Market Commentary for December 14, 2007


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 178.11 points on the day to end the session at 13,339.85; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit loss of 165.91 points to end the session at 9,698.37; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 32.75 points for a close at 2,635.74; the S&P 500 moved lower by 20.46 points to end at 1,467.95 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 15.53 points to close at 753.93. 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 3.32 points to close at 262.21 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a loss of 87.94 points to close at 5,974.83.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 717; decliners totaled 2,466; unchanged came in at 91; new highs came in at 40 and new lows came in at 188.

Momentum stocks traded by active day traders on the NYSE today: Rio Tinto plc (RTP) shed 15.52 points with a high on the day of $426.00, a low of $414.30 for a closing price at $422.50; Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) shed 3.26 points with a high on the day of $110.22, a low of $105.08 for a closing price at $107.33; MasterCard Incorporated (MA) shed 6.64 points with a high on the day of $223.19 a low of $213.15 for a closing price at $216.56; CME Group Incorporated (CME) shed 1.95 points with a high on the day of $710.82, a low of $693.00 for a closing price at $699.05; Transocean Incorporated (RIG) shed 2.46 points with a high on the day of $137.43, a low of $134.45 for a closing price at $136.00; ITT Educational Services Incorporated (ESI) shed 4.31 points with a high on the day of $101.60, a low of $97.35 for a closing price at $97.84; Kinetic Concepts Incorporated (KCI) shed 3.78 points with a high on the day of $55.55, a low of $47.18 for a closing price at $51.75; The Black & Decker Corporation (BDK) shed 6.82 points with a high on the day of $78.19, a low of $71.95 for a closing price at $73.31 and Cummins Incorporated (CMI) shed 2.22 points with a high on the day of $127.03, a low of $121.86 for a closing price at $121.92.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 772; decliners totaled 2,210; unchanged came in at 134; new highs came in at 26 and new lows came in at 232.

Momentum stocks on the NASDAQ today: Evergreen Solar Incorporated (ESLR) gained 1.51 points with a high on the day of $17.75, a low of $16.19 for a closing price at $16.62; Rigel Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (RIGL) gained 0.90 points with a high on the day of $31.00, a low of $25.50 for a closing price at $26.85; BioMarin Pharmaceutical Incorporated (BMRN) gained 6.74 points with a high on the day of $37.17, a low of $35.29 for a closing price at $36.50; JA Solar Holdings Corporation Limited (JASO) gained 7.48 points with a high on the day of $71.95, a low of $65.25 for a closing price at $70.50 and Mercadolibre Incorporated (MELI) gained 7.87 points with a high on the day of $65.46, a low of $57.52 for a closing price at $61.50.

U.S. November Core CPI showed a rise fastest since January 2007; U.S. November CPI Rise showed a rise fastest since September 2005; U.S. Real Average Weekly Earnings fell 0.4% in November; U.S. November CPI Energy Prices rose 5.7%; U.S. November CPI Food Prices rose 0.3%; U.S. November CPI Unrounded rose 0.796%; U.S. November CPI Core rose 0.275%; U.S. November CPI Excluding Food & Energy rose 0.3% versus consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. November Consumer Prices rose 0.8% versus consensus of an increase by 0.6%; U.S. October Capacity Use was revised to 81.4% from 81.7%; U.S. October Industrial Production was revised to a drop by 0.7% from a drop by 0.5%; U.S. November Capacity Utilization rose 0.1-Pt at 81.5% versus consensus of 81.8% and U.S. November Industrial Production rose 0.3% versus consensus of an increase by 0.2%.

Statement by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. at U.S. Delegation Press Conference at Closing of Strategic Economic Dialogue Thank you to my Cabinet colleagues for your substantive engagement in this SED meeting. Active participation from everyone here as well as additional colleagues back in Washington enabled us to make substantial progress in our economic relationship with China. As I said earlier, to me the handling of the food and product safety issues emerging in recent months is proof of the effectiveness of the SED. Rather than recriminations and finger pointing when this issue arose, both our nations were quick to sit down together and work the substance of the issues. We are able to do that because in this first year of our Dialogue we have deepened relationships and understanding across our governments. Mike Leavitt's work on this issue is a model for addressing all the issues within our economic dialogue. Let me note a few other highlights of our meeting, before we turn to questions. First, we agreed to put a working group together to develop a 10-year plan for review at our next meeting on cooperation on energy and the environment. The issues of energy security and environmental sustainability are vitally important to both our countries. I find it an exciting prospect that we will set out a long-term and strategic plan for working together toward progress in these areas. I also am very pleased that we are beginning a strategic effort to work together to combat illegal logging. This is a long-term challenge, and I am encouraged by this significant first step. We had very healthy discussions about China's progress rebalancing its economy, expanding domestic consumption and moving away from export led growth. The Chinese recognize growing inflationary pressures in their economy and that a more flexible currency expands their ability to use monetary policy to stabilize their economy. I would also note we have made modest progress in the financial services area, expanding opportunities for global financial services companies to do business in China. Opening China's financial markets to foreign competition strengthens the financial backbone of the Chinese economy, and is critical to China's goals of spreading the benefits of growth to all the Chinese people. While we hold these formal meetings twice a year, the work of the SED proceeds all year long. We will host the next formal meeting in Washington next spring. In the meantime, I am confident we will be working closely together to implement our strategic plans and announce results as they occur.

Commodities Markets
The trend was lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.98 to close at $91.27 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower today by $0.01 to close at $2.61 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.17 to close at $7.17 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.34 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly lower across the board today: Gold moved lower today by $6.00 to close at $798.00 a Troy ounce; Silver moved lower by $0.25 today to close at $13.98 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved nicely higher today by $7.60 to close at $1,479.20 per Troy ounce and Copper closed at $2.96 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $1.25 to close at $60.18; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.28 at $88.78; Live Cattle ended the day higher by $0.30 at $95.48 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by $0.43 at $106.18.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day higher by $3.25 at $438.25 and Soybeans moved higher today by $9.00 to end the session at $1,175.00.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond moved lower by 4/32 at 99 21/32; 5 year bond moved lower by 7/32 at 98 28/32 today; 10 year bond moved lower by 8/32 at 100 3/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 6/32 at 105 12/32 for the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,454 with a triple digit loss of 144 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 212,628 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 4,407,947; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 5,939 points to close at 9,689,980; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 142,162 points to close at 6,992,297 and the Cleared Only closed higher by 241 points to close at 16,698 for a total Open Interest on the day of 16,698,975 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 136,464 points.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders