Market Commentary for January 3, 2008


At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a gain of 12.76 points on the day to end the session at 13,056.72; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a gain of 8.52 points to end the session at 9,656.00; the NASDAQ posted a loss of 6.95 points for a close at 2,602.68; the S&P 500 closed with no change at 1,447.16 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 8.54 points to close at 745.01. 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 0.21 points to close at 261.54 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a loss of 14.71 points to close at 5,862.48.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,717; decliners totaled 1,441; unchanged came in at 110; new highs came in at 58 and new lows came in at 252. Momentum stocks traded by active day traders on the NYSE today: Monsanto Corporation (MON) gained 9.45 points with a high on the day of $123.00, a low of $115.54 for a closing price at $120.92; Superior Energy Services Incorporated (SPN) gained 6.76 points with a high on the day of $44.70, a low of $39.55 for a closing price at $42.60; CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) shed 2.58 points with a high on the day of $37.79, a low of $36.37 for a closing price at $36.77; CME Group Incorporated (CME) shed 23.64 points with a high on the day of $675.57, a low of $638.35 for a closing price at $650.35; FMC Technologies Incorporated (FTI) gained 7.65 points with a high on the day of $65.96, a low of $59.87 for a closing price at $64.88; Mastercard Incorporated (MA) shed 2.56 points with a high on the day of $215.05, a low of $205.13 for a closing price at $212.6812; Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Incorporated (JTX) shed 7.25 points with a high on the day of $31.80, a low of $24.13 for a closing price at $24.13; State Street Corporation (STT) gained 6.49 points with a high on the day of $86.46, a low of $82.41 for a closing price at $85.37; CF Industries Holdings Incorporated (CF) gained 0.16 points with a high on the day of $43.00, a low of $42.51 for a closing price at $42.73; NetSuite Incorporated (N) shed 2.79 points with a high on the day of $38.01, a low of $34.01 for a closing price at $34.64; Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (CLF) gained 4.04 points with a high on the day of $103.04, a low of $96.29 for a closing price at $100.61 and MGM Mirage (MGM) shed 3.60 points with a high on the day of $82.27, a low of $77.54 for a closing price at $78.00.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,081; decliners totaled 1,900; unchanged came in at 126; new highs came in at 39 and new lows came in at 263. Momentum stocks on the NASDAQ today: Akeena Solar Incorporated (AKNS) gained 2.15 points with a high on the day of $15.65, a low of $11.50 for a closing price at $13.60; Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) shed 6.79 points with a high on the day of $383.56, a low of $367.83 for a closing price at $375.09; Apple Incorporated (AAPL) gained 0.09 points with a high on the day of $197.39, a low of $192.69 for a closing price at $194.93; First Solar Incorporated (FSLR) shed 1.83 points with a high on the day of $271.7962 a low of $263.03 for a closing price at $265.87; Foster Wheeler Limited (FWLT) gained 7.64 points with a high on the day of $171.30, a low of $162.22 for a closing price at $169.17; Solarfun Power Holdings Corporation Limited (SOLF) gained 0.96 points with a high on the day of $40.19, a low of $36.07 for a closing price at $36.95; Garmin Limited (GRMN) shed 1.15 points with a high on the day of $91.16, a low of $88.13 for a closing price at $90.95; SunPower Corporation (SPWR) gained 3.57 points with a high on the day of $134.34, a low of $127.02 for a closing price at $131.29 and Volcom Incorporated (VLCM) shed 3.30 points with a high on the day of $22.48, a low of $18.54 for a closing price at $19.09.

ADP sees December U.S. Private Sector Jobs increase by 40,000.

U.S. Jobless Claims fell 21K to 336K for week of December 29 compared to survey of a drop by 4K; U.S. December 22 Week Continuing Claims rose 46K to 2,761,000; U.S. Continuing Claims were highest since October 2005 and U.S. Jobless Claims week of December 22 revised to 357K from 349K.

Commodities Markets
The trend was lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.44 to close at $99.18 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower today by $0.02 to close at $2.72 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.17 to close at $7.70 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.54 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved higher today by $9.10 to close at $869.10 a Troy ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.21 to close at $15.50 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved higher today by $5.80 to close at $1,551.80 per Troy ounce and Copper moved higher today by $0.12 to close at $3.19 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.70 to close at $56.48; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.10 at $84.70; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $1.48 at $94.78 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $2.58 at $103.93.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day higher by $3.50 at $465.50 and Soybeans moved sharply higher today by $18.75 to end the session at $1,268.50.

Bonds were mostly higher across the board today: 2 year bond moved higher by 4/32 to close at 100 26/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 5/32 to close at 101 22/32 today; 10 year bond moved higher by 3/32 to close at 102 27/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 9/32 to close at 110 12/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 13,120 with a loss of 16 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 173,360 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 3,528,867; Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 145,255 points to close at 9,486,596; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 120,929 points to close at 6,411,985 and the Cleared Only closed lower by 294 points to close at 19,463 for a total Open Interest on the day of 15,918,044 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 265,890 points.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders