Market Commentary for June 26, 2007


Trading activity provided a reversal from the positive to negative area into the close. The Bulls appeared to have control of the trading activity until the late afternoon session when the Bears stepped up and moved the markets into the red zone, into the close. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted its fourth loss in the past five sessions with a loss of 14.39 points to end the session at 13,337.66; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a loss of 32.89 points to end at 9,774.29; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 2.92 points for a close at 2,574.16; the S&P 500 moved lower by 4.85 points to end at 1,492.89 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 1.33 points to close at 811.88. 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 0.95 to close at 257.99 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a loss of 24.84 points to close at 6,273.07.

EU's Almunia comments today: EU Economic recovery "quite healthy" and Euro Forex Rate hasn't created major problems.

Richmond Fed released following data today: June Services Revenues Index came in at 15 versus May reading of 7; June Retail Revenues Index came in at 16 versus May reading of 0 and June Manufacturing Shipments Index came in at 7 versus May reading of a drop by 7.

Economic Data:

ICSC-UBS Store Sales: Weekly measure of comparable store sales at major retail chains which is related to the general merchandise portion of retail sales, as reported by the International Council of Shopping Centers. This date accounts for approximately 10% of total retail sales. ICSC-UBS Chain Store Sales reported today, down 0.7% for week of June 23rd.

Redbook: General merchandise portion of retail sales covering only approximately 10% of total retail sales, this data is a weekly measure of sales at department stores, chain stores and discounters. Redbook data released today: U.S. Retail Sales Down 1.0% for first 3 weeks of June versus May.

Consumer Confidence: A compilation by the Conference Board of a survey of five thousand consumer attitudes, across the country, on present economic conditions and expectations of future conditions. Conference Board released Consumer Confidence data today: U.S. Conference Board June Consumer Confidence reading came in at 103.9 versus May reading at 108.5; Conference Board June Present Situation Index came in at 127.9 versus May reading at 136.1 and Conference Board June Expectations Index came in at 87.9 versus May reading at 90.1.

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 released today: U.S. May New Home Sales fell by 1.6% to 915,000 compared to consensus of 920,000 and U.S. April New Home Sales were revised lower to 930,000 from 981,000.

Commodities Markets

The trend was lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $1.41 today to close at $67.77 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session lower by $0.05 to close at $2.00 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower by $0.08 today to close at $7.00 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower by $0.06 on the session to close at $2.25 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved lower today for a substantial loss of $9.40 to close at $645.30 an ounce; Silver closed lower today by $0.60 at $12.28 an ounce; Platinum moved sharply lower for the second day in a row for a hefty loss today of $23.40 to close at $1,268.30 an ounce and Copper moved lower by $0.08 today to close at $3.32 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 1.25 to close at 71.33; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 0.80 to close 94.45; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.40 to close at 88.63 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.90 at 107.65.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today for a gain of 1.00 for a close at 375.00 and Soybeans moved higher today to post a gain of 3.50 to end the session at 842.00.

The e-mini Dow ended the session lower today, with a loss of 42 points to close at 13,437. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 203,035 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 closed lower by 1/32 at 99 31/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 1/32 at 99 1/32; 10 year bond closed lower by 2/32 today at 95 14/32 and the 30 year bond closed lower by 6/32 at 93 1/32.

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 4,060,586; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 22,208 points to close at 9,867,822; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 178,539 points to close at 7,531,818 and the Open Interest for OTC closed with no change again today at 5,787 for a total Open Interest of 17,405,427 for a total gain on the day by 156,331 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,172; decliners totaled 2,012; unchanged came in at 139; new highs came in at 54 and new lows came in at 109. Gainers and losers for the day on the NYSE: Apache Corporation (APA) moved lower on the trading session for a loss of 3.26 points to end the trading day at $80.43; LandAmerica Financial Group Incorporated (LFG) shed 3.59 points for a closing price at $94.74; iShares Silver Trust (SLV) moved sharply lower by 6.34 points to close the day at $121.91; Energy East Corporation (EAS) posted a favorable gain on the trading day by 16.46% to climb higher by 3.71 points for a closing price of $26.25; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) gave up 3.59 points to end the trading day at $94.74; NYMEX Holdings Incorporated (NMX) fell sharply lower on the trading day by 5.20 points to end the session at $124.70; Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated (ICE) moved lower by 3.68 points to end the trading day on the Big Board at $145.56 and Huntsman Corporation (HUN) moved sharply higher on the session to post a nice gain of 28.10% to move higher by 5.31 points for a closing price of $24.21.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,388, decliners totaled 1,659; unchanged came in at 130; new highs came in at 58 and new lows came in at 88. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Ventana Medical Systems Incorporated (VMSI) rallied higher for a substantial gain on the trading day of 47.76% to tack on 24.71 points on the session to close the day at $76.45; Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) climbed higher on the day to tack on 3.12 points for a closing price of $58.93 and Foster Wheeler Limited (FWLT) shed 2.82 points on the trading day to close at $101.74.

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