Market Commentary for September 04, 2007


We hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day holiday weekend.

The new week and new month of September began on a positive note with the major indices in the hands of the Bulls today. Trading activity was rather sluggish at times through out the trading day, as some day traders and investors continue on vacation through out this week. Economic data may lead the way through the week but, direction is in question. There is no way to know if we will continue higher or fade lower, in upcoming days.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a gain of 91.12 points on the day to end the session at 13,448.86; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit gain of 101.70 points to end the session at 9,698.68; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 33.88 points for a close at 2,630.24; the S&P 500 moved higher by 15.43 points to end at 1,489.42 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 7.81 points to close at 800.67. 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 1.61 points to close at 257.05 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 60.17 points to close at 6,151.73.

Economic Data:

Construction Spending: New construction activity on residential, non-residential and public projects measured in dollar value which is available in nominal and inflation adjusted dollars. U.S. Construction Spending fell 0.4% in July versus consensus at unchanged and June Construction Spending was revised to an increase by 0.1% from a decrease by 0.3%.

ISM Manufacturing Survey: Compiled from approximately 400 manufacturing firms on inventories, employment, production supplier deliveries and new orders by the Institute of Supply Management. Includes export orders, import orders backlog orders as well as, prices paid for raw and unfinished materials. U.S. ISM August Inventories Index came in at 45.4 versus reading in July at 48.5; U.S. ISM August Production Index came in at 56.1 versus reading in July at 55.6; U.S. ISM August New Orders Index came in at 55.3 versus reading in July at 57.5; U.S. ISM August Employment Index came in at 51.3 versus reading in July at 50.2; U.S. ISM August Prices Index came in at 63.0 versus reading in July at 65.0; U.S. ISM August Manufacturing Business Index came in at 52.9 versus reading in July at 53.8 and U.S. ISM August Manufacturing Business Index was expected to come in at 53.0.

Commodities Markets

The trend was higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher today by $1.04 to close at $75.08 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session higher by $0.02 at $2.08 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.16 to close at $5.63 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.02 at $1.94 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved sharply higher again today by $9.60 to close at $691.50 an ounce; Silver moved higher by $0.22 to close at $12.45 per ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $2.10 to close at $1,273.70 an ounce and Copper closed lower by $0.09 at $3.31 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was higher across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day higher by 0.25 to close at 67.08; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 0.03 at 90.43; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.73 to close at 97.63 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 1.43 at 119.05.

Other Commodities: Corn moved sharply higher on the day with a gain of 13.25 at 353.25 and Soybeans moved strongly higher today for a nice gain of 25.00 points to end the session at 907.50.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,456 with a gain of 92 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 163,851 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 mixed across the board today: 2 year bond had no change at 99 24/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 5/32 at 99 12/32; 10 year bond moved lower by 4/32 today to close at 101 18/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 1/32 to close at 102 19/32 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 4,370,920; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 141,085 points to close at 9,108,008; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 154,913 points to close at 7,117,000 and the Cleared Only closed with no change at 8,189 for a total Open Interest on the day of 16,233,197 with a total Change on the day of a gain of 13,828 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,455; decliners totaled 818; unchanged came in at 45; new highs came in at 65 and new lows came in at 29. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: CME Group Incorporated (CME) provided nice day trading action with a high on the session of $568.00, a low of $556.70 with a nice gain on the day of 10.00 points for a final trading price of $564.80; Terra Nitrogen Company L.P. (TNH) provided nice trading action during the early trading session with a high on the day of $116.95, a low of $107.80 with a gain on the session of 7.63 points for a closing price on the session of $115.56; National-Oilwell Varco Incorporated (NOV) was quite active today with a high on the day of $133.97, a low of $127.35 with a gain on the day of 4.41 points for a final trading price on the day of $132.41; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) continued its trend into higher territory with a gain of 9.30 points, a high on the day of $286.69, a low of $275.66 for a closing price on the trading session of $284.10; Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC (WBD) moved higher on the session by 6.57 at the close, with a final trading price at $108.93 and LDK Solar Company Limited (LDK) roared higher on the trading day by 10.36% to climb higher by 5.34 points with a high on the day of $57.80, a low of $52.01 to end the session at $56.90.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,970; decliners totaled 1,064; unchanged came in at 103; new highs came in at 79 and new lows came in at 35. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Apple Incorporated (AAPL) moved nicely higher on the trading session to post a gain of 5.75 points with a high on the trading session of $145.73, a low of $139.84 with a final trading price of $144.43; Leap Wireless International Incorporated (LEAP) rallied higher on the trading day by 10.97 points for a gain of 15.13% with a high of $84.87, a low of $79.55 for a final trading price of $83.47 and Silicom Limited (SILC) posted a gain on the trading day of 3.16 points to climb higher by 14.81% to close the trading day at $24.50.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders