Daily Market Commentary for March 24, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

It appears that the street, investors, day traders and the general public all though the Bear deal at $2.00 a share was a done deal. Surprise, surprise - JP Morgan upped the ante to $10.00 a share. This news created a nice positive tone to the markets today however, I doubt if many investors who dumped their shares last week are doing little smiling. After all, the increase in the share 'offer' could have helped those who took a beating, lighten the pain, just a little. Regardless, the markets moved nicely higher as we began a new week, after the extended holiday weekend. Even news from Chicago Fed that they confirm that it appears a recession has begun, didn't dim the positive trend, across the board today.

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:

DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit gain of 187.32 points on the day to end the session at 12,548.64

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit gain of 142.05 points to end the session at 8,859.61

NASDAQ gain of 68.64 points for a close at 2,326.75

S&P 500 gain of 20.37 points for a close at 1,349.88

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 2.59 points to close at 234.38

FTSE RAFI 1000 gain of 75.91 points to close at 5,499.02

BEL 20 unchanged at 3,623.02

CAC 40 unchanged at 4,533.72

FTSE100 unchanged at 5,495.20

NIKKEI 225 triple digit gain of 219.70 points to end the session at 12,480.10

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,593, decliners totaled 630; unchanged came in at 42; new highs came in at 40 and new lows came in at 33. Momentum NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: The Bear Stearns Companies, Incorporated (BSC) gained 5.28 points with a high on the day of $13.85 a low of $9.38 for a closing price at $11.25: Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporated (LEH) shed 2.01 points with a high on the day of $49.49, a low of $46.10 for a closing price at $46.64; Sherwin-Williams Corporation (SHW) shed 0.95 points with a high on the day of $53.76, a low of $50.35 for a closing price at $52.87; Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS) shed 3.40 points with a high on the day of $51.50, a low of $48.82 for a closing price at $48.82; Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) shed 0.75 points with a high on the day of $184.52, a low of $176.15 for a closing price at $178.88; BlackRock, Incorporated (BLK) gained 18.43 points with a high on the day of $231.92 a low of $195.80 for a closing price at $224.53; AbitibiBowater, Incorporated (ABH) gained 3.79 points with a high on the day of $14.19 a low of $10.04 for a closing price at $13.56; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (POT) gained 6.54 points with a high on the day of $154.65 a low of $148.35 for a closing price at $150.80; VISA Incorporated (V) shed 4.62 points with a high on the day of $67.70, a low of $59.00 for a closing price at $59.73; Monsanto Corporation (MON) gained 7.13 points with a high on the day of $100.94, a low of $106.33 for a closing price at $104.26; MF Global Limited (MF) gained 0.72 points with a high on the day of $11.04, a low of $9.48 for a closing price at $9.97; Mastercard Incorporated (MA) shed 3.88 points with a high on the day of $230.35, a low of $214.75 for a closing price at $216.50; Mosaic Corporation (MOS) gained 1.31 points with a high on the day of $98.68, a low of $92.25 for a closing price at $93.32; CIT Group, Incorporated (CIT) gained 3.40 points with a high on the day of $14.77, a low of $10.30 for a closing price at $13.03.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 2,187; decliners totaled 814; unchanged came in at 105; new highs came in at 34 and new lows came in at 88. Momentum NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Herman Miller Incorporated (MLHR) shed 1.58 points with a high on the day of $27.03 a low of $25.56 for a closing price at $26.25; First Solar, Incorporated (FSLR) shed 15.84 points with a high on the day of $213.69 a low of $194.76 for a closing price at $209.50; Intuitive Surgical, Incorporated (ISRG) gained 26.55 points with a high on the day of $335.00 a low of $301.80 for a closing price at $327.24; Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) shed 6.89 points with a high on the day of $112.24 a low of $106.65 for a closing price at $111.83; Cohu Incorporated (COHU) shed 3.34 points with a high on the day of $19.92 a low of $16.99 for a closing price at $16.99; Priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN) gained 1.85 points with a high on the day of $15.12 a low of $12.21 for a closing price at $13.79; XM Satellite Radio Holdings Incorporated (XMSR) gained 1.85 points with a high on the day of $15.12 a low of $12.21 for a closing price at $13.79; Baidu.com, Incorporated (BIDU) gained 32.10 points with a high on the day of $242.65 a low of $215.00 for a closing price at $240.00; Google Incorporated (GOOG) gained 27.01 points with a high on the day of $465.78, a low of $437.72 for a closing price at $460.56.

U.S. February Existing Home Sales rose 2.9% to 5.03 Million rate; U.S. February Existing Home Sales Consensus was at 4.85 Million rate; U.S. Inventory of Unsold U.S. Homes sits at 9.6 Months Supply; U.S. February Median Existing Home Price fell 8.2% on the year to $195,900.

Chicago Fed February National Activity Index fell 1.04 versus drop by 0.68 in January; Chicago Fed Index 3-Month Average fell 0.87 in February versus drop by 0.73 in January; Chicago Fed: 3-Month Index below 0.70 indicates Recession; Chicago Fed Index below 0.70 for 3rd straight month; U.S. economic activity slumped to its lowest level in nearly five years in February, according to Chicago Fed Index released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; data indicates "an increasing likelihood that a Recession has begun".

Commodities Markets
The trend was mixed across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.98 to close at $100.86 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.87 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.28 to close at $9.42 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved higher today by $0.04 to close at $2.64 a gallon.

Metals Markets ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved lower today by $1.30 to close at $918.70 a Troy ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.26 to close at $17.11 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved nicely higher today by $11.90 to close at $1,889.20 per Troy ounce and Copper moved higher today by $0.05 to close a $3.62 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.58 to close at $71.50; Pork Bellies ended the day higher by $0.85 to close at $76.70; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.13 to close at $90.85 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $0.98 to close at $106.38.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day sharply higher by $17.25 at $524.75 and Soybeans ended the day sharply higher by $50.00 to end the session at $1,257.00.

Bonds were lower across the board today: 2 year bond closed lower by 12/32 at 100 11/32; 5 year bond moved lower by 1 5/32 to close at 100 18/32 today; 10 year bond moved lower by 1 17/32 to close at 99 19/32 and the 30 year bond moved lower by 3 1/32 to close at 100 16/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,547 with a gain of 219 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 188,184 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 3,254,428; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 170,191 points to close at 9,547,444; the Open Interest for Options moved lower by 501,529 points to close at 7,754,993 and the Cleared Only moved higher by 330 points to close at 27,947 for a total Open Interest on the day of 17,330,384 for a total Change on the day with a loss of 671,390 points.

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