Market Starts the Week on a Down Note

Daily Market Commentary for February 4, 2008

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:

DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss of 108.03 points on the day to end the session at 12,635.16

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) loss of 75.47 points to end the session at 9,202.11

NASDAQ loss of 30.51 points for a close at 2,382.85

S&P 500 loss of 14.60 points for a close at 1,380.82

RUSSELL 2000 loss of 7.04 points to close at 723.46

FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) gain of 0.14 points to close at 245.95

FTSE RAFI 1000 loss of 60.14 points to close at 5,685.20

BEL 20 gain of 0.02 points to close at 3,809.65

CAC 40 loss of 4.42 points to close at $4,973.64

FTSE100 gain of 3 points to close at 6,026.20

NIKKEI 225 gain of 362.5 points to close at 13,859.70

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,494; decliners totaled 693; unchanged came in at 74; new highs came in at 58 and new lows came in at 21. Momentum stocks traded by active Day Traders on the NYSE today: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Incorporated (DTG) shed 9.62 points with a high on the day of $18.10, a low of $16.27 for a closing price at $16.40; Capital One Financial Corporation (COF) shed 4.32 points with a high on the day of $55.56, a low of $52.17 for a closing price at $52.65; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (POT) gained 3.00 points with a high on the day of $145.44, a low of $141.81 for a closing price at $145.00; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Incorporated (FCX) shed 0.92 points with a high on the day of $93.00, a low of $89.64 for a closing price at $91.18; Yingli Green Energy Holding Corporation Limited (YGE) gained 2.82 points with a high on the day of $24.73, a low of $21.51 for a closing price at $23.90; Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) gained 2.91 points with a high on the day of $166.34, a low of $161.11 for a closing price at $164.76; Wachovia Corporation (WB) shed 3.23 points with a high on the day of $38.13, a low of $35.27 for a closing price at $35.53; CIT Group, Incorporated (CIT) shed 3.03 points with a high on the day of $30.33, a low of $26.75 for a closing price at $27.65; Washington Mutual Incorporated (WM) shed 2.66 points with a high on the day of $21.78, a low of $18.91 for a closing price at $19.16; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Incorporated (TMO) shed 1.28 points with a high on the day of $52.56, a low of $50.71 for a closing price at $51.10; Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS) shed 6.40 points with a high on the day of $88.00, a low of $81.09 for a closing price at $81.45; Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) shed 6.98 points with a high on the day of $208.00, a low of $199.20 for a closing price at $200.80; Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCL) shed 2.68 points with a high on the day of $41.87, a low of $38.46 for a closing price at $39.18.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,997; decliners totaled 1000; unchanged came in at 121; new highs came in at 41 and new lows came in at 84. Momentum stocks traded by active Day Traders on the NASDAQ today: Cerner Corporation (CERN) gained 1.70 points with a high on the day of $49.37, a low of $45.97 for a closing price at $48.73; MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) shed 3.89 points with a high on the day of $69.60, a low of $64.25 for a closing price at $68.53; Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) gained 2.69 points with a high on the day of $284.49, a low of $266.61 for a closing price at $272.28; Google Incorporated (GOOG) shed 20.47 points with a high on the day of $512.78, a low of $492.55 for a closing price at $495.43; First Solar, Incorporated (FSLR) gained 6.96 points with a high on the day of $198.09, a low of $183.90 for a closing price at $192.90; BE Aerospace Incorporated (BEAV) gained 1.30 points with a high on the day of $43.46, a low of $39.10 for a closing price at $43.14; Apple Incorporated (AAPL) shed 2.10 points with a high on the day of $135.90, a low of $131.42 for a closing price at $131.65; NVE Corporation (NVEC) gained 2.66 points with a high on the day of $31.73, a low of $28.91 for a closing price at $30.75; Wynn Resorts Limited (WYNN) shed 5.36 points with a high on the day of $116.96, a low of $111.25 for a closing price at $111.47; Tessera Technologies Incorporated (TSRA) shed 2.41 points with a high on the day of $43.47, a low of $40.07 for a closing price at $41.13; Zoltek Companies Incorporated (ZOLT) shed 3.28 points with a high on the day of $35.40, a low of $33.12 for a closing price at $33.22; Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) gained 0.93 points with a high on the day of $95.06, a low of $91.82 for a closing price at $93.17; SunPower Corporation (SPWR) gained 2.86 points with a high on the day of $78.30, a low of $72.77 for a closing price at $76.00; Garmin Limited (GRMN) shed 0.44 points with a high on the day of $71.10, a low of $69.09 for a closing price at $69.66; Intuitive Surgical, Incorporated (ISRG) gained 1.89 points with a high on the day of $315.80, a low of $303.51 for a closing price at $307.50.

Treasury Releases FY 2009 Bluebook - Washington, DC - The U.S. Treasury Department today released its General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2009 Revenue Proposals, often referred to as the Bluebook. The Administration's Fiscal Year 2009 Budget includes measures to permanently extend the President's tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003, promote savings and investment and improve compliance with the U.S. tax system. The Fiscal Year 2009 Budget also includes initiatives to: Provide a new standard deduction for health insurance; Encourage entrepreneurship and investment; Provide alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief; Strengthen home ownership; Provide incentives for charitable giving; Extend various expiring tax provisions.
Extend Permanently the President's 2001 and 2003 tax relief. The President's tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 helped make the tax code fairer, simpler, and more pro-growth. The Fiscal Year 2009 Budget proposals include making the 2001 and 2003 tax relief permanent, which is essential for promoting economic growth and higher living standards in the future. The Fiscal Year 2009 Budget also includes proposals to promote savings for all Americans and encourage investment by entrepreneurs.
AMT Relief - The Administration is concerned that the individual AMT may impose substantial burdens upon taxpayers who were not the originally intended targets of the individual AMT. The President's Fiscal Year 2009 Budget proposes to extend for one year through 2008 provisions that address the rapid rise in the number of taxpayers affected by the AMT. The Administration believes the longer term solution to the problems associated with the individual AMT is best addressed within the context of other reforms to the tax system. The proposal would increase the AMT exemption levels for 2008 to $46,250 for single and head of household filers, $70,050 for married taxpayers filing joint returns, and $35,025 for married taxpayers filing separate returns. In addition, the proposal would allow an individual to reduce 2008 tax liability by the full amount of nonrefundable personal credits.
Improving Tax Compliance In September 2006, the Treasury Department released a comprehensive strategy to improve tax compliance. The strategy builds upon the demonstrated experience and current efforts of the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve compliance with a commitment to taxpayer service. In August 2007, the IRS issued a report: Reducing the Federal Tax Gap: A Report on Improving Voluntary Compliance, setting forth the steps the IRS is taking to implement the 2006 Treasury strategy. The Treasury Department has put forward 16 proposals in the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget to help improve compliance, with an emphasis on improving information reporting without creating excessive burdens on compliant taxpayers. The Treasury Department also asked for $489 million for the IRS to increase compliance efforts.

Commodities Markets: The trend was higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher today by $1.06 to close at $90.02 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher today by $0.03 to close at $2.48 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.12 to close at $7.86 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher today by $0.03 to close at $2.31 a gallon.

Metals Markets ended the session mixed across the board today: Gold moved lower today by $4.10 to close at $909.40 a Troy ounce; Silver moved lower today by $0.09 to close at $16.78 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved sharply higher today by $27.40 to close at $1,797.60 per Troy ounce and Copper moved higher by $0.03 today to close at $3.30 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day higher by $0.53 to close at $67.20; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.45 to close at $92.90; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.13 at $93.93 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $0.70 at $104.75.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day higher by $10.00 at $510.75 and Soybeans moved sharply higher today by $38.75 to end the session at $1,326.00.

Bonds were mostly lower across the board today: 2 year bond moved higher by 1/32 to close at 100 4/32; 5 year bond moved lower by 5/32 to close at 100 14/32 today; 10 year bond moved lower by 15/32 to close at 104 29/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 1 6/32 to close at 110 5/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,632 with a loss of 124 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 181,512 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 5,437,606; Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 100,578 points to close at 10,611,584; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 225,438 points to close at 9,499,598 and the Cleared Only closed higher by 678 points to close at 22,039 for a total Open Interest on the day of 20,133,221 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 326,694 points.