Market Commentary for March 14, 2007


The markets moved around today like a bouncing ball then, like a former bouncing ball that lost all its air to the action of a pancake. Overall, you could consider the session volatile although, day traders and investors did not appear to take to the action, to kindly. It was clearly a battle between the Bulls and the Bears with the Bulls taking home the prize for the session.

Into the close, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 57.44 points to end the session at 12133.40; the NYSE
(New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 31.73 points to end at 8958.61; the NASDAQ moved higher by 21.17 points to close at 2371.74; the S&P 500 moved higher by 9.22 points to end at 1387.17 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 6.56 points to close at 775.68. 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 1.22 to close at 233.90 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved higher by 27.78 to close at 5824.60.

Economic data released for the day:

MBA Purchase Applications: Compilation from the Mortgage Bankers’ Association of various mortgage loan indexes. This data is the leading indicator for single-family home sales as well as, housing construction. Purchase Index Level came in at 414.30 for week of March 9th.

Current Account: International Trade balance in goods, services and unilateral transfers on a quarterly basis for the United States is measured by the Current Account. Trends in foreign trade are measured by the level of exports, imports and current account. U.S. Fourth Quarter Current Account Deficit came in at $195.8 Billion compared to consensus of $204.1 Billion; U.S. Third Quarter Current Account Gap was revised to $229.4 Billion versus $225.6 Billion; U.S. 2006 Current Account Deficit was $856.7 Billion and 2005 Gap was $791.5 Billion.

Import and Export Prices: Goods bought in the United States but produced abroad plus goods sold abroad but produced domestically are compiled in an index which indicates inflationary trends in internationally traded products. U.S. February Import Prices rose by 0.2% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.8%; U.S. February Non-Petroleum Import Prices fell by 0.1% and U.S. February Petroleum Import Prices rose by 2.0%.

Quarterly Services Survey: Provided by the Census Bureau, the information includes: professional, scientific and technical services, administrative, support services, waste management and remediation services. U.S. Service Sector Revenues increased by 4.8% during the fourth quarter.

EIA Petroleum Status Report: EIA (Energy Information Administration) provides weekly petroleum inventories in the United States whether they are produced here or abroad. Prices for petroleum products are determined by the level of inventories. Department of Energy reported today: U.S. Distillate Stockpiles fell by 2.8 Million Barrels for the week compared to expectations of a drop by 1.9 Million Barrels; U.S. Refineries ran at 85.6% capacity compared to expectations of an increase by 0.8 points at 86.6%; U.S. Gasoline Stockpiles fell by 2.5 Million Barrels for the week compared to expectations of a drop by 2.1 Million Barrels and U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles rose by 1.1 Million Barrels for the week compared to expectations of an increase by 1.4 Million Barrels.

On the commodities markets, the trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved higher by $0.23 today to close at $58.16 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher by $0.02 to close at $1.71 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher by $0.16 today to end at $7.19 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed with no change at $1.93 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly lower across the board today: Gold moved lower by $6.90 to close at $642.50 an ounce; Silver closed the day lower by $0.13 to end the session at $12.83 an ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower today by $23.60 to close at $1,200.00 an ounce and Copper ended the day with no change at $2.83 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs closed lower by 2.35 at 75.65; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 1.53 to close at 106.28; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.98 to end the day at 96.43 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.05 to close at 108.18.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower again today by 2.0 points to end at 404.75 and Soybeans moved lower today by 2.00 to close at 753.50.

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 4,714,736 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 104,589 to close at 9,210,919 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 118,926 to close at 7,535,944 for a total Open Interest of 16,748,515 for a total gain on the day by 233, 527.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond closed lower by 3/32 at 100 11/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 7/32 at 100 24/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 4/32 at 100 22/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 24/32 at 100 24/32.

The mini Dow ended the session today with a gain of 60 to close at 12254. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 269,930 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.

New York Stock Exchange movers for the day: Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (CME) rebounded today by 13.52 points to end the session at $563.97; ESCO Technologies Incorporated (ESE) rallied by 10.12% for a gain of 4.13 points for a closing price at $44.95;
Anixter International Incorporated (AXE) moved higher by 3.38 points for a closing price of $63.45 and Trina Solar Limited (TSL) gained 3.32 points on the session to end at $48.36.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,656; decliners totaled 1,371; unchanged came in at 148; new highs came in at 34 and new lows came in at 205. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Clean Harbors Incorporated (CLHB) fell by 3.67 points to close at $47.23; The Gymboree Corporation (GYMB) gained 3.04 points to end at $38.18 for the day; Accredited Home Lenders Holding Company (LEND) gained 1.94 points to end the session at $5.91; Ascent Solar Technologies Incorporated (ASTI) rallied higher by 89.25% to tack on a gain of 4.15 points to end at $8.80 and Diamond Management and Technology Consultants Incorporated (DTPI) fell sharply by 24.38% for a loss on the day of 3.62 points to close at $11.23.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders