.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,721; decliners totaled 1,296; unchanged came in at 135, new highs came in at 55 and new lows came in at 176. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: POZEN Incorporated (POZN) sank on the trading day to shed 43.27% for a loss of 7.55 points to end the trading session at $9.90; RC2 Corporation (RCRC) moved lower by 19.36% to move lower by 6.95 points to end the trading day at $28.94; Radiation Therapy Services Incorporated (RTSX) gave up 21.12% for a loss on the trading day of 5.95 points for a final trading price of $22.22; Pharmion Corporation (PHRM) bolted higher on the day with a strong gain of 58.81% to move higher by 14.49 points for a final trading price of $39.13; Morningstar Incorporated (MORN) jumped on the session with a gain of 19.98% to move higher by 9.77 points with a final price on the trading session of $58.68 and Invitrogen Corporation (IVGN) made a gain of 10.05% to tack on 7.14 points to end the trading day at $78.20.

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Millennium-Traders