Market Commentary for August 14, 2007


The markets started the session in positive territory but soon gave way to the Bears moving deeper and deeper into negative territory as the day moved on. Continued concerns over mortgage companies and credit concerns increased the south bound momentum. Trading volume was moderate with an increase in trading ranges as the trading day moved into the close.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit loss of 207.61 points to end the session at 13,028.92; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit loss of 174.59 points to end the session at 9,254.27; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 43.12 points for a close below the 2,500 mark at 2,499.12; the S&P 500 moved lower by 26.38 points to end at 1,426.54 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 16.94 points to close at 775.35. 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) posted a loss of 4.86 points to close at 247.25 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a triple digit loss of 110.71 points to close at 5,914.65.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet commented today: Money Market Conditions Now Back To Normal; to continue to monitor the situation; ECB has provided liquidity for market function and turbulence partly due to risk re-pricing.

European Central Bank council member Axel Weber commented today: Financial markets in normalization of risk-pricing; Bundesbank in close contact with banks and economic data point to sustained, robust growth.

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.

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. International Trade data released today: U.S. Jun Trade Deficit came in at $58.14 Billion versus consensus of a Deficit of $61.0 Billion; June Exports came in at $134.54 Billion; June Imports came in at $192.68 Billion and May Trade Balance was revised to a Deficit at $59.16 Billion from Deficit of $60.04 Billion.

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. PPI data released today: U.S. July Producer Prices rose 0.6% versus consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. July PPI Excluding Food & Energy rose 0.1% versus consensus of an increase by an increase by 0.2%; U.S. July PPI Intermediate Goods rose 0.6%; U.S. July PPI Core Intermediate Goods rose by 0.2%; U.S. July PPI Crude Goods rose 1.2%; U.S. July PPI Core Crude Goods remained unchanged; U.S. July PPI Energy Prices rose 2.5%; U.S. July Passenger Car Prices rose 0.2% and U.S. July PPI was left Unrevised at a drop by 0.2%.

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 fell by 0.6% for the first week of August versus July.

Commodities Markets

The trend was higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher by $0.76 today to close at $72.38 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session higher by $0.02 today to close at $1.98 gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.11 to close at $7.13 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher by $0.04 today to close at $1.97 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved lower today to post a loss of $1.20 to close at $679.70 an ounce; Silver closed lower today by $0.11 to close at $12.75 per ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $10.10 to close at $1,277.00 an ounce and Copper moved lower by $0.07 to close at $3.36 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 1.60 to close at 69.80; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 2.73 to close at 92.78; Live Cattle moved higher by 0.10 to close at 95.15 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by 0.15 at 116.03.

Other Commodities: Corn lower on the day with a loss of 4.00 at 345.00 and Soybeans moved sharply lower today for a loss of 15.75 points to end the session at 866.00.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,071 with a sharp loss of 184 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 203,569 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 higher across the board again today amidst the strong market sell off: 2 year bond moved higher by 3/32 again today to close at 100 15/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 7/32 again today to close at 100 18/32; 10 year bond moved higher by 9/32 at 100 5/32 and the 30 year bond moved higher by 5/32 to close at 100 5/32 for the day.

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 3,464,107; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 260,368 points to close at 9,807,245; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 78,303 points to close at 9,164,378 and the Open Interest for OTC moved lower by 60 points to close at 7,581 for a total Open Interest of 18,979,204 for a total Open Interest loss on the day of 181,125 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 429; decliners totaled 2,828; unchanged came in at 75; new highs came in at 16 and new lows came in at 453. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: CME Group Incorporated (CME) plunged 18.77 points on the day with a high of $587.71, a low of $562.30 with a close at its low of the day of $562.30; Precision Castparts Corporation (PCP) moved sharply lower on the session for a loss of 7.08 points with a closing price of $126.80; Cummins Incorporated (CMI) fell by 6.93 points on the day for a loss of 6.93 points with a high on the session of $120.12, a low of $111.66 with a final trading price of $112.02; BlackRock Incorporated (BLK) continued its trend lower today with a loss of 5.87 points with a nice trading range of a high of $155.70, a low of $144.56 with a final trading price on the day of $146.91; Thornburg Mortgage Incorporated (TMA) provided a very nice day trading stock for day traders today with a sharp loss of 46.71% to shed 6.67 points with a high of $12.10, a low of $7.49 with a final trading price on the session of $7.61 and Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) fell sharply lower on the trading day for a loss of 7.75 points with a high on the day of $178.78, a low of $169.00 for a final trading price of $169.75.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 818; decliners totaled 2,254; unchanged came in at 114, new highs came in at 13 and new lows came in at 151. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (KALU) bolted higher on the trading session with a high on the day of $65.34, a low of $62.00 for a closing price on the session of $63.53; Physicians Formula Holdings Incorporated (FACE) moved sharply lower on the session today for a loss of 4.43 points to shed a whopping 31.82% with a final trading price of $9.49; Garmin Limited (GRMN) gave up 3.94 points on the trading day with a high of $101.80, a low of $92.46 for a final trading price of $96.31; Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) fell by 6.67 points on the session with a high of $100.44, a low of $91.26 for a final trading price on the day of $91.90 and eTelecare Global Solutions Incorporated (ETEL) plummeted today by a strong 31.39% for a loss of 4.37 points on light trading volume with a final trading price of $9.55.

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