Market Commentary for August 22, 2007


The markets moved higher today where they held most of their gains, even into the closing bell. Trading volume was moderate amidst the ongoing thoughts that the Fed will cut rates, sometime in the near future. Trading action was more active than yesterday�s session although, at times through out the session, the markets fell quiet creating a difficult trading atmosphere for day traders. Eyes will be on the markets tomorrow to see if the positive trend can continue.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit gain today of 145.27 points to end the session at 13,236.13; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit gain of 144.59 points to end the session at 9,477.13; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 31.50 points for a close at 2,552.80; the S&P 500 moved higher by 16.95 points to end at 1,464.07 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 10.18 points to close at 798.56. 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 world�s investable market capitalization) posted a gain of 3.32 points to close at 249.29 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 67.80 points to close at 6,069.58.

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President, Richard W. Fisher comments released today from an interview conducted in June: markets tend to overshoot; market corrections are inevitable; Fed's job is to protect financial system; Fed's job is not to bail out risk takers and 'comfortable' with Bernanke's leadership.

Economic Data:

MBA Purchase Applications: Compilation from the Mortgage Bankers� Association of various mortgage loan indexes. This data is the leading indicator for single-family home sales as well as, housing construction. Data released today: U.S. MBA Market Index falls 5.5% to 641.1 from 678.7; U.S. MBA Purchase Index falls 5% to 441.5 from 464.9 and U.S. MBA Refinancing Index falls 6.4% to 1806.3 from 1929.6.

EIA Petroleum Status Report: EIA (Energy Information Administration) provides weekly petroleum inventories in the United States whether they are produced here or abroad. Prices for petroleum products are determined by the level of inventories. Department of Energy released the Petroleum Status today: U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles rose by 1.9 Million Barrels in the week compared to expectations of a drop by 2.8 Million Barrels; U.S. Gasoline Stockpiles fell by 5.7 Million Barrels in the week compared to expectations of a drop by 600,000 Million Barrels; U.S. Distillate Stockpiles rose 1.3 Million Barrels in the week compared to expectations of a drop by 800,000 Million Barrels and U.S. Refineries ran at a capacity of 91.6%, was seen up 0.2 Pt. at 92.0%.

Commodities Markets

The trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.31 today to close at $69.26 a barrel; Heating Oil ended the session lower by $0.01 today to close at $1.96 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.24 to close at $5.79 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher by $0.03 today to close at $1.89 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved higher today by $2.50 to close at $668.70 an ounce; Silver closed higher today by $0.06 to close at $11.73 per ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $2.80 to close at $1,248.60 an ounce and Copper closed higher by $0.05 at $3.22 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by 0.40 to close at 67.80; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by 0.13 to close at 94.03; Live Cattle moved lower by 0.93 to close at 95.48 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 1.03 at 116.75.

Other Commodities: Corn moved nicely higher on the day with a gain of 9.25 at 364.25 and Soybeans moved sharply higher today for a gain of 16.00 points to end the session at 847.00.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,278 with a nice gain of 158 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 187,343 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 moved lower by 9/32 today to close at 100 26/32; 5 year bond closed lower by 16/32 at 101 4/32; 10 year bond moved lower by 14/32 today to close at 100 25/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 6/32 to close at 100 19/32 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 4,259,633; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 13,614 points to close at 9,766,398; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 29,110 points to close at 9,651,232 and the Cleared Only closed at 7,887 for a total Open Interest on the day of 19,425,517 with a total Change on the day for a loss of 15,496 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,579; decliners totaled 690; unchanged came in at 61; new highs came in at 24 and new lows came in at 32. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: Tween Brands Incorporated (TWB) plummeted on the trading day to shed 28.50% for a loss of 11.00 points for a final trading price on the day of $27.59; Precision Castparts Corporation (PCP) bolted higher on the trading session with a gain on the day of 6.99 points to close at $136.19; VMware Incorporated (VMW) provided a continuance of trading action for the active day trader with a high on the session of $73.95, a low of $66.56 for a closing price on the session of $66.85; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros SA (UBB) posted a nice gain on the day by 5.18 points for a final closing price on the session of $110.32; Bally Technologies Incorporated (BYI) romped higher on the trading day for a gain of 19.95% to tack on 5.47 points for a final trading price at $32.89; MBM MIRAGE (MGM) rallied on the trading day for a gain by 6.62 points to close the day at $80.94 and Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC (WBD) climbed higher on the day with a gain of 6.70 points to close the trading session at $96.50.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 2,107; decliners totaled 927; unchanged came in at 135, new highs came in at 37 and new lows came in at 59. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Blue Coat Systems Incorporated (BCSI) rallied higher on the trading day with a high of $77.50, a low of $67.58 with a gain by 30.33% to tack on a whopping 18.15 points to close the session during after hour trading at $78.00; Apple Incorporated (AAPL) moved higher again today with a gain of 5.78 points for a final trading price of $133.35 and DryShips Incorporated (DRYS) rallied today to post a gain of 12.68% to tack on 7.12 points with a high of $64.00, a low of $58.12 to close the session at $63.26.

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Millennium-Traders