Daily Market Commentary for August 11, 2009

Federal Reserve

Stocks fell today as the federal reserve met for their two day Open Market Committee meeting on interest rates. (read more at Millennium-Traders.Com)

Economic data released today:

Redbook:
U.S. Retail Sales First Week of August fell 0.5% versus July; U.S. Retail Sales for First Week August fell 4.2% versus August a year-ago; U.S. Retail Sales fell 4.2% week end August 8 versus a year ago.

According to Redbook Research, national chain store sales fell 0.5% in first week of August versus previous month. The latest numbers are sharply different from recent weeks because they do not include Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), which indicated last month it would no longer provide monthly sales figures. The drop in the index was compared to a targeted 0.6% drop. The Redbook Index additionally showed seasonally adjusted sales for the period which were down 4.2% compared to August 2008, compared to a targeted 4.3% drop. On an unadjusted basis, sales for the week ending Saturday were down 4.2% from the same week in 2008, after a 5.4% decline the previous week. Per the data, it appears that shoppers were focused on clearance sales and were beginning to look at new back-to-school merchandise. Most stores are currently in transition between summer clearance and back-to-school sales. The summer clearances are being priced less aggressively than usual because of leaner inventories.

Non-farm Productivity:
U.S. 2Q Non-Farm Productivity Revised to increase by 6.4% compared to consensus of an increase by 5.5%.

Unit Labor Costs:
U.S. 2Q Unit Labor Costs Revised to fall by 5.8% compared to consensus of a decrease by 2.9%.

Wholesale Inventories:
U.S. June Wholesale Inventories down 1.7% expected to be down 0.9%; June Wholesale Inventory-To-Sales Ratio falls to 1.26.

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) shed 96.50 points, EOD 9,241.45
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) shed 86.43, EOD 6,463.62
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) shed 22.51 points, EOD 1,969.73
S&P 500 (SPX) shed 12.75 points, EOD 994.35
BEL 20 (BEL20) shed 30.04 points, EOD 2,262.40
CAC 40 (CAC40) shed 48.36 points, EOD 3,456.18
FTSE100 (UKX100) shed 50.86 points, EOD 4,671.34
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain 61.2 points, EOD 10,585.46

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 783, declined stock prices 2,177, unchanged stock prices 208, stock prices hitting new highs 30 and stock prices hitting new lows 6. 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: RTP shed 0.57, HOD 155.75, LOD 151.88, EOD 154.95; SF gain 3.86, HOD 56.36, LOD 53.16, EOD 55.13; CME shed 6.93, HOD 284.50, LOD 274.87, EOD 276.00; BG shed 4.80, HOD 68.01, LOD 65.85, EOD 66.04; PSA shed 2.91, HOD 75.61, LOD 72.10, EOD 72.68; MA gain 0.35, HOD 204.45, LOD 201.45, EOD 202.69; AIG shed 3.78, HOD 28.20, LOD 24.32, EOD 24.92; LGF shed 0.15, HOD 7.29, LOD 6.27, EOD 6.31; DRN shed 9.06, HOD 112.29, LOD 100.00, EOD 104.44; YUM shed 1.40, HOD 35.88, LOD 34.56, EOD 35.13; GS shed 1.14, HOD 162.22, LOD 159.15, EOD 159.22.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 690, declined stock prices 1,875 unchanged stock prices 271, stock prices hitting new highs 22 and stock prices hitting new lows 8. 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: FSLR shed 0.81, HOD 149.83, LOD 145.12, EOD 146.53; BIDU shed 6.05, HOD 351.90, LOD 343.21, EOD 345.83; CTRP gain 0.43, HOD 51.84, LOD 50.25, EOD 51.32; ISRG shed 4.20, HOD 232.40, LOD 223.90, EOD 225.97; PCLN gain 3.48, HOD 153.89, LOD 148.86, EOD 153.72; KONG shed 0.16, HOD 13.88, LOD 12.80, EOD 13.00; ZOLT shed 1.78, HOD 9.29, LOD 8.11, EOD 8.53; CPIX shed 0.17, HOD 17.75, LOD 16.35, EOD 16.83; ELON gain 0.86, HOD 10.98, LOD 10.25, EOD 10.91.
 
Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 163, declined stock prices 278, unchanged stock prices 148, stock prices hitting new highs 10 and stock prices hitting new lows 1.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Sept 09: EOD 991.25; Change -16.25
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Sept 09: EOD 1,593.75; Change -18.75
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Sept 09: EOD 9,205; Change -115
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Sept 09: EOD 640.50; Change -10.00
Nikkei 225 (Yen) Sept 09: EOD 10,445; Change -85

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7066 to U.S. Dollars 1.4152
Japanese Yen 95.8800 to U.S. Dollars 0.0104
British Pound 0.6069 to U.S. Dollars 1.6476
Canadian Dollar 1.1018 to U.S. Dollars 0.9076
Swiss Franc 1.0816 to U.S. Dollars 0.9246

COMMODITY MARKETS:
Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (September 09) shed $1.15, EOD $69.45 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (September 09) shed $0.02, EOD $1.91 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (September 09) shed $0.10, EOD $3.54 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (September 09) gain $0.01, EOD $2.04 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (December 09) gain $0.70, EOD $947.60 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (September 09) shed $0.01, EOD $14.35 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (October 09) shed $5.80, EOD $1,250.90 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (September 09) shed $0.03, EOD $2.74 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (October 09) shed $0.65, EOD $44.35
Pork Bellies (February 10) shed  $0.18, EOD $79.40
Live Cattle (October 09) shed  $0.65, EOD $87.65
Feeder Cattle (October 09) shed $0.53, EOD $100.10

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (December 09) gain $0.50, EOD $331.00
Soybeans (November 09) gain $28.50, EOD $1,038.50

BOND MARKET:
2 year EOD 99 21/32, change 4/32, Yield 1.17, Yield change -0.07
5 year EOD 99 25/32, change 12/32, Yield 2.66, Yield change -0.08
10 year EOD 95 17/32, change 27/32, Yield 3.67, Yield change -0.10
30 year EOD 96 30/32, change 1 19/32, Yield 4.43, change -0.10

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