Market Commentary for July 20, 2007


The Bears were in control of the market session, from the opening bell. Trading Volume was heavy, with wide trading ranges as the markets moved south, through out the trading session. At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a loss of 149.33 points to end the session at 13,851.08; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a loss of 121.08 points to end at 10,072.93; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 32.44 points for a close at 2,687.60; the S&P 500 moved lower with a loss of 18.98 points to end at 1,534.10 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 15.41 points to close at 836.44. 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 1.49 points to close at 268.27 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a loss of 84.14 points to close at 6,415.62.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, William Poole commented today: Fed mustn't indulge in bail-outs; Fed very concerned about mortgage foreclosures; Fed's growth revision "simply not material"; inflation expectations well contained; market may drive out irresponsible lenders; market shave punished bad players, lenders; mortgage regulations mustn't harm lending; need to stress accountability in mortgage market; non-prime market has served many borrowers well; repeats he prefers core inflation at 1.5%; sees more foreclosures from sub-prime story; sees return to sound mortgage lending practices; sub-prime market problems should remain contained; sub-prime woes shouldn't hit consumer spending and weaker Dollar not decisive influence on inflation.

Economic Data: N/A

Commodities Markets

The trend was lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.35 today to close at $75.57 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session lower by $0.02 at $2.11 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.26 today to close at $6.52 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.16 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board yet again today: Gold moved higher today for a gain of $6.60 to close at $684.70 an ounce; Silver closed higher today by $0.03 at $13.40 an ounce; Platinum moved higher today for gain of $8.10 to close at $1,346.60 an ounce and Copper closed the day higher by $0.04 at $3.71 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 0.43 to close at 71.98; Pork Bellies ended the day lower at 87.25; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.15 to close at 96.60 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.05 at 115.50.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today with a loss of 2.75 points for a close at 333.50 and Soybeans moved lower today with a loss of 6.75 points to end the session at 875.75.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,933 with a sharp loss of 128 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 130,552 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 higher by 5/32 at 100 6/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 10/32 at 100 4/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 17/32 at 96 17/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 23/32 at 95 9/32.

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 3,129,559. Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 110,427 points to close at 9,884,026; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 74,716 points to close at 9,198,678 and the Open Interest for OTC moved higher by 477 points to close at 7,062 for a total Open Interest of 19,089,766 for a total loss on the day by 35,234 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 739; decliners totaled 2,445; unchanged came in at 112; new highs came in at 131 and new lows came in at 138. Gainers and losers for the day on the NYSE: CME Group Incorporated (CME) shed 10.00 points on the trading day with a high of $573.25, a low of $561.30 for a closing price on the session of $562.00; Precision Castparts Corporation (PCP) moved lower on the trading session for a loss of 4.62 points with a high of $138.70, a low of $131.80 for a final trading price at $133.80; Pall Corporation (PLL) fell sharply lower on the trading day to shed 15.72% for a loss of 7.67 points with a high of $46.02, a low of $38.43 for an end of trading day price at $41.11; Biovail Corporation (BVF) moved sharply lower on the trading session for a loss of 21.48% to shed 5.48 points with a final trading price on the day of $20.03; Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) moved lower on the day by 6.23 points to close the trading session at $110.43 and Kinetic Concepts Incorporated (KCI) plowed higher by 8.10 points to gain 14.24% on the session for a closing price of $64.98.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 804; decliners totaled 2,222; unchanged came in at 115, new highs came in at 78 and new lows came in at 192. Gainers and losers for the day on the NASDAQ: Google Incorporated (GOOG) began to plummet after the closing bell yesterday, the loss on the day was 28.61 points with a high of $523.18, a low of $509.50 for a final trading price on the session of $519.98; Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (ISRG) rallied higher on the trading session for a gain of 32.23% to tack on 48.37 points with a high on the day of $199.84, a low of $175.58 with an end of day trading price of $198.45; First Solar Incorporated (FSLR) moved lower on the session by 3.18 points to end the day at $108.45 and Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) gave up 10.19 points on the day with a high of $194.99, a low of $185.85 for a final trading price at $188.00.

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