Market Commentary for January 24, 2008


At the closing bell, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) posted a triple digit gain of 108.44 points on the day to end the session at 12,378.61; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) posted a triple digit gain of 136.15 points to end the session at 8,941.83; the NASDAQ posted a gain of 44.51 points for a close at 2,360.92; the S&P 500 posted a gain of 13.54 points for a close at 1,352.14 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved lower by 0.72 points to close at 692.71. 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 6.37 points to close at 238.18 and the FTSE RAFI 1000 posted a gain of 35.36 points to close at 5,517.18.

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,009; decliners totaled 1,190; unchanged came in at 61; new highs came in at 6 and new lows came in at 5. Momentum stocks traded by active Day Traders on the NYSE today: Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) gained 4.09 points with a high on the day of $103.84, a low of $98.84 for a closing price at $102.43; CME Group Incorporated (CME) gained 25.15 points with a high on the day of $642.60, a low of $607.52 for a closing price at $635.14; ITT Educational Services Incorporated (ESI) gained 14.08 points with a high on the day of $88.60, a low of $74.26 for a closing price at $86.62; CNH Global NV (CNH) shed 4.00 points with a high on the day of $49.29, a low of $41.01 for a closing price at $46.00; Schlumberger Limited (SLB) shed 0.02 points with a high on the day of $83.49, a low of $79.04 for a closing price at $80.32; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (POT) gained 8.95 points with a high on the day of $133.99, a low of $125.26 for a closing price at $129.10; Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) shed 0.19 points with a high on the day of $201.00, a low of $194.20 for a closing price at $199.20; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) gained 9.27 points with a high on the day of $358.50, a low of $345.91 for a closing price at $354.01; Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) gained 3.96 points with a high on the day of $166.79, a low of $161.00 for a closing price at $163.96; Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) gained 3.95 points with a high on the day of $124.93, a low of $118.28 for a closing price at $120.96; MBIA Incorporated (MBI) shed 2.36 points with a high on the day of $18.30, a low of $12.83 for a closing price at $14.25; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Incorporated (FCX) gained 6.13 points with a high on the day of $83.97, a low of $79.25 for a closing price at $83.43; Terra Nitrogen Company, Limited Partnership (TNH) gained 13.80 points with a high on the day of $136.50, a low of $126.26 for a closing price at $136.30; Mastercard Incorporated (MA) shed 0.81 points with a high on the day of $194.09, a low of $184.93 for a closing price at $191.78; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros S.A. (Unibanco) (UBB) gained 8.75 points with a high on the day of $132.71, a low of $124.25 for a closing price at $130.79; Hess Corporation (HES) gained 5.42 points with a high on the day of $91.98, a low of $82.15 for a closing price at $89.61; Mosaic Corporation (MOS) gained 10.26 points with a high on the day of $92.19, a low of $85.57 for a closing price at $91.26; WellCare Health Plans, Incorporated (WCG) shed 8.94 points with a high on the day of $48.63, a low of $40.56 for a closing price at $42.00.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 1,723; decliners totaled 1,314; unchanged came in at 99; new highs came in at 99 and new lows came in at 108. Momentum stocks traded by active Day Traders on the NASDAQ today: SunPower Corporation (SPWR) shed 5.04 points with a high on the day of $71.55, a low of $60.25 for a closing price at $69.21; First Solar Incorporated (FSLR) gained 171.46 points with a high on the day of $174.40, a low of $148.60 for a closing price at $171.46; Baidu.com Incorporated (BIDU) gained 37.00 points with a high on the day of $307.49, a low of $273.51 for a closing price at $307.20; THQ Incorporated (THQI) shed 5.60 points with a high on the day of $20.99, a low of $20.99 for a closing price at $19.50; Apple Incorporated (AAPL) shed 3.47 points with a high on the day of $140.70, a low of $132.01 for a closing price at $135.60; Google Incorporated (GOOG) gained 25.87 points with a high on the day of $579.69, a low of $554.14 for a closing price at $574.49; MTS Systems Corporation (MTSC) shed 6.22 points with a high on the day of $36.92, a low of $29.35 for a closing price at $31.37; Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) shed 2.37 points with a high on the day of $110.89, a low of $102.34 for a closing price at $105.02; Garmin Limited (GRMN) gained 3.21 points with a high on the day of $69.00, a low of $66.00 for a closing price at $67.81; Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) shed 1.46 points with a high on the day of $68.40, a low of $66.10 for a closing price at $67.15; Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT) shed 2.87 points with a high on the day of $27.20, a low of $23.37 for a closing price at $23.89; F5 Networks Incorporated (FFIV) gained 4.62 points with a high on the day of $26.22, a low of $23.63 for a closing price at $24.80.

U.S. Jobless Claims fell 1K to 301K week of January 19 compared to survey of expected increase by 19K and U.S. Continuing Claims for week of January 12 fell by 75K to 2,672,000.

U.S. December Existing Home Sales fell 2.2% to rate of 4.89 Million; U.S. December Existing Home Sales Consensus Rate of 4.98 Million; U.S. Inventory of Unsold U.S. Homes at 9.6 Months Supply; U.S. December Median Existing Home Price fell 6.0% on the year to $208,400.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan commented today: Volatility Caused by Extreme Uncertainty and
Not Clear U.S. Falling into Recession

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson commented today: Long-Term U.S. Strength will be Reflected in Currency; Strong Dollar Clearly in U.S. Interest; Rebates Should Begin Within 60 Days of Package Enactment.

U.S. Stimulus Plan Includes Tax Rebates of $600 to $1,200; Bush Admin, Congressional Leaders Agree on Stimulus Plan; Urges Senate to Enact Package as soon as possible; U.S. Economy Structurally Sound, but Dealing with Challenges; Stimulus Package is Effective, Temporary, Robust.

Commodities Markets
The trend was mostly higher across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved higher today by $2.41 to close at $89.40 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher today by $0.03 to close at $2.44 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.19 to close at $7.44 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.02 to close at $2.24 a gallon.

Metals Markets ended the session higher across the board today: Gold moved sharply higher today by $23.90 to close at $907.00 a Troy ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.36 to close at $16.33 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved sharply higher today by $55.90 to close at $1,615.00 per Troy ounce and Copper moved higher by $0.10 today to close at $3.17 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.48 to close at $61.78; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $0.15 to close at $83.80; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.70 at $93.63 and Feeder Cattle ended the day higher by $0.68 at $103.03.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day sharply higher today by $20.00 at $489.25 and Soybeans moved sharply higher today by $41.00 to end the session at $1,232.00.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond moved lower by 8/32 to close at 101 26/32; 5 year bond moved lower by 19/32 to close at 103 14/32 today; 10 year bond moved lower by 18/32 to close at 104 22/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 1 5/32 to close at 110 10/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,361 with a gain of 89 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 334,863 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 7,504,912; Open Interest for Futures moved higher by 29,148 points to close at 10,628,046; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 423,049 points to close at 9,526,825 and the Cleared Only closed higher by 60 point to close at 21,910 for a total Open Interest on the day of 20,176,781 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 452,257 points.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders