Market Commentary for March 29, 2007


The markets were taunted by both the Bulls and the Bears today however; the Bulls had the upper hand, at the closing bell. Trading ranges were rather narrow through out the market session and trading volume was moderate as we move toward the end of March. Oil prices are on the move again pushed that per gallon price, into ranges that continue to disappoint everyone.

At the close, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 48.39 points to end the session at 12348.75; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by a 60.55 points to end at 9279.08; the NASDAQ moved higher by 0.78 points today for a close at 2417.88; the S&P 500 moved higher by 5.30 points to end at 1422.53 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 1.54 points to close at 798.94. 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 0.13 to close at 243.21 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 had no change to close at 5965.10.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Gary H. Stern commented today: credible Fed policy will keep inflation in check; good monthly job gain 110K to 150K a month; changing demographics mean slower growth, job gains; Central Bank economic views change gradually; hard to forecast economic downturns; resilient economy more important than rate policy; housing a drag on growth, worst may be over; U.S. economic outlook is 'positive'; U.S. economy aided by global growth; financial conditions are 'generally liquid'; notes 'persistent' job and consumer spending gains; U.S. economy is capable of sustained growth; manufacturing still 'significant' part of U.S. economy; Fed remains committed to controlling inflation; Greenspan 'free to say whatever he wants'; markets put too much emphasis on Greenspan views and Fed gets too much credit for influence on economy.

President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet released these comments today: wage moderation necessary to create employment; ECB asked to be independent, ensure price stability; rates are moderate, on accommodative side; low productivity main spain economic problem; Eurozone growth higher than potential; ECB anchoring long-term inflation expectations and Eurozone needs more integration of services markets.

Economic data released for the day:

Corporate Profits: Reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a summary of the income of organizations treated as corporations in the national income and products accounts. Report contains profits from current production known as operating or economic profits; corporate profits with inventory valuations and capital consumption adjustment. Differences in depreciation allowances used for accounting and income tax purposes are part of Capital Consumption. IVA (inventory valuation adjustment) deals with the difference in measuring the cost of inventory replacement. Book profits amount to operating profits and subtracting inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments. After tax profits are book profits after taxes are deducted. Fourth Quarter Corporate Profits rose by 0.8% versus an increase by 4.2% during the third quarter.

GDP (final): Gross Domestic Product (GDP) encompasses every sector of the economy and is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity. U.S. Fourth Quarter GDP Consensus rose by 2.2%; U.S. Fourth Quarter GDP was revised to an increase by rate of 2.5% from an increase by 2.2%; Fourth Quarter Real Final Sales was revised to an increase by a rate of 3.7% from an increase by 3.6%; Fourth Quarter PCE Price Index was revised to a rate decrease by 1.0% from a decrease by 0.9%; Fourth Quarter Purchases Price Index rose by 0.2% to be left unrevised from preliminary report and Fourth Quarter Chain-Weighted Price Index rose by 1.7% to be left unrevised from preliminary report.

Jobless Claims: A weekly compilation of new unemployment claims to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The condition of the labor market is determined by an increase of the number of claims which suggests a deteriorating labor market. U.S. Jobless Claims fell by 10K to 308K for week of March 24th compared to survey of a drop by 1K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of March 17th rose by 32K to 2,527,000 and U.S. Jobless Claims were revised to 4K from a drop by 4K.

Help Wanted Index: From 51 major newspapers across the country, the Help Wanted Index is a monthly ndex of the number of lines of help-wanted advertising. The index indicates the strength or weakness in the labor market. U.S. Conference Board February Help-Wanted Index came in at 31 versus January reading at 32.

EIA Natural Gas Report: Weekly information provided by the EIA (Energy Information Administration) on natural gas stock piles in underground storage in the United States and three regions of the country. Prices for natural gas products are determined by the level of inventories. For week of March 24th, weekly change in Natural Gas Supply fell by 22 Bcf as reported by the Energy Information Administration.

On the commodities markets, the trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved higher by $1.95 today to close at $66.03 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher today by $0.05 to close at $1.88 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.06 today to end at $7.61 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed higher by $0.05 at $2.05 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly lower across the board today: Gold moved lower by $5.30 to close at $667.60 an ounce; Silver moved lower today by $0.12 to end the session at $13.34 an ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $10.20 to close at $1,247.60 an ounce and Copper ended the day higher by $0.02 to end at $3.09 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly higher across the board today: Lean Hogs closed higher by 0.18 at 74.08; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 0.18 to close at 101.03; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.53 to end the day at 93.95 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.13 to close at 107.30.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today by 6.00 points to end at 394.50 and Soybeans moved higher today by 7.50 to close at 778.25.

Bonds were lower across the board again today: 2 year bond closed lower by 4/32 at 99 27/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 6/32 at 100 12/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 6/32 at 99 27/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 5/32 at 98 18/32.

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 4,517,770 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 46,991 to close at 9,575,656; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 128,465 to close at 7,155,737 and the Open Interest for OTC closed with no change at 1,708 for a total Open Interest of 16,733,101 for a total gain on the day by 175, 456.

The mini Dow ended the session higher by 25 at 12413. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 171,460 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 2,018; decliners totaled 1,227; unchanged came in at 115; new highs came in at 171 and new lows came in at 19. New York Stock Exchange movers for the day today: IPSCO Incorporated (IPS) rallied nicely today for a gain of 12.20 points to tack on 10.32% with a closing price at $130.41; Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PBR) posted a nice gain on the stock market session of 6.92 points for a closing price at $101.32; Movado Group Incorporated (MOV) fell sharply lower by 16.89% to shed 5.84 points with an end of day price at $28.74; Lone Star Technologies Incorporated (LSS) soared higher on the market session by a whopping 36.46% to gain 17.66 points with a closing price at $66.11 and POSCO (PKX) shot higher by 7.16 points for an end of market session closing price at $106.88.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,517; decliners totaled 1,466; unchanged came in at 178; new highs came in at 66 and new lows came in at 66. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Insiituform Technologies Incorporated (INSU) fell sharply on the market session to give up 5.85 points for a loss of 22.61% on the day to close at $20.04; UTI Worldwide Incorporated (UTIW) fell hard today by 19.51% to give way to a loss of 5.86 points for a closing price of $24.19; Focus Media Holding Limited (FMCN) moved higher by 2.92 points to end at $77.46; FCStone Group Incorporated (FCSX) climbed higher by 2.76 points to close the day at $35.93 and Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (SIMO) fell by 2.45 points to end the day at $22.50.

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Millennium-Traders