Markets Plummet on Surging Economic Woes

Daily Market Commentary for February 29, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

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 loss of 315.79 points on the day to end the session at 12,266.39

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit loss of 259.41 points to end the session at 8,962.47

NASDAQ loss of 60.09 points for a close at 2,271.48

S&P 500 loss of 37.05 points for a close at 1,330.63

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. loss of 4.39 points to close at 241.99

FTSE RAFI 1000 triple digit loss of 153.01 points to close at 5,459.54

BEL 20 loss of 5.56 points to close at 3,757.12

CAC 40 loss of 74.57 points to close at 4,790.66

FTSE100 loss of 81.4 points to close at 5,884.30

NIKKEI 225 loss of 322.5 points to close at 13,603.00

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 434, decliners totaled 2,726; unchanged came in at 63; new highs came in at 21 and new lows came in at 183. Momentum NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: CME Group, Incorporated (CME) shed 4.00 points with a high on the day of $516.77, a low of $505.38 for a closing price at $513.30; Fluor Corpora (FLR) shed 3.23 points with a high on the day of $145.22, a low of $138.26 for a closing price at $139.25; Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) shed 7.52 points with a high on the day of $123.60, a low of $116.19 for a closing price at $123.60; Southwestern Energy Corporation (SWN) shed 2.42 points with a high on the day of $71.85, a low of $64.88 for a closing price at $65.23; FTI Consulting, Incorporated (FCN) gained 7.62 points with a high on the day of $63.50, a low of $59.07 for a closing price at $63.50; Polaris Industries, Incorporated (PII) shed 2.69 points with a high on the day of $40.83, a low of $37.71 for a closing price at $38.18; American International Group, Incorporated (AIG) shed 3.29 points with a high on the day of $47.70, a low of $46.25 for a closing price at $46.86; RH Donnelley Corporation (RHD) shed 2.25 points with a high on the day of $8.80, a low of $6.26 for a closing price at $7.09; Commscope Incorporated (CTV) gained 3.43 points with a high on the day of $43.64, a low of $40.00 for a closing price at $41.88; MF Global Limited (MF) shed 3.64 points with a high on the day of $20.12, a low of $14.00 for a closing price at $17.55; Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (CLF) shed 7.47 points with a high on the day of $126.55, a low of $117.89 for a closing price at $119.46; Dril-Quip Incorporated (DRQ) shed 5.65 points with a high on the day of $50.55, a low of $43.00 for a closing price at $46.78; InterContinental Exchange, Incorporated (ICE) shed 3.65 points with a high on the day of $134.70, a low of $129.87 for a closing price at $130.30; Mosaic Corporation (MOS) shed 1.78 points with a high on the day of $115.50, a low of $109.46 for a closing price at $111.30; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Incorporated (FCX) shed 5.71 points with a high on the day of $105.87, a low of $99.95 for a closing price at $100.86; National Financial Partners Corporation (NFP) shed 4.41 points with a high on the day of $27.60, a low of $23.11 for a closing price at $23.77; Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC (WBD) shed 6.12 points with a high on the day of $112.00, a low of $102.76 for a closing price at $105.26; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros S.A. (Unibanco) (UBB) shed 7.64 points with a high on the day of $141.79, a low of $134.41 for a closing price at $135.62.

On the NASDAQ today, advanced totaled 647; decliners totaled 2,341; unchanged came in at 114; new highs came in at 6 and new lows came in at 173. Momentum NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) shed 15.82 points with a high on the day of $121.81, a low of $109.30 for a closing price at $110.64; China Medical Technologies Incorporated (CMED) shed 8.51 points with a high on the day of $53.00, a low of $42.85 for a closing price at $46.00; Priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN) shed 9.29 points with a high on the day of $122.36, a low of $113.44 for a closing price at $114.02; Huron Consulting Group Incorporated (HURN) gained 2.79 points with a high on the day of $54.45, a low of $48.51 for a closing price at $53.06; Google Incorporated (GOOG) shed 4.21 points with a high on the day of $479.74, a low of $464.65 for a closing price at $471.18; First Solar, Incorporated (FSLR) shed 0.11 points with a high on the day of $210.90, 60 low of $202.21 for a closing price at $205.15.

U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management February New Orders Index came in at 48.8 versus January reading at 44.7; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management February Employment Index came in at 33.5 versus January reading at 47.0; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management February Supplier Deliveries came in at 39.6 versus January reading at 61.7; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management February Prices Paid Index came in at 79.4 versus January reading at 81.7; U.S. Chicago Purchasing Management adjusted February Index came in at 44.5 versus January reading at 51.5.

U.S. Personal Income rose 0.3% in January compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. Personal Spending rose 0.4% in January compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; January PCE Core Price Index rose 0.3% rate on the month; January PCE Core Price Index rose 2.2% rate on the year; January PCE Price Index rose 0.4% rate on the month; January PCE Price Index rose 3.7% rate on the year; December Personal Income unrevised at increase by 0.5%; December Spending Revised to increase by 0.3% from increase by 0.2%.

University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment End-February reading came in at 70.8 compared to January reading of 78.4; University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment End-February Current Index came in at 83.8 compared to January reading of 94.4; University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment End-February Expectations at 62.4 compared to January reading of 68.1; University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Preliminary February Sentiment was 69.6; University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment 12-Month Inflation Forecast rose by 3.6% compared to January increase by 3.4%; University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment 5-Year Inflation Forecast rose by 3.0% compared to January increase by 3.0%.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren: House Price Declines big Threat to Economy; Balance Sheet Constraints Could Worsen; Monetary Policy can Help Mitigate Problems; No Comments on Economic Outlook; Markets Need to Reevaluate Risk Modeling; Regulatory Role Gained Useful info Amid Troubles.

President Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles I. Evans: Risk-Taking Key Ingredient in Economic Growth; Policy Must Keep Focus on Medium-Term Goals; Doubts Asset-Price Targeting Would Succeed; Fed Has Several Tools to Tackle Financial Problems; Fast Moving Events Call for Fast Moving Policy.

President Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis William Poole: Downplays Moral Hazard Risk of Rate Cuts; Rate Cuts Tied to Markets Troubles Have Been Correct; Rate Cuts Aimed to Protect Financial System; Market Participants Should Bear Cost of Bad Bets; Worries of Potential of 'Substantial' GSE Troubles; GSE Threat Tied to State Of Housing Prices; FOMC Should Give 'Primacy' to Controlling Prices; FOMC Must Balance Growth and Inflation; Fed Should Be Slow to Intervene in Market Troubles.

President Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Dennis P. Lockhart: Subprime Generated Doubts on Counterparty Risk; Financial Markets Evolving Positively but Still Fragile; 'Widespread Uncertainty' about Financial Institutions; Major Investors May Have left ABCP Market Permanently; Housing Stability Needed to Solve Financial Market Woes; Concern that Consumer Ability to Pay Has Limits; Reason to Be Concerned About Community Banks; Banks Doing the Best They Could on Valuations; Indications Since Year-End That Valuations May Change.

Commodities Markets
The trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy Sector: Light crude moved lower today by $0.75 to close at $101.84 a barrel; Heating Oil moved lower today by $0.02 to close at $2.81 a gallon; Natural Gas moved lower today by $0.08 to close at $9.37 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed at $2.67 a gallon.

Metals Markets ended the session mostly higher across the board today: Gold moved higher today by $7.50 to close at $975.00 a Troy ounce; Silver moved higher today by $0.21 to close at $19.92 per Troy ounce; Platinum moved sharply higher today by $25.90 to close at $2,180.70 per Troy ounce and Copper closed lower by $0.02 to close at $3.86 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was lower across the board today: Lean Hogs ended the day lower by $1.30 to close at $59.95; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by $1.48 to close at $90.63; Live Cattle ended the day lower by $0.43 to close at $94.33 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by $0.95 at $106.95.

Other Commodities: Corn ended the day higher by $0.25 at $556.50 and Soybeans ended the day sharply higher by $24.00 to end the session at $1,536.50.

Bonds were nicely higher across the board today: 2 year bond closed at higher by 11/32 at 100 22/32; 5 year bond moved higher by 1 8/32 to close at 101 7/32 today; 10 year bond moved higher by 1 7/32 to close at 99 26/32 and the 30 year bond moved higher by 1 18/32 to close at 99 9/32 on the day.

The e-mini Dow ended the session today at 12,592 with a loss of 339 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 155,890 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 9,622,264; Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 216,170 points to close at 10,543,486; the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 219,806 points to close at 7,152,339 and the Cleared Only moved higher by 455 points to close at 28,431 for a total Open Interest on the day of 17,724,256 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 4,091 points.

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

Stocks Trading Room:
Jeannie - $4,331
Barry - $15,657
Marty - $7,742
Sam - $8,394

Futures Trading Room:
JT - $9,192.50

Forex Trading Room:
JT - $16,450

Daily Swing Trades:
Barry - $40,230

Weekly Swing Trades:
Jeannie - $4,660

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