Markets Moody, Weak, Negative Into Close

Daily Market Commentary for March 28, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

It was a slow, sluggish and listless market session today with stocks moving in a very snug range that began late morning. Stocks merely drifted lower through out the trading day, with the major indices moving into lows of the session during late afternoon. Economic data released today did little for the mood of the markets, it simply was blasé. Day traders and investors seem tired from the week of trading and many cut their trading day short to get a jump start on a desperately needed weekend break.

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) loss of 86.06 points on the day to end the session at 12,216.40

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) loss of 55.05 points to end the session at 8,762.12

NASDAQ loss of 19.65 points for a close at 2,261.18

S&P 500 loss of 10.54 points for a close at 1,315.22

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 0.35 points to close at 239.31

FTSE RAFI 1000 loss of 37.41 points to close at 5,963.74

BEL 20 unchanged at 3,709.03

CAC 40 unchanged at 4,719.53

FTSE100 unchanged at 5,717.50

NIKKEI 225 unchanged at 12,604.60

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 1,070, decliners totaled 2,087; unchanged came in at 93; new highs came in at 2 and new lows came in at 2. Momentum NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: International Game Technology (IGT) shed 2.24 points with a high on the day of $42.93, a low of $39.94 for a closing price at $40.02; Mosaic Corporation (MOS) gained 0.73 points with a high on the day of $108.98, a low of $104.30 for a closing price at $105.40; Maguire Properties Incorporated (MPG) shed 2.74 points with a high on the day of $15.40, a low of $12.42 for a closing price at $14.33; KB Home (KBH) shed 1.25 points with a high on the day of $25.09, a low of $24.02 for a closing price at $24.54; DeVry, Incorporated (DV) shed 6.89 points with a high on the day of $45.45, a low of $39.50 for a closing price at $39.97; Movado Group Incorporated (MOV) shed 2.78 points with a high on the day of $21.92, a low of $18.23 for a closing price at $18.81; Ensco International Incorporated (ESV) shed 2.40 points with a high on the day of $62.08, a low of $59.56 for a closing price at $59.90; J. C. Penney Company, Incorporated (JCP) shed 3.04 points with a high on the day of $38.16, a low of $35.00 for a closing price at $37.48; Legg Mason Incorporated (LM) shed 1.80 points with a high on the day of $56.96, a low of $53.90 for a closing price at $54.12; Holly Corporation (HOC) gained 2.45 points with a high on the day of $44.76, a low of $40.55 for a closing price at $42.81; ITT Educational Services Incorporated (ESI) shed 1.31 points with a high on the day of $45.99, a low of $42.24 for a closing price at $45.99; Abercrombie & Fitch Corporation (ANF) shed 4.15 points with a high on the day of $75.10, a low of $72.26 for a closing price at $72.50; CME Group, Incorporated (CME) shed 10.11 points with a high on the day of $496.82, a low of $479.00 for a closing price at $479.30; Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) shed 0.95 points with a high on the day of $103.17 a low of $100.20 for a closing price at $100.90; Transocean, Incorporated (RIG) gained 0.08 points with a high on the day of $135.88, a low of $132.92 for a closing price at $134.17; BlackRock, Incorporated (BLK) shed 3.12 points with a high on the day of $209.00 a low of $199.40 for a closing price at $199.40; Merrill Lynch & Company, Incorporated (MER) shed 1.97 points with a high on the day of $42.20, a low of $39.65 for a closing price at $39.93; Rio Tinto plc (RTP) gained 2.62 points with a high on the day of $416.64 a low of $407.52 for a closing price at $407.52.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 992; decliners totaled 1,922; unchanged came in at 147; new highs came in at 9 and new lows came in at 93. Momentum NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Abiomed Incorporated (ABMD) shed 0.83 points with a high on the day of $14.51, a low of $12.27 for a closing price at $13.42; Tessera Technologies Incorporated (TSRA) gained 5.44 points with a high on the day of $24.72, a low of $21.30 for a closing price at $21.93; Apollo Group Incorporated (APOL) shed 15.13 points with a high on the day of $44.95, a low of $39.41 for a closing price at $41.21; Capella Education Corporation (CPLA) shed 4.94 points with a high on the day of $57.79, a low of $53.25 for a closing price at $54.26; Baidu.com, Incorporated (BIDU) gained 9.66 points with a high on the day of $252.16, a low of $238.80 for a closing price at $247.21; First Solar, Incorporated (FSLR) gained 1.19 points with a high on the day of $237.35 a low of $227.13 for a closing price at $228.68; Google Incorporated (GOOG) shed 6.00 points with a high on the day of $453.57, a low of $434.31 for a closing price at $438.08.

U.S. January Revised Gasoline Use down 0.9% from year ago at 8.8 Million Barrels per Day; U.S. January Revised Oil Demand 20.1 Million Barrels per Day; down 2.2% versus a year ago; U.S. January Oil Demand Lowest in any month since April 2005.

University of Michigan End-March Sentiment came in at 69.5 compared to February reading at 70.8; University of Michigan End-March Current Index 84.2 compared to February reading at 83.8; University of Michigan End-March Expectations 60.1compared to February reading at 62.4; University of Michigan 12-Month Inflation Forecast rose 4.3% compared to February reading at an increase by 3.6%; University of Michigan 5-Year Inflation Forecast rose 2.9% compared to February reading at an increase by 3.0%.

Charles I. Plosser, President Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia: Inflation is there, have to Recognize that; Real Interest Rates Need to Fall; Does have Concerns about Inflation; Policy Needs to be in Line with Real Rates; Anchoring Inflation Expectations Important; USD Weakness Played no Role in Fed Rate Call; Would have Preferred Less Aggressive Move.

U.S. Personal Income rose 0.5% in February compared to Consensus of an increase by 0.3%; U.S. Personal Spending rose 0.1% In February compared to Consensus of a decrease by 0.1%; February PCE Core Price Index rose at rate of 0.1% on the Month; February PCE Core Price Index rose at rate of 2.0% on the Year; February PCE Price Index rose at rate of 0.1% on the Month; February PCE Price Index rose at rate of 3.4% on the Year; January Personal Income Unrevised at increase of 0.3%; January Spending Unrevised at an increase of 0.4%.

Commodities Markets
The trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $1.93 to close at $105.65 a barrel; Heating Oil moved higher today by $0.04 to close at $3.00 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher today by $0.10 to close at $9.79 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas moved lower today by $0.03 to close at $2.72 a gallon.

Metals Markets ended the session lower across the board today: Gold moved sharply lower today by $17.50 to close at $936.50 a Troy ounce; Silver moved lower today by $0.61 to close at $17.94 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $9.80 to close at $2,048.80 per Troy ounce and Copper moved lower today by $0.04 to close a $3.83 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $0.03 to close at $70.35; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.00 to close at $70.51; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.70 to close at $87.90 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $0.38 to close at $102.25.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day higher by $6.00 at $561.50 and Soybeans ended the day sharply lower by $58.25 to end the session at $1,289.00.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed higher by 2/32 at 100 5/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 44/32 to close at 99 29/32 today; 10 year bond moved higher by 23/32 to close at 100 13/32 and the 30 year bond moved higher by 1 9/32 to close at 100 28/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,203 with a loss of 118 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 189,167 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 3,208,644; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 50,513 points to close at 9,352,232; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 122,614 points to close at 8,106,517 and the Cleared Only moved higher by 216 points to close at 28,820 for a total Open Interest on the day of 17,487,569 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 72,317 points.

At the close of the week, performance results for our Moderators:

Stocks Trading Room:
Jeannie - $4,775
Barry - $12,761
Marty - $10,751
Sam - $5,275

Futures Trading Room:
JT - $5,255

Forex Trading Room:
JT - $10,900

Daily Swing Trades:
Barry - $14,700

Weekly Swing Trades:
Jeannie - $4,340

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