Market Commentary for August 09, 2007

The market session was not as cooperative for day traders as it has been in the past several days. The Bears were clearly in control of the market activity that began negative at the open of the trading session. Indices closed at their lows of the day, with increasing momentum lower, into the end of the trading session. Trading volume was heavy through the trading day as sellers once again, stepped to the plate in an effort to unload sinking stocks.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a heavy triple digit loss of 387.18 points to end the session at 13,270.68; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit loss of 296.89 points to end the session at 9,449.31; the NASDAQ posted a hard loss of 56.49 points for a close at 2,556.49; the S&P 500 moved lower by 44.40 points to end at 1,453.09 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 10.77 points to close at 784.87. 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) posted a loss of 5.26 points to close at 253.67 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a triple digit loss of 189.62 points to close at 6,007.14.

President George W. Bush commented today during a press conference: repeats fundamentals of U.S. economy are strong; Congress must reexamine priorities before gas tax boost; enough liquidity in Financial Markets; Congress needs to reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac; "very, very hesitant" about carried interest tax hike; talks on Corporate Tax Reform still in early stages; appears U.S. housing market headed for soft landing and calls for more transparency in financial documents.

President of Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Gary H. Stern commented today: declines comment on Thursday open Market Operation; reminds markets Fed routinely adds liquidity; size of Sub-prime Mortgage Market 'not that great' and important to monitor long term growth trends.

Economic Data:

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. Continuing Claims for week of July 28th rose by 39K to 2,559,000 and U.S. Jobless Claims rose 7K to 316K for week of August 4th compared to survey of an increase by 4K.

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. Natural Gas Report released today: Weekly change came in at 42 Bcf.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mixed across the board again today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.56 today to close at $71.59 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session higher by $0.02 at $1.99 gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.02 again to close at $6.59 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower by $0.02 today to close at $1.92 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved sharply lower today to post a loss of $13.50 to close at $672.80 an ounce; Silver closed lower today by $0.47 to close at $12.71 per ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower today by $15.80 to close at $1,275.30 an ounce and Copper moved lower on the day by $0.08 to close at $3.36 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 0.75 to close at 71.20; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 2.10 to close at 93.15; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.73 to close at 94.85 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.53 at 114.88.

Other Commodities: Corn closed much lower today for a loss of 9.25 at 348.75 and Soybeans moved lower today for a loss of 0.25 points to end the session at 877.75.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,327 with a sharp triple digit loss of 378 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 261,957 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 higher by 12/32 at 100 10/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 20/32 at 100 7/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 2 22/32 at 99 24/32 and the 30 year bond closed at 95 25/32.

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 4,975,455; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 94,294 points to close at 10,225,285; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 68,536 points to close at 8,883,784 and the Open Interest for OTC closed higher by 204 points at 7,641 for a total Open Interest of 19,116,710 for a total loss on the day of 25,554 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 705; decliners totaled 2,544; unchanged came in at 59; new highs came in at 79 and new lows came in at 305. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH) provided nice trading action with a high on the day of $94.61, a low of $89.52 for a loss of 3.46 points to close the trading session at $92.75; Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) moved lower on the trading day for nice day trading activity for a loss of 4.56 points to end the session at $77.24; Cummins Incorporated (CMI) fell sharply lower on the session with a high on the day of $118.39, a low of $108.76 with a loss on the day of 10.47 points for a final trading price of $108.76; AvalonBay Communities (AVB) was very active for the session with a high on the day of $126.90, a low of $112.86 for a mere gain of 0.01 point on the day to end the session at $120.42; Ambac Financial Group Incorporated (ABK) was nicely active on the day with a high of $73.04, a low of $66.00 with a loss of 2.90 points for a final trading price at $69.50 and Perini Corporation (PCR) provided a nice trading range again today for day traders with a high of $59.35, a low of $45.00 to shed 1.85 points for a final trading price of $49.25.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,090; decliners totaled 2,003; unchanged came in at 102, new highs came in at 90 and new lows came in at 261. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Citi Trends Incorporated (CTRN) plummeted on the trading day with a loss of 24.46% to shed 9.31 points with a high of $31.30, a low of $25.75 for a final trading price at $28.76; Zoltek Companies Incorporated (ZOLT) bolted higher on the trading day for a gain of 3.42 points for a closing price at $49.83; The Knot Incorporated (KNOT) posted a very nice gain on the session of 24.89% to climb higher by 4.65 points for a final trading price on the day of $23.33; Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) moved lower on the session for an active trading day for day traders with a high of $109.95, a low of $95.04 with a loss of 4.20 points to close the trading day at $107.00 and Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) posted a sharp loss of 8.81 points with a high on the day of $204.24, a low of $193.50 to close the session at $194.89.

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Millennium-Traders