Market Commentary for April 13, 2007


A typical Friday session with mostly, listless trading action. The major indices held in the red zone prior to mid afternoon when we saw a bolt into higher territory, with no catalyst to back it. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 59.17 points to end the session at 12612.13; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 45.10 points to end at 9522.86; the NASDAQ moved higher by 11.62 points today for a close at 2491.94; the S&P 500 moved higher by 5.05 points to end at 1452.85 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 4.33 points to close at 819.38. 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 1.11 to close at 250.83 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 closed higher by 22.86 at 6112.11.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard W. Fisher commented today: Business cycle hasn't run out of gas; Fed should be mindful of Ethanol's inflation impact; Fed should not debase the dollar via indecision; Fed wants to get inflation down from too high level; Fed's mission is to keep inflation rate low; German and Japanese Economists have turned corner on growth; global factors now bigger influence on U.S. economy; globalization raises economy's speed limit; many economic statistics not well suited to current economy; policy makers `lacking proper measuring sticks`; policy makers need more data on global economy and wants better measurement of service sector.

Economic data released for the day:

International Trade: Details of International trade measures the difference between imports and exports of tangible goods and services. As Imports may apply a draw on the economy, they also increase competitive pressure among domestic producers while Exports give a boost to domestic production. U.S. February Trade Deficit came in at $58.44 billion compared to consensus of $60.00 billion; January Trade Gap was revised to $58.88 billion from $59.12 billion; February Imports fell to $182.43 billion; February Exports came in at $124.00 billion, lower by 2.2% and February Imports came in at $182.43 billion, lower by 1.7%.

Producer Price Index: A measure of the average price level for a fixed basket of consumer and capital goods paid by producers is the PPI. U.S. March Producer Prices rose by 1.0% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.8%; U.S. March PPI Excluding Food and Energy was unchanged compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. March PPI Intermediate Goods rose by 1.0% with Core increase by 0.2%; U.S. March PPI Energy Prices rose by 3.6%; U.S. March PPI Crude Goods rose by 3.2% with Core reading at an increase by 7.7% and U.S. March Passenger Car Prices rose by 0.2%.

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 5-Year Inflation Forecast rose by 3.0% compared to March increase by 2.9%; University of Michigan 12-Month Inflation Forecast rose by 3.3% compared to March increase by 3.0%; University of Michigan Mid-April Sentiment came in at 85.3 compared to March reading at 88.4; University of Michigan Mid-April Current Index came in at 102.4 compared to March reading at 103.5 and University of Michigan Mid-April Expectations came in at 74.3 compared to March reading at 78.7.

On the commodities markets, the trend was lower across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.22 today to close at $63.63 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower by $0.01 to close at $1.90 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.12 today to end at $7.80 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed lower by $0.01 at $2.18 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved higher by $10.20 to close at $689.90 an ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.24 to end the session at $14.09 an ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $6.90 to close at $1,286.40 an ounce and Copper ended the day higher by $0.03 to end at $3.53 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly higher across the board today: Lean Hogs moved higher today by 0.45 at 77.00; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 0.48 to close at 104.25 Live Cattle moved higher by 0.23 to end the day at 92.70 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 1.68 to close at 107.73.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today by 7.75 points to end at 395.00 and Soybeans moved lower today by 1.50 to close at 755.00.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond closed lower by 2.32 at 99 16/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 5/32 at 99 5/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 7/32 at 98 29/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 11.21 at 97 5/32.

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 3,172,471 Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 30,200 to close at 9,772,561; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 35,082 to close at 7,758,464 and the Open Interest for OTC moved higher by 12 to close at 4,491 for a total Open Interest of 17,535,516 for a total gain on the day by 65,294.

The e-mini Dow ended the session higher by 79 at 12683. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 129,198 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 1,052; decliners totaled 2,175; unchanged came in at 134; new highs came in at 208 and new lows came in at 1725 New York Stock Exchange movers for the day today: SLM Corporation (SLM) rallied higher on the Big Board today for a gain of 14.75% to move higher by 6.01 points for a closing price at $46.76; Cott Corporation (COT) climbed nicely higher by 24.42% for a gain on the day of 3.16 points to close at $16.10; Potash Corporation / Saskatchewan U.S.A. (POT) gained 6.96 points on the session for a closing price at $184.12; Lubrizol Corporation (LZ) gained 3.71 points for a closing price at $56.95 and Varian Medical Systems Incorporated (VAR) fell by 3.56 points to end the day at $45.38.

On the NASDAQ today, advancers came in at 1,900; decliners totaled 1,119; unchanged came in at 153 new highs came in at 143 and new lows came in at 34. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: FCStone Group Incorporated (FCSX) rallied higher by 22.48% for a gain on the day of 8.07 points for a closing price at $44.02; Ventana Medical Systems Incorporated (VMSI) made a gain on the trading session today of 3.14 points to close at $45.62; JA Solar Holdings Company Limited (JASO) moved higher by 11.88% for a gain of 2.57 points to end the session at $24.20 and Rural Cellular Corporation (RCCC) rallied higher by 34.99% to gain 4.93 points on the day to close at $19.02.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders