Market Commentary for August 31, 2007


We hope all of you a very safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

The Bulls held their precedence throughout the trading session as well as, into the close. As we laid the week as well as the month of August to rest, trading volume for the week met its peak, today for the DOW. This past week has been a bit rocky but fortunately the major indices ended in the green zone.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW(Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit gain of 119.01 points on the day to end the session at 13,357.74; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit gain of 140.34 points to end the session at 9,596.98; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 31.06 points for a close at 2,596.36; the S&P 500 moved higher by 16.35 points to end at 1,473.99 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 9.75 points to close at 792.86. 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 gain of 2.83 points to close at 255.23 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 66.77 points to close at 6,091.56.

President of the United States, George W. Bush comments over past two days: to outline policy on sub-prime crisis in Friday speech; to let FHA guarantee delinquent borrowers' loans; to ask Treasury, HUD to identify at risk borrowers; financial markets in "period of transition"; market transition will take time "to fully play out"; market woes due to reassessment, re-pricing of risk; not Government's job to bail out speculators; Government bailout would make problems worse; FHA must be modernized, improved; will work to reform homeownership tax provision and U.S. economy strong enough to weather market turbulence.

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben S. Bernanke comments released: must take markets into account in Fed decisions; Fed ready to take 'additional actions as needed'; tight credit markets could harm consumer, economy; recent global financial losses more than expected; says economic uncertainty greater than normal; housing to weaken more if market conditions persist; not Fed's job to protect investors' own decisions; past data not useful in forecasting economy; Fed will scrutinize 'timeliest' economic data; Fed contacts with markets, business key to forecasts; housing decline 'sharp,' more weakness likely and economy's response to Fed action smaller than in past.

Economic Data:

Personal Income and Outlays: Personal Income, received from all sources by individuals, is the dollar amount of income. Personal Outlays include purchase by consumers for both durable and non-durable goods and services. U.S. Personal Income rose 0.5% in July compared to consensus of a increase by 0.4%; U.S. Personal Spending rose 0.4% in July compared to consensus of a increase by 0.3%; July PCE Core Price Index rose 0.1% rate on the month as compared to an increase by 1.9% on the year; July PCE Price Index rose 0.1% rate on the month as compared to an increase by 2.1% on the year; June Personal Income was left Unrevised at an increase by 0.4% and June Spending Revised to an increase by 0.2% from an increase by 0.1%.

NAPM-Chicago: A compilation by The National Association of Purchasing Management of a survey and composite diffusion index of business conditions in the Chicago area. The survey includes both manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms. This data is considered a leading indicator of the ISM Manufacturing Index. U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management adjusted August Index came in at 53.8 versus July reading at 53.4; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management August Prices Paid Index came in at 71.8 versus July reading at 73.1; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management August Supplier Deliveries came in at 51.9 versus July reading at 55.3; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management August Employment Index came in at 53.7 versus July reading at 61.6 and U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management August New Orders Index came in at 58.4 versus July reading at 53.4.

Consumer Sentiment: 500 households are surveyed by The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center, on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. The strength of consumer spending is directly related to consumer sentiment. University of Michigan End - August Sentiment came in at 83.4 versus July reading at 90.4; University Michigan End-Aug Current Index came in at 98.4 versus July reading at 104.5; University Michigan End-Aug Expectations came in at 73.7 versus July reading at 81.5; University Michigan Preliminary Aug Sentiment Was 83.3; University Michigan 12-Month Inflation Forecast came in at an increase by 3.2% versus July reading of an increase by 3.4% and University Michigan 5-Year Inflation Forecast came in at an increase by 2.9% versus July reading of an increase by 3.1%.

Factory Orders: Dollar level of new Factory Orders for both durable and non-durable goods. U.S. Factory Orders rose by 3.7% in July versus consensus of an increase by 3.3%; July Factory Orders, Excluding Transportation rose 2.4%; July Factory Orders, Excluding Defense rose by 3.2% and June Factory Orders were Revised to an increase by 1.0% from an increase by 0.6%.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher today by $0.68 to close at $74.04 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session higher by $0.01 at $2.06 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.17 to close at $5.47 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.01 at $1.92 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved sharply higher today by $8.00 to close at $681.90 an ounce; Silver moved higher by $0.27 to close at $12.23 per ounce; Platinum moved nicely higher today by $11.50 to close at $1,271.60 an ounce and Copper closed higher by $0.05 at $3.40 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 1.03 to close at 66.83; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 1.60 at 90.40; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.18 to close at 96.90 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.53 at 117.53.

Other Commodities: Corn moved slightly higher on the day with a gain of 0.25 at 340.00 and Soybeans moved lower today for a loss of 2.50 points to end the session at 882.50.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,367 with a gain of 85 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 193,400 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 lower across the board today: 2 year bond moved lower by 2/32 today to close at 99 24/32; 5 year bond closed sharply lower by 2 16/32 at 99 7/32; 10 year bond moved lower by 8/32 today to close at 101 22/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 3/32 to close at 102 20/32 for the day.

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 7,657,150; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 138,594 points to close at 9,249,093; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 167,737 points to close at 6,962,088 and the Cleared Only moved higher by 96 points to close at 8,189 for a total Open Interest on the day of 16,219,370 with a total Change on the day of a gain of 29,239 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,755; decliners totaled 481; unchanged came in at 76; new highs came in at 44 and new lows came in at 25. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: Rio Tinto plc (RTP) bolted higher on the trading session with a gain of 10.40 points for a final trading price on the day of $274.80; National-Oilwell Varco Incorporated (NOV) posted a gain on the session of 4.66 points with a closing price on the day of $128.00; Terra Nitrogen Company L.P. (TNH) moved higher again today with a high on the session of $109.30, a low of $100.25 with a gain of 8.89 points to close the trading session at $107.93; OM Group Incorporated (OMG) posted a favorable gain on the trading day by 4.81 points, 10.79% gain for a final trading price on the session of $49.40; Excel Maritime Carriers Limited (EXM) made a run higher on the trading day by 11.54% to tack on 4.50 points with a final trading price of $43.50 and Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) posted a gain of 4.63 points with a closing price on the trading session of $176.01.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 2,131; decliners totaled 868; unchanged came in at same as yesterday at 151; new highs came in at 53 and new lows came in at 37. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Apple Incorporated (AAPL) moved higher on the trading session by 1.90 points with a closing price of $138.22; Accredited Home Lenders Holding Company (LEND) posted a nice gain on the trading day by 42.79% to tack on 2.70 points with a closing price of $9.01; Open Text Corporation (OTEX) made a nice run higher for the session by 23.61% to tack on 4.75 points with a closing price on the trading session of $24.87 and Mothers Work Incorporated (MWRK) posted a favorable gain on the session by 15.41% to move higher by 2.73 points with a final trading price of $20.45.

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Millennium-Traders