Market Commentary for November 26, 2007

Trading activity was light today while many day traders and investors make their way back from their holiday vacations over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The trend of the markets was positive only briefly during the early morning session before the Bears roared in to take control and move the markets into deeper, negative territory. At the close of the session, triple digit losses were prevalent for the DOW as well as the NYSE. After the minor gains of the markets last Friday, the trading activity and overall market direction experienced today leads the investors as well as the short-selling day trader into believing that the markets are officially in the correction mode.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit loss of 237.44 points on the day to end the session at 12,743.44; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit loss of 193.48 points to end the session at 9,389.50; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 55.61 points for a close at 2,540.99; the S&P 500 moved lower by 33.48 points to end at 1,407.55 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 19.96 points to close at 735.07. 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 world’s investable market capitalization) posted a loss of 1.52 points to close at 257.21 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a triple digit loss of 125.40 points to close at 5,752.74.

U.S. economic growth trended below average for the third straight month during October and inflation should be kept in check over the coming year, according to data released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index dropped by 0.73 in October, from a drop of 0.30 during September, which was revised up from a drop by 0.45. The October figure is the lowest mark for the index since January of this year. A positive reading denotes above-average economic growth, while a negative reading indicates below-average growth. The three-month moving average for the index, which the Chicago Fed says provides a more consistent picture of national economic growth given the volatility in monthly readings, was lower by 0.56 in October, from a drop by 0.25 in September. The three-month average suggests little inflationary pressure over the coming year and national economic growth was below its historical trend, per the Chicago Fed. According to the Chicago Fed, three of the four broad categories of indicators posted negative readings last month: production, employment, and consumption and housing while sales, orders and inventories were slightly positive. Production-related indicators were lower by 0.39 in October, compared with a drop by 0.04 in September. The Chicago Fed noted that total industrial production dropped by 0.5% last month, after increasing 0.2% the previous month. Employment-related indicators were down by 0.20 in October, versus a drop by 0.07 in September. The employment category fell from the previous month even after non-farm payrolls increased by 166,000 in October which was up from a gain of 96,000 in September. "This reflected the fact that October's gains were largely concentrated in several service-providing industries, while employment in manufacturing, construction retail trade, and goods-producing industries declined," the Chicago Fed said in the press release. Consumption and housing indicators were down by 0.14 in October, compared with drop by 0.16 in September. The Chicago Fed noted that while housing permits decreased by 6.6% in October, housing starts rose 3%. The sales, orders and inventories category were the lone positive contributor, at an increase by 0.01 in October, after contributing with a drop by 0.04 in September. Overall, 64 of the 85 individual indicators used to measure the index made negative contributions, while 21 were positive contributors. The report was constructed with data available as of November 20, when 52 of the 85 indicators had been published. Estimates are used for unavailable data in constructing the index.

Commodities Markets
The trend was mostly lower across the board again today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.48 to close at $97.70 a barrel; Heating Oil closed with no change at $2.71 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.01 to close at $8.02 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.44 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved higher today by $1.80 to close at $826.50 a Troy ounce; Silver moved higher by $0.10 today to close at $14.83 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower today by $11.90 to close at $1,468.60 per Troy ounce and Copper moved higher by $0.02 to close at $3.05 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.25 to close at $62.58; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.53 at $91.98; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.18 at $98.53 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by $0.25 at $110.95.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today by $2.50 to close at $403.25 and Soybeans moved higher today by $3.50 to end the session at $1,103.75.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond moved higher by 13/32 to close at 101 12/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 1 to close at 103 1/32 today; 10 year bond moved higher by 1 12/32 at 103 13/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 2 19/32 at 112 for the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,767 with a loss of 219 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 70,846 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.

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 1,797,155; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 52,638 points to close at 10,390,297; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 102,214 points to close at 5,670,875 and the Cleared Only moved higher by 150 points to close at 15,321 for a total Open Interest on the day of 16,076,493 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 49,726 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 818; decliners totaled 2,509; unchanged came in at 64; new highs came in at 41 and new lows came in at 313. Active trading stocks on the Big Board today: CME Group Incorporated (CME) took a hit today with a loss of 14.08 points on the session with a high on the day of $642.50, a low of $624.60 with a final closing price at $624.67; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) moved lower on the session with a loss of 10.66 points with a high on the trading session of $446.00, a low of $423.55 for a final trading price on the day of $425.39; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros (UBB) toppled lower by 6.95 points with a high on the trading day of $135.97, a low of $127.39 for a final trading price of $127.61 and Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) fell lower today by 9.03 points with a high on the session of $217.45, a low of $205.42 with a closing price at $207.45.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 786; decliners totaled 2,244; unchanged came in at 108; new highs came in at 24 and new lows came in at 271. Active trading stocks for the day consisted of: The Genlyte Group Incorporated (GLYT) soared higher on the day with a hefty gain of 31.80 points to tally up to a 50.74% gain on the day with a final trading price of $94.47; Medivation Incorporated (MDVN) took a hit on the trading day for a loss of 3.07 points to shed 17.44% in value with a high on the trading day of $17.38, a low of $14.38 with a closing price at $14.53; Google Incorporated (GOOG) tumbled lower on the session with a loss of 10.92 points with a high on the day of $693.40, a low of $665.00 for a final trading price of $665.78 and Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) soared higher on the day with a gain of 17.14 points with a high on the session of $340.77, a low of $309.29 to end the session at $326.00.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders