Bakken Shale

Daily Market Commentary for May 20, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

Todays top stock pick for the trading session was Continental Resources Incorporated (CLR) with a posted gain on the day of over 11 points. Continental Resources provided a very nice trading range for the active day trader which included favorable trading action throughout the trading day. (read more)

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss of 199.15 points on the day to end the session at 12,829.01
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) loss of 66.69 points to end the session at 9,536.09
NASDAQ loss of 23.83 points for a close at 2,492.26
S&P 500 loss of 13.20 points for a close at 1,413.43
FTSE All-World ex-U.S. loss of 2.53 points to close at 256.83
FTSE RAFI 1000 loss of 77.01 points for a close at 5,647.70
BEL 20 loss of 46.93 points to close at 3,796.85
CAC 40 loss of 87.22 points to close at 5,054.88
FTSE100 triple digit loss of 184.9 points to close at 6,191.6
NIKKEI 225 triple digit loss of 109.5 points to close at 14,160.1

News on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today: advanced stocks 1,113; declined stocks 2,058; unchanged stocks 94; stocks hitting new highs 83; stocks hitting new lows 34. Daily Trading Range and end of day trading results for volatile stocks on the NYSE traded by active Day Traders today: Continental Resources Incorporated (NYSE: CLR) gained 11.48 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $63.69, low on the trading day $52.09, for a closing price at $62.54; Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) gained 7.16 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $96.45, low on the trading day $88.96, for a closing price at $96.23; JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM) shed 2.21 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $45.66, low on the trading day $43.50, for a closing price at $43.77; Humana Incorporated (NYSE: HUM) gained 3.29 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $48.09, low on the trading day $44.65, for a closing price at $48.04; CF Industries Holdings Incorporated (NYSE: CF) gained 2.83 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $137.20, low on the trading day $131.39, for a closing price at $135.45; Mexco Energy Corporation (NYSE: MXC) gained 14.63 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $44.79, low on the trading day $27.50, for a closing price at $42.53; Medtronic Incorporated (NYSE: MDT) gained 1.11 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $49.88, low on the trading day $48.61, for a closing price at $48.99; Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) shed 1.48 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $80.18, low on the trading day $77.38, for a closing price at $79.84; CME Group, Incorporated (NYSE: CME) gained 0.45 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $487.28, low on the trading day $475.01, for a closing price at $484.50; Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (NYSE: POT) gained 5.31 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $204.28, low on the trading day $196.22, for a closing price at $203.67; Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) shed 1.25 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $194.03, low on the trading day $188.28, for a closing price at $191.35; Monsanto Corporation (NYSE: MON) gained 2.83 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $125.20, low on the trading day $121.20, for a closing price at $125.00.

News on the NASDAQ today: advanced stocks 1,104 declined stocks 1,794; unchanged stocks 137; stocks hitting new highs 33; stocks hitting new lows 92. Trading range and end of day trading results for volatile NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: The9 Limited (NasdaqGS: NCTY) shed 0.05 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $27.80, low on the trading day $25.43 for a closing price at $25.74; China Sunergy Corporation Limited (NasdaqGS: CSUN) shed 0.33 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $13.64, low on the trading day $11.72 for a closing price at $12.73; First Solar, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) gained 3.16 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $299.68, low on the trading day $290.25 for a closing price at $299.06; DryShips, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: DRYS) shed 5.75 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $104.99, low on the trading day $96.40, for a closing price at $99.25; Baidu.com, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: BIDU) gained 1.13 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $373.31, low on the trading day $365.10, for a closing price at $372.13.

News on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) today: advanced stocks 517; declined stocks 689; unchanged stocks 98; stocks hitting new highs 57; stocks hitting new lows 15.

Federal Reserve member Donald L. Kohn: Economy to firm in 2h; 'gathers some strength' in 2009; rate cuts played only 'small' role in commodity rise; rise in long-term inflation expectations a 'concern'; headline inflation to rise, but core should ease; consumers likely to see boost from tax rebates; some risk aversion reversed, but spreads still wide; sees 'gradual' improvement in financial markets; housing unlikely to rebound much after downturn ends; economic recovery 'could be relatively moderate'.

U.S. April Producer Prices rose 0.2% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.4%; U.S. April PPI Ex-Food & Energy rose 0.4% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. April PPI Intermediate Goods rose 0.9%; U.S. April PPI Intermediate Goods Core rose 1.2%; U.S. April PPI Crude Goods rose 3.2%; U.S. April PPI Crude Goods Core rose 7.9%; U.S. April PPI Energy Prices decreased by 0.2%; U.S. April Passenger Car Prices rose 0.4%; U.S. March PPI Unrevised at an increase of 1.1%.

Redbook: U.S. Retail Sales rose 1.9% for first two weeks of May versus April.

Chicago Fed April National Activity Index fell by 1.17 Vs March drop by 0.98; Chicago Fed Index April 3-Month Moving average fell by 1.24 Vs March drop by 1.05; Chicago Fed April 3-Month average at lowest level since 2001 recession.

Commodities Markets
Energy Sector: Light Crude (NYM) gained $2.02 on the day to close at $129.07 a barrel ($US per bbl.); Heating Oil (NYM) gained $0.11 on the day to close at $3.79 a gallon ($US per gal.); Natural Gas (NYM) gained $0.40 on the day to close at $11.51 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.); Unleaded Gas (NYM) gained $0.07 on the day to close at $3.30 a gallon ($US per gal.).

Metals Markets: Gold (CMX) gained $14.40 to close at $920.20 ($US per Troy oz.); Silver (CMX) gained $0.65 to close at $17.68 ($US per Troy oz.); Platinum (NYM) shed $8.20 on the day to close at $2,150.00 ($US per Troy oz.) and Copper (CMX) gained $0.01 to close at $3.78 ($US per lb.).

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.): Lean Hogs (CME) gained 0.35 to close at 76.45; Pork Bellies (CME) gained 0.10 to close at 77.15; Live Cattle (CME) gained 0.63 to close at 98.53; Feeder Cattle (CME) gained 1.93 to close at 113.68.

Other Commodities (cents per bu.): Corn (CBT) gained 3.00 to close the session at 589.75 and Soybeans (CBT) shed 1.50 to close session at 1,331.50.

Bond action for the day: 2 year bond gained 5/32 to close at 99 20/32 with a Yield of 2.31, Yield Change -0.08; 5 year bond gained 10/32 to close at 100 15/32 with a Yield of 3.01, Yield Change -0.07; 10 year bond gained 13/32 to close at 100 24/32 with a Yield of 3.78, Yield Change -0.05; the 30 year bond gained 19/32 to close at 97 12/32 on the day with a Yield of 4.53, Yield Change -0.04.

The e-mini Dow $5 ended the commodity session today at 12,789 with a loss of 256 points on the trading session. Futures Traders should review workshops available at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade). Educational in-person seminars schedules available on the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) website.

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