Market Commentary for March 23, 2007


Friday sessions have been typically known for a slow motion action and today was none too different. The NASDAQ whipped in and out of the green and red zone as if it were being chased by a villain. The whipotile action continued into the close, creating a not too friendly trading atmosphere for either day traders or investors.

At the close, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 19.87 points to end the session at 12481.01; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 24.58 points to end at 9338.40; the NASDAQ moved higher by 4.44 points today for a close at 2456.18; the S&P 500 moved higher by 1.57 points to end at 1436.11 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 0.84 points to close at 809.51. 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 higher by 0.42 to close at 245.46 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved higher by 11.24 to close at 6041.10.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Charles I. Plosser commented today: expects Yield Curve to stay flatter in future; reduced inflation fears keep spreads tighter; reduced economic volatility will narrow spreads; inflation, economic outlook to be less volatile; Fed will act to keep inflation in check; warns economic volatility could return; bank income less dependent on Yield Curve; recent inflation data not very encouraging; Fed must remain vigilant on inflation; Yield Curve predictive value has declined and Fed must monitor inflation situation.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy F. Geithner commented today: derivatives haven't led to higher volatility; credit market innovations have been beneficial; need time to gauge full effect of sub-prime woes; sub-prime problems aren't spreading in markets and big improvement in emerging market Macro Policies.

Economic data released for the day:

Existing Home Sales: Previously constructed homes, co-ops and condominiums closed during the month are tallied as Existing Home sales as reported by the National Association of Realtors. Existing Home Sales account for a large share of the market compared to new home sales plus, indicates the trend in housing markets. U.S. February Median Existing Home Price fell by 1.3% on the year to $212,800; U.S. Inventory of Unsold U.S. homes at 6.7 months supply; U.S. February Existing Home Sales Consensus 6.33 Million rate and U.S. February Existing Home Sales rose by 3.9% to 6.69 Million rate.

On the commodities markets, the trend was higher across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved higher by $2.08 today to close at $61.69 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher today by $0.05 to close at $1.72 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher by $0.17 today to end at $7.44 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.02 at $1.96 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved lower by $6.90 to close at $657.30 an ounce; Silver closed the day lower by $0.25 to end the session at $13.23 an ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $7.60 to close at $1,231.40 an ounce and Copper ended the day with no change at $3.07 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs closed lower by 0.55 at 73.78; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 0.98 to close at 103.23; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.65 to end the day at 94.70 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.45 to close at 106.73.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today by 6.25 points to end at 403.25 and Soybeans moved lower today by 2.25 to close at 769.50.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond closed lower by 1/32 at 100 8/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 5/32 at 100 15/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 8/32 at 100 2/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 12/32 at 99 6/32.

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 3,681,080 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 46,617 to close at 9,475,874 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 72,838 to close at 8,057,879 for a total Open Interest of 17,535,431 for a total gain on the day by 119, 455.

The mini Dow ended the session higher by 24 at 12569. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 142,735 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.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,651; decliners totaled 1,580; unchanged came in at 141; new highs came in at 239 and new lows came in at 12. New York Stock Exchange movers for the day today: DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) moved higher by 4.76 points to end the day at $82.36; MEMC Electronic Materials Incorporated (WFR) gained 3.44 points for a closing price of $63.60; IPSCO Incorporated (IPS) moved higher moved higher by 2.99 points to end the day $115.55; Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) gained 3.83 points to close at $104.20 and Paxar Corporation (PXR) tacked on 18.81% for a gain of 4.52 points to end the session at $28.55.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,576; decliners totaled 1,445; unchanged came in at 151; new highs came in at 134 and new lows came in at 23. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: ImClone Systems Incorporated (IMCL) rallied higher by 13.64% for a gain of 4.62 points on the day to close at $38.50; Amgen Incorporated (AMGN) fell by 2.45 points to end the session at $58.02; Kronos Incorporated (KRON) made a nice run higher by 13.90% to move higher by 6.48 points to close the day at $53.11 and PACCAR Incorporated (PCAR) fell by 1.84 points to end at $75.12.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders
shame you missed out the one imporant fact re the bond market for friday. its was option expiry