Market Commentary for May 24, 2007


Trading action was controlled by the Bears today amidst moderate trading volume and wide trading ranges. As we move into the close of the week and ahead of the extended Memorial Day weekend, trading activity is expected to be light tomorrow with many day traders and investors heading out for the Holiday. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW
(Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved lower by 84.52 points to end the session at 13,441.13; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit loss of 101.15 points to end at 9,812.51; the
NASDAQ posted a loss of 39.13 points today for a close at 2,537.92; the S&P 500 moved lower by 14.77 points to end at 1,507.51 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 12.74 points to close at 823.80. 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 2.27 to close at 258.09 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 moved lower by 66.13 to close at 6,330.87.

Economic data released for the day:

Durable Goods Orders: Reflecting new orders with domestic manufactures for immediate and future delivery of factory hard goods. Data reported today: U.S. April Durable Goods Orders rose by 0.6% compared to consensus of and increase by 1.0%; April Durable Goods Orders excluding Transportation rose by 1.5%; April Durable Goods Orders excluding Defense rose by 0.6% and March Durable Goods Orders was revised to an increase by 5.0% from an increase by 3.7%.

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. Data reported today: U.S. Week of May 12th Continuing Claims rose by 58K to 2,529,000 and U.S. Jobless Claims rose by 15K to 311K for week of May 19th compared to consensus of an increase by 17K.

New Home Sales: Number of newly constructed homes with a committed sale, for the month. The economic momentum and consumer purchases of furniture and appliances helps determine the housing market trends for, new home sales. Data reported today: U.S. April New Home Sales rose by 16.2% to 981,000 compared to consensus of 860,000 and U.S. Mar New Home Sales was revised down to 844,000 from 858,000.

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 May 19th, weekly change came in at 104 Bcf.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $1.59 today to close at $64.18 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower by $0.01 to close at $1.93 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.09 at $7.85 million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher by $0.05 to close at $2.36 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved sharply lower by $9.30 to close at $653.30 an ounce; Silver moved lower by $0.19 to close at $12.92 an ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower today by $16.30 to close at $1,290.70 an ounce and Copper ended the day lower by $0.12 to close at $3.18 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day higher by 0.43 to close at 73.93; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 0.18 to close at 102.10; Live Cattle moved lower by 1.03 to end the day at 91.23 and Feeder Cattle ended the lower by 1.13 to close at 111.60.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today for a gain of 2.25 points to end at 372.75 and Soybeans moved higher today with a gain of 4.75 points to end at 805.25.

The e-mini Dow ended the session lower by 78 points to close at 13,479. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 147,983 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 mostly higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed with no change again today at 99 12/32; 5 year bond closed with no change at 98 25/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 3/32 at 97 10/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 6/32 at 96 8/32.

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 4,936,411; Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 59,323 points to close at 10,604,364; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 191,323 points to close at 8,264,588 and the Open Interest for OTC closed with no change at 4,899 for a total Open Interest of 18,873,851 for a total gain on the day by 250,646.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 614; decliners totaled 2,617; unchanged came in at 121; new highs came in at 149 and new lows came in at 36. Gainers and losers for the day on the NYSE: Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (CME) shed 7.14 points on the Big Board to close at $512.25; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) gave up 9.77 points to close the trading day at $278.49; Brown Shoe Company Incorporated (BWS) moved higher by 17.34% for a gain on the trading session of 4.75 points to close at $32.15; Potash Corporation Saskatchewan (POT) fell by 7.91 points to close the trading day at $194.93 and Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated (ICE) gave up 6.31 points to end the session at $142.16.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 758 decliners totaled 2,278; unchanged came in at 145, new highs came in at 69 and new lows came in at 52. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Komag Incorporated (KOMG) fell hard on the trading day for a loss of 15.83% to lose 4.36 points for a closing price of $23.18; Network Appliance Incorporated (NTAP) shed 16.32% for a loss on the trading session of 6.21 points to end the day at $31.85; Gymboree Corporation (GYMB) moved higher by 3.45 points for an end of day closing price of $42.16; Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) moved higher by 4.30 points to end the day at $159.90 and Bon-Ton Stores Incorporated (BONT) shed 4.87 points to end the trading day at $45.08.

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Millennium-Traders