Daily Market Commentary for March 5, 2009

Citigroup became the latest 'Penny Stock' with little support near term during the trading session today after once being the largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. (read more at Millennium-Traders.Com)

Economic data released today:

Unemployment Claims:
U.S. Jobless Claims for week of February 28 fell by 31K to 639K compared to survey of a drop by 12K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of February 21 fell by 14K to 5,106,000; U.S. Jobless Claims for week of February 21 revised to 670K from 667K.

Nonfarm Productivity:
U.S. 4Q Non-Farm Productivity revised to a drop by 0.4% from an increase by 3.2%; U.S. 4Q Non-Farm Productivity Consensus increased by 0.8%; U.S. Productivity up 2.8% on average during 2008 versus 2007.

 Unit Labor Costs:
U.S. 4Q Unit Labor Costs revised to an increase of 5.7% from increase of 1.8%; U.S. 4Q Unit Labor Costs Consensus an increase by 4.2%.

Factory Orders:
U.S. Factory Orders for January  fell by 1.9% compared to consensus of a drop by 3.5%; U.S. Factory Orders, Excluding Transportation in January  fell by 0.9%; U.S. Durable Goods for January revised to a drop by 4.5% from a drop by 5.2%; U.S. December Factory Orders revised to a drop by 4.9% from a drop by 3.9%.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss of 281.40 points to end the trading session at 6,594.44
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit loss of 197.29 points to end the trading session at 4,267.80
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) loss of 54.15 points to end the trading session at 1,299.59
S&P 500 (SPX) loss of 30.32 points to end the trading session at 682.55
BEL 20 (BEL20) loss of 32.01 points to end the trading session at 1,552.18
CAC 40 (CAC40) triple digit loss of 106.05 points to end the trading session at 2,569.63
FTSE100 (UKX100) triple digit loss of 116.01 points to end the trading session at 3,529.86
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) triple digit gain of 142.53 points at the end the trading session at 7,433.49

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 270, declined stock prices 2,903, unchanged stock prices 35, stock prices hitting new highs 3 and stock prices hitting new lows 726. NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: Weight Watchers International (NYSE: WTW) stock price gained 2.52 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $20.39, low on the trading session $18.45, with a closing stock price at $19.41;  Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) stock price shed 2.69 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $19.30, low on the trading session $16.97, with a closing stock price at $18.24; Transocean (NYSE: RIG) stock price shed 4.55 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $56.49, low on the trading session $50.26, with a closing stock price at $51.89; GameStop (NYSE: GME) stock price shed 3.84 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $26.90, low on the trading session $22.34, with a closing stock price at $23.46;  CME Group (NYSE: CME) stock price shed 5.76 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $188.99, low on the trading session $180.90, with a closing stock price at $182.43; ProShares Ultrashort Financials (NYSE: SKF) stock price gained 34.97 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $250.54, low on the trading session $215.90, with a closing stock price at $242.85; Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) stock price shed 1.79 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $42.47, low on the trading session $39.57, with a closing stock price at $40.09; Direxion Financial Bear 3X (NYSE: FAZ) stock price gained 19.51 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $104.17, low on the trading session $84.17, with a closing stock price at $99.50;  ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ESI) stock price shed 3.43 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $109.00, low on the trading session $98.65, with a closing stock price at $103.72; AutoZone Incorporated (NYSE: AZO) stock price shed 1.84 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $156.89, low on the trading session $151.25 with a closing stock price at $152.45; Potash (NYSE: POT) stock price shed 5.14 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $74.00, low on the trading session $68.06, with a closing stock price at $69.49.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 438, declined stock prices 2,369, unchanged stock prices 144, stock prices hitting new highs 2 and stock prices hitting new lows 582. NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: PetSmart (NasdaqGS: PETM) stock price shed 1.24 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $18.40, low on the trading session $16.69, with a closing stock price at $17.27; Sigma Designs (NasdaqGS: SIGM) stock price gained 0.96 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $15.88, low on the trading session $14.70, with a closing stock price at $15.17; Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) stock price shed 13.28 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $319.08, low on the trading session $302.64, with a closing stock price at $305.64; Baidu (NasdaqGS: BIDU) stock price gained 4.19 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $164.92, low on the trading session $158.00, with a closing stock price at $161.51; First Solar Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) stock price shed 4.47 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $107.71, low on the trading session $106.81, with a closing stock price at $108.78.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 179, declined stock prices 390, unchanged stock prices 70, stock prices hitting new highs 2 and stock prices hitting new lows 42.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Mar 09: End of trading session price 686.25; Change for the trading session -22.25
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Mar 09: End of trading session price 1,083.75; Change for the trading session -17.25
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Mar 09: End of trading session price 6,625; Change for the trading session -202
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Mar 09: End of trading session price 414.20; Change for the trading session -14.40
E-mini S&P Small Cap 600 (HS) Mar 09: End of trading session price 7,215; Change for the trading session -155

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7960 to U.S. Dollars 1.2563
Japanese Yen 97.980 to U.S. Dollars 0.0102
British Pound 0.7073 to U.S. Dollars 1.4138
Canadian Dollar 1.2895 to U.S. Dollars 0.7755
Swiss Franc 1.1693 to U.S. Dollars 0.8552

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (April 09) shed $1.77 on the trading session for a closing price of $43.61 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (April 09) shed $0.05 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.16 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (April 09) shed $0.25 on the trading session for a closing price of $4.09 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (March 09) shed $0.07 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.31 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (April 09) gained $21.10 on the trading session for a closing price of $927.80 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (May 09) gained $0.20 on the trading session for a closing price of $13.11 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (April 09) gained $8.50 on the trading session for a closing price of $1,063.00 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (May 09) shed $0.09 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.65 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (April 09) gained 0.10 on the trading session for a closing price of 62.33
Pork Bellies (May 09) gained 1.35 on the trading session for a closing price of 81.55
Live Cattle (April 09) shed 0.75 on the trading session for a closing price of 84.65
Feeder Cattle (April 09) shed 1.03 on the trading session for a closing price of 93.85

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (May 09) shed 5.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 363.50
Soybeans (May 09) shed 15.50 on the trading session for a closing price of 868.50

BOND MARKET:
2 year Bond Closing price 99 31/32, change 4/32, Yield 0.88, Yield change -0.06
5 year Bond closing price of 100 10/32, change 20/32, Yield 1.80, Yield change -0.14
10 year Bond closing price 99 14/32, change 1 14/32, Yield 2.81, Yield change -0.07
30 year Bond closing price 100 4/32, change 3 7/32, Yield 3.49, Yield change -0.18

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