Market Commentary for October 19, 2007


Twenty years ago today, the markets posted their largest one day loss in history; the day which will go down in history is referred to as, Black Monday. On Black Monday, the DOW shed over $500 Billion, on that one day.

Today, the trading session was plagued by a strong south bound trend with the Bears clearly in control. Trading volume was heavy as the markets literally sank lower, as the day moved forward. Short sellers reaped from the negative trend, investors on the other hand were either struck by a panic mode or possibly joined in on the sell off, to cut their losses. The down draft is attributed to increased concerns over the state of our economy as well as, the increasingly rising cost of oil. As the price of a barrel of oil continues to surge higher, the likelihood of the market to move lower is almost imminent.

At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a hefty triple digit loss of 366.94 points on the day to end the session at 13,522.02; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a hard triple digit loss of 254.34 points to end the session at 9.920.27; the NASDAQ posted a sharp loss of 74.15 points for a close at 2,725.16; the S&P 500 moved lower by 39.45 points to end at 1,500.63 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 26.24 points to close at 798.79. 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 loss of 4.62 points to close at 269.15 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a triple digit loss of 159.40 points to close at 6,157.33.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke comments released today: Rate Policy Predictability Is 'Critical'; Should Be Cautious In Estimating Growth Potential; Assessing Economies True State 'Formidable' Challenge; Fed Should Avoid 'Overreacting' To Economic Info; Markets Have Already Tightened Lending Standards; Hard To Know What Fed's Future Challenges Are and Communication, Information Key To Predictability.

William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, comments released today, from yesterday: Recent Housing Cycle Unique Due To Sub-prime Rise and Sees Long Road To Recovery For Sub-prime Lending.

William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, comments released today: Important For Fed To Do What Is Says It Will Do; Markets Now Do Much Of Fed's Work For It; Banks Well Capitalized Amid Current Troubles; Fed Credibility Intact Amid Recent Market Troubles; Best For Fed To Head Off Rising Market Troubles; Political Leaders Often Misunderstand Monetary Policy; Fed Should Not Experiment With Monetary Policy; Important For Fed To Do What It Says It Will Do; Central Bank Credibility 'Fragile,' Hard To Earn; Policy Rules Help Avoid Mistakes Of The Past and Limits To How Often Fed Should Release Forecasts.

Commodities Markets
The trend was lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.87 to close at $88.60 a barrel; Heating Oil closed lower by $0.02 at $2.35 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.35 to close at $7.73 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.02 to close at $2.17 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mixed across the board today: Gold moved lower today by $0.30 to close at $768.40 an ounce; Silver moved lower by $0.17 to close at $13.64 per ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $1.00 to close at $1,448.60 an ounce and Copper closed higher by $0.01 today at $3.55 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.45 to close at $56.93; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by $0.43 at $83.40; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.40 at $97.30 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $1.10 at $111.15.

Other Commodities: Corn moved higher today by $3.00 to close at $370.25 and Soybeans moved lower today by $9.25 to end the session at $1,001.25.

Bonds were nicely higher across the board yet again today: 2 year bond moved higher by 8/32 today to close at 100 13/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 18/32 to close at 101 today; 10 year bond moved higher by 27/32 today to close at 102 27/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 1 15/32 at 105 for the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,538 with a heavy loss of 402 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 146,784 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.

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 3,679,975; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 27,476 points to close at 9,552,942; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 146,695 points to close at 8,840,366 and the Cleared Only closed higher by 193 points at 9,447 for a total Open Interest on the day of 18,402,755 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 119,412 points.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 524 decliners totaled 2,778; unchanged came in at 80; new highs came in at 121 and new lows came in at 169. Gainers and losers for the day as well as active day trading stocks on the NYSE: FTSE/Xinhua China (FXI) pushed lower today with a loss of 13.20 points with a high on the session of $209.55, a low of $197.75 with a final trading price at $199.30; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) moved sharply lower on the session to post a loss of 13.36 points with a high on the day of $352.23, a low of $341.14 for a closing price on the week at $341.14; China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SNP) fell lower on the day for a loss of 10.08 points with a high on the day of $162.81, a low of $154.25 for a final price at the bell of $154.73; PetroChina Company Limited (PTR) continued its trend into lower territory with a heavy loss of 17.74 points with a high on the session of $246.50, a low of $232.75 with a closing price at $232.98; Schlumberger Limited (SLB) took a hit today for a loss of 12.30 points with a high on the day of $105.48, a low of $98.00 to close the session at $99.32; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros (UBB) shed 8.18 points on the day with a high of $142.83, a low of $135.05 for a final trading price at $135.19 and China Telecom Corporation Limited (CHA) moved lower on the day by 6.79 points for a final trading price at $84.47.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 488; decliners totaled 2,495; unchanged came in at 114; new highs came in at 45 and new lows came in at 196. Gainers and losers for the day as well as, active day trading stocks on the NASDAQ: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (ISRG) soared higher on the day by 12.90 points with a high on the day of $270.52, a low of $265.90 with a final trading price of $269.34; Cerner Corporation (CERN) fell lower on the session to post a loss of 5.98 points with a high on the day at $61.16, a low of $58.32 for a closing price at $59.47; SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) took a sharp dive today with a loss of 15.07% to shed 7.58 points with a final trading price at $42.73 and Google Incorporated (GOOG) moved green on the day by 5.09 points with a high of $658.49, a low of $643.23 to end the session at $644.71.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders