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Federal Reserve Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 1 repurchase operation last night:
- a $3.5billion, overnight repurchase with $3.5billion in T-backed collateral .
Ordinarily, #3.5bill would not have been enough - especially since (contrary to my expectations) the Labour market data was considerably worse than expected. But the Tobacco decision, plus the Wall Street hand-job to Bush's SocSec lies, added up to some powerful upside Mojo. So all things considered, I'm now glad I second-guessed myself after Wednesday...
Major US Indices
The DJIA rose 123.03 points (1.16%), closing out the day at 10716.13 points; the broader S&P500 posted a rise of 13.14 points (1.1%), to 1203.03. Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite added 29.02 points (1.41%), to close at 2086.66, while larger-cap technology issues fared better with the Nasdaq100 adding 26.25 points (1.74%), to end at 1534.49 points. To give a sense of just how whacky things were, the SOX rose a staggering 4.36% - an absolute flood of idiots, thinking that SocSec private accounts can overcome stock price over-valuation, margin-destroying competitor innovation, and economic stagnation.
Philip Morris (I refuse to call it Altria) was the Dow's star, rising 5.1% as a Federal Court threw out the $280billion sought as punitive damages by the Justice Department under the RICO racketeering statutes. the claim was based on the idea that by promoting a product that they knew was lethal, the companies engaged in Fraud. Typical government - those vermin have been happy as clams to take campaign contributions from Big Tobacco for decades, but turn on them like rabid dogs the moment they think there's a vote in it. Big Tobacco must feel dumb for shelling out all that money to the parasites in various levels of government - it's all for nought now that Big Tobacco is now a distant fourth in campaign contributions behind Big Oil, Ticket-Clippers and followed very closely by the TödesKramerGesellschaften - death-merchants in the "military industrial complex" (they're not baby-killers, because they kill women and children, too).
Smokers - for four generations - have known that smoking was bad for them. Anything that happens to them as a result of their addiction is their own fault and they should be prohibited from using public resources to attempt to remedy (or even palliate) their self-inflicted slow deaths.
Now if governments decided they wanted to prosecute those who deal in involuntary and non-self-inflicted death, they won't hear a peep out of me: General Dynamics and the rest of the folks who make the stuff that rips foreigners' children to pieces... get them, and the people who have helped raise the civilian casualty proportion from 35% (WWI) to 90% (today). Wouldn't that be nice (hint: never gonna happen)? If the people who gave the orders to bomb Iraq's civilian infrastructure (over the past twelve years) were prosecuted with the same zeal as those who gave the orders to bomb Coventry... if that happened, man might be on the path to a New Enlightenment.
Instead, we have flabby-armed sweat-faced rednecks who claim to be "pro-life", getting all gooey in the fork whenever their Chimp in Chief decides to wreak destruction on yet another bunch of foreign peasants.
God I hate humans.
NYSE Volume was chunky, with 1.65 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was chunky, with 1.93 billion shares being shifted from one online brokerage account to another (and back again, in all likelihood).
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| DJIA | 10716.13 | 123.03 | 1.16% |
| S&P500 | 1203.03 | 13.14 | 1.1% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2086.66 | 29.02 | 1.41% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1534.49 | 26.25 | 1.74% |
| NYSE Volume | 1.65bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Volume | 1.93bn | - | - |
Bellwethers
My 9-stock "bellwethers" group rose by an average of 0.98%
- General Electric (GE) +$0.18 (0.5%) to $36.25;
- Citigroup (C) +$0.63 (1.28%) to $49.78;
- Wal Mart (WMT) +$0.04 (0.07%) to $53.46;
- I.B.M. (IBM) +$0.97 (1.04%) to $94.51;
- Intel (INTC) +$0.62 (2.77%) to $23.00;
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +$0.38 (2.17%) to $17.90;
- eBay (EBAY) -$1.34 (1.74%) to $75.88;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +$1.12 (1.75%) to $65.14; and
- Freddie Mac (FRE) +$0.66 (0.99%) to $67.01.
Market Breadth & Internals
NYSE advancing Issues exceeded decliners by 2572 to 775 for a single-day A/D reading of 1797; Nasdaq gainers trumped losers by 2103 to 1016. The NYSE stat is just insane, and is a very good indicator of a blowoff.
NYSE advancing volume exceeded volume in decliners by 1247.8 to 375.3 million shares; Nasdaq advancing volume was greater than volume in decliners by 1481.5 to 419.9 million shares.
416 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 11 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 158 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 35 which fell to fresh 52-week lows
| NYSE | Nasdaq | |
| Advancers | 2572 | 2103 |
| Decliners | 775 | 1016 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 1247.74 | 1481.49 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 375.32 | 419.892 |
| New Highs | 416 | 158 |
| New Lows | 11 | 35 |
Market Sentiment
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 11.23 | -0.56 | -4.75% |
| CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index | 16.91 | -0.45 | -2.59% |
| Equity Put-Call Ratio | 0.61 | -0.24 | -27.82% |
| 10-day PCR | 0.64 | -0.01 | -0.97% |
| SPX-VIX Ratio | 107.13 | 6.2028 | 6.15% |
Bond Market Analysis
Bonds rose hard along the curve, as the lacklustre payrolls data caused revisions to the likely pace of Fed tightening. Well, I've got news for you (and the bond market): the Fed will not slow its tightening program until the economy is even deader-in-the-water than it already is.
At the long end, the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell a whopping 12.3 basis points to 4.46%. In other words, the bond market priced in a Fed ease (at least, relative to where the long bond otherwise would have been).
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| UST 13wk (yld) | 2.49 | -0.03 | -1.05% |
| UST 2Y (yld) | 3.27 | -0.052 | -1.57% |
| UST 5Y (yld) | 3.66 | -0.09 | -2.45% |
| UST 10Y (yld) | 4.06 | -0.105 | -2.52% |
| UST 30Y (yld) | 4.46 | -0.123 | -2.68% |
The Banks Index rose 0.92 points (0.9%), to end the session at 102.58; within the index,
- Bank Of NY (BK) +$0.59 (2%) to $30.08;
- Mellon Financial (MEL) +$0.58 (1.98%) to $29.94;
- Northern Trust (NTRS) +$0.84 (1.93%) to $44.33;
- Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +$0.73 (1.54%) to $48.09; and
- Wachovia (WB) +$0.81 (1.47%) to $55.81.
The Broker-dealer Index posted a rise of 1.18 points (0.79%), to 149.63; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -
- Legg Mason (LM) +$3.00 (3.91%) to $79.68;
- Morgan Stanley (MWD) +$1.50 (2.62%) to $58.68;
- Merrill Lynch (MER) +$1.25 (2.1%) to $60.69;
- Bear Stearns (BSC) +$2.05 (2.03%) to $102.95; and
- Jeffries Group (JEF) +$0.77 (2.01%) to $39.12.
The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index gained 17.46 points (4.36%), to 418.16
- Altera (ALTR) +$0.53 (2.81%) to $19.40;
- National Semiconductors (NSM) +$1.70 (10.23%) to $18.32;
- Texas Instruments (TXN) +$1.62 (7%) to $24.75;
- Freescale Semiconductors (FSL-B) +$1.00 (5.83%) to $18.14; and
- Novellus Systems (NVLS) +$1.49 (5.74%) to $27.44.
Gold & Silver Markets
Gold fell by $4.7 (1.12%) to close at $414 per ounce.
Gold Bugs Index declined 1.03 points (0.52%), at 197.73
- Golden Star (GSS) -$0.26 (7.85%) to $3.05;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.68 (3.72%) to $17.62;
- Iamgold (IAG) -$0.10 (1.49%) to $6.59;
- Randgold Resources (GOLD) -$0.16 (1.45%) to $10.84; and
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -$0.04 (1.11%) to $3.55.
Silver fell by $0.01 (0.15%) to close at $6.67 per ounce. The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) gained 0.07 points (0.08%), at 91.09 points.
- Newmont Mining (NEM) +$0.50 (1.22%) to $41.38;
- Harmony Gold (HMY) +$0.09 (1.13%) to $8.09;
- Gold Fields (GFI) +$0.04 (0.36%) to $11.26; and
- Placer Dome (PDG) +$0.02 (0.12%) to $17.13.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 414 | -4.7 | -1.12% |
| Silver | 6.67 | -0.01 | -0.15% |
| PHLX Gold and Silver Index | 91.09 | 0.07 | 0.08% |
| AMEX Gold BUGS Index | 197.73 | -1.03 | -0.52% |
Oil Market
[Commentary]
Oil lost ground, shedding $0.13 per barrel, closing at $46.52 per barrel. The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) rose 2.84 points (0.37%), ending the day at 773.56
- Unocal (UCL) +$0.84 (1.72%) to $49.64;
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) +$0.77 (1.41%) to $55.29; and
- Kerr Mcgee (KMG) +$0.88 (1.4%) to $63.55.
The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index posted a rise of 0.41 points (0.31%), at 133.03
- Rowan Companies (RDC) +$0.58 (1.98%) to $29.87;
- Nabors Industries (NBR) +$0.76 (1.47%) to $52.35; and
- Cooper Cameron (CAM) +$0.49 (0.84%) to $58.49.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Reuters CRB | 281.26 | 0.76 | 0.27% |
| Crude Oil Light Sweet | 46.48 | -0.17 | -0.36% |
| Heating Oil | 1.2742 | -0.0058 | -0.45% |
| Natural Gas | 6.096 | -0.064 | -1.04% |
| Unleaded Gas | 1.2605 | -0.0135 | -1.06% |
| AMEX Oil Index | 773.56 | 2.84 | 0.37% |
| Oil Service Index | 133.03 | 0.41 | 0.31% |
Currency Markets
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| US Dollar Index | 84.45 | 0.43 | 0.51% |
| Euro | 1.2871 | -0.0101 | -0.78% |
| Yen | 104 | -0.44 | -0.42% |
| Sterling | 1.8755 | -0.0066 | -0.35% |
| Australian Dollar | 0.7702 | -0.0005 | -0.06% |
| Swiss Franc | 1.2105 | 0.009 | 0.75% |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8261 | 0.0206 | 2.56% |
Euro-Zone Indices
| Country | Index | Last | % | % |
| France | CAC 40 | 3958.01 | 29.07 | 0.74% |
| Germany | DAX-30 | 4339.28 | 57.64 | 1.35% |
| UK | FTSE 100 | 4941.5 | 33.2 | 0.68% |
| Italy | MIBTel | 24517 | 235 | 0.97% |
European Index Internals
| CAC-40 | DAX-30 | FTSE-100 | |
| Advancers | 34 | 29 | 64 |
| Decliners | 5 | 1 | 25 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 200.1 | 96.9 | 1345.3 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 9.9 | 1.1 | 189.4 |
Euro STOXX-50 Largest Volume
| Name | Close (€) | Change | % | Volume |
| Bosch | 9.31 | 0.16 | 1.75% | 54737320 |
| Telefonica | 14.16 | 0.2 | 1.43% | 35157084 |
| Alcatel | 9.7 | 0.02 | 0.21% | 28502696 |
| BBVA | 13.19 | 0.07 | 0.53% | 20124560 |
| Deutsche Telekom | 16.52 | 0.08 | 0.49% | 20013572 |
CAC-40 Largest Gainers
| Name | Close (€) | Change | % | Volume |
| Vinci | 114.2 | 3.5 | 3.16% | 1640896 |
| Veolia Environ | 27.89 | 0.73 | 2.69% | 2332121 |
| ST Microelectronics | 12.86 | 0.27 | 2.14% | 7047200 |
| Michelin | 52 | 1 | 1.96% | 912183 |
| AGF | 58.15 | 0.95 | 1.66% | 263829 |
CAC-40 Largest Decliners
| Name | Close (€) | Change | % | Volume |
| BNP Paribas | 54.8 | -0.45 | -0.81% | 6231865 |
| Vivendi Universal | 24.5 | -0.15 | -0.61% | 6419830 |
| Lagardere S.C.A. | 56.45 | -0.3 | -0.53% | 576750 |
| Pinault | 78.65 | -0.4 | -0.51% | 847523 |
| TFL | 25 | -0.1 | -0.4% | 973118 |
FTSE Largest Gainers
| Name | Close (£) | Change | % | Volume |
| Allied Domecq | 5.145 | 0.23 | 4.57% | 34602524 |
| Corus Group | 0.575 | 0.02 | 3.6% | 69771128 |
| Exel | 8.5 | 0.26 | 3.16% | 7593954 |
| Shell Transport | 4.845 | 0.13 | 2.7% | 163702304 |
| National Grid Trust | 5.2975 | 0.13 | 2.57% | 8896548 |
FTSE Largest Decliners
| Name | Close (£) | Change | % | Volume |
| Tesco | 3.1125 | -0.05 | -1.58% | 31707432 |
| British Land | 8.69 | -0.13 | -1.42% | 4728139 |
| BHP Billiton | 6.63 | -0.1 | -1.41% | 21323698 |
| Yell Group | 4.595 | -0.07 | -1.39% | 10546059 |
| Sainsbury | 2.895 | -0.03 | -1.03% | 19602160 |
DAX-30 Largest Gainers
| Name | Close (€) | Change | % | Volume |
| Continental | 55.94 | 2.12 | 3.94% | 2093698 |
| RWE | 47.5 | 1.69 | 3.69% | 4912809 |
| Henkel | 72.49 | 1.99 | 2.82% | 822516 |
| Bayer | 25.1 | 0.63 | 2.57% | 5785085 |
| Schering | 54.82 | 1.34 | 2.51% | 1572133 |
DAX-30 Largest Decliners
| Name | Close (€) | Change | % | Volume |
| Metro | 40.41 | -0.49 | -1.2% | 1120554 |
| Tui | 18.36 | 0.04 | 0.22% | 1284310 |
| Commerzbank | 16.8 | 0.04 | 0.24% | 3185786 |
| Volkswagen | 36.5 | 0.09 | 0.25% | 1896357 |
| Deutsche Boerse | 47.62 | 0.18 | 0.38% | 511552 |
