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Federal Reserve Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk did not enter the market.
Major US Indices
I've had a "long on pullbacks" bias for a couple of weeks now, and frankly I'm sick of it. First, being long US equities (even for minutes at a time) gives me the willies: I was fortunate enough to have been short on September 11 2001 (and the position was not working very well at the time... the S&P had moved against me by 6 points during Globex), but I know of people who were long.
Given the dire economic straits the US is in (face it, it's finishedas a world power), another crack of that magnitude is more likely as time passes - with or without another instance of "how do you like a taste of your own foreign policy... hurts, don't it"...
Anyhow... the entire market is now overbought on pretty much all timescales longer than a day, so over the next few sessions it will pay to start nibbling at the short side. AAPL is still the best short candidate since 2000, although GOOG is a close rival. Sadly I advocated AAPL puts two weeks early - which means death in options. No matter - the bond short more than made up.
The DJIA posted a rise of 46.19 points (0.43%), closing out the day at 10837.32 points; a new high for the year. Within the blue-chip index, 19 stocks rose, the biggest gainers being Mcdonalds (MCD +1.69% to $33.16) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ +1.69% to $21.12). Losers in the Dow numbered 10 and were led by Pfizer Inc (PFE -1.02% to $25.22) and Caterpillar (CAT -0.78% to $91.50); Volume traded was tilted in favour of the gainers by a massive margin - 219m shares to 71.6m.
The broader S&P500 advanced 3.98 points (0.33%), to end the session at 1210.12. Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite added 6.3 points (0.3%), to close at 2089.21. The Comp flirted with 2100 briefly - from 11 a.m. NY time to after 11:30 a.m. - but no repo always meant that the rally would fail. Larger-cap technology issues fared better with the Nasdaq100 adding 9.09 points (0.59%), to end at 1547.3 points.NYSE Volume was chunky, with 1.53 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was super-chunky (over 2 bill), with 2.07 billion shares being exchanged.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| DJIA | 10837.32 | 46.19 | 0.43% |
| S&P500 | 1210.12 | 3.98 | 0.33% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2089.21 | 6.3 | 0.3% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1547.3 | 9.09 | 0.59% |
| NYSE Volume | 1.53bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Volume | 2.07bn | - | - |
Bellwethers
My 9-stock "bellwethers" group rose by an average of 0.38%
- General Electric (GE) +$0.07 (0.19%) to $36.39;
- Citigroup (C) +$0.15 (0.3%) to $49.40;
- Wal Mart (WMT) +$0.55 (1.05%) to $52.70;
- I.B.M. (IBM) +$0.76 (0.81%) to $94.33;
- Intel (INTC) +$0.16 (0.66%) to $24.47;
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -$0.05 (0.28%) to $17.92;
- eBay (EBAY) +$1.08 (1.28%) to $85.40;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +$0.04 (0.06%) to $63.22; and
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -$0.47 (0.7%) to $66.44.
Market Breadth & Internals
NYSE advancing Issues exceeded decliners by 1782 to 1513 for a single-day A/D reading of 269; and Nasdaq losers exceeded gainers by 1617 to 1514.
NYSE advancing volume exceeded volume in decliners by 902.7 to 580.9 million shares; Nasdaq advancing volume was greater than volume in decliners by 1292.7 to 684.3 million shares.
296 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 17 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 124 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 28 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.
| NYSE | Nasdaq | |
| Advancers | 1782 | 1514 |
| Decliners | 1513 | 1617 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 902.73 | 1292.73 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 580.86 | 684.33 |
| New Highs | 296 | 124 |
| New Lows | 17 | 28 |
Market Sentiment
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 11.25 | -0.29 | -2.51% |
| CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index | 17.57 | 0.01 | 0.06% |
| Equity Put-Call Ratio | 0.59 | -0.08 | -11.94% |
| 10-day PCR | 0.66 | -0.01 | -2.19% |
| SPX-VIX Ratio | 107.57 | 3.048 | 2.92% |
Bond Market Analysis
Bonds fell from the middle of the curve on out through to the long end, with short maturities stable. The yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond added 3.3 basis points to 4.481%. The March 30-year bond future (ZB05H) dropped another 13/32nds, but from a level higher than yesterday's cash session close. Still, the short position discussed about a week ago remains in profit to the tune of more than US$1000 - although the ack of follow through is slightly perturbing.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| UST 13wk (yld) | 2.532 | 0 | 0% |
| UST 2Y (yld) | 3.33 | -0.01 | -0.3% |
| UST 5Y (yld) | 3.709 | 0.02 | 0.46% |
| UST 10Y (yld) | 4.098 | 0.025 | 0.61% |
| UST 30Y (yld) | 4.481 | 0.033 | 0.74% |
The Banks Index gained 0.1 points (0.1%), at 101.96; within the index,
- Washington Mutual (WM) +$0.77 (1.89%) to $41.49;
- M&T Bank Corp (MTB) +$1.03 (1.02%) to $102.33;
- Regions Financial (RF) +$0.19 (0.58%) to $32.98;
- Comerica (CMA) +$0.33 (0.56%) to $58.91; and
- Bank Of NY (BK) +$0.15 (0.49%) to $30.77.
The Broker-dealer Index declined 0.72 points (0.47%), ending the day at 151.39; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -
- Ameritrade (AMTD) -$0.42 (3.59%) to $11.28;
- Legg Mason (LM) -$1.03 (1.27%) to $80.16;
- Jeffries Group (JEF) -$0.44 (1.09%) to $39.86;
- E*Trade (ET) -$0.13 (0.98%) to $13.18; and
- Lehman Brothers (LEH) -$0.75 (0.8%) to $93.11.
The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index advanced 3.02 points (0.69%), to end the session at 439.24
- Teradyne (TER) +$0.49 (3.19%) to $15.86;
- Novellus Systems (NVLS) +$0.71 (2.43%) to $29.95;
- Applied Materials (AMAT) +$0.36 (2.1%) to $17.49;
- KLA-Tencor (KLAC) +$0.77 (1.55%) to $50.50; and
- Broadcom (BRCM) +$0.50 (1.51%) to $33.60.
Gold & Silver Markets
Gold fell by $0.60 (0.14%) to close at $426.4 per ounce. The Gold Bugs Index slid 2.29 points (1.09%), to 208.14
- Hecla Mining (HL) -$0.25 (4.23%) to $5.66;
- Goldcorp (GG) -$0.49 (3.54%) to $13.35;
- Glamis Gold (GLG) -$0.53 (2.99%) to $17.22;
- Kinross Gold (KGC) -$0.20 (2.95%) to $6.58; and
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -$0.11 (2.74%) to $3.90.
Silver rose $0.05 (0.62%) to close at $7.35 per ounce. The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) lost 0.47 points (0.49%), at 94.86 points.
- Goldcorp (GG) -$0.49 (3.54%) to $13.35;
- Kinross Gold (KGC) -$0.20 (2.95%) to $6.58;
- Placer Dome (PDG) -$0.34 (1.88%) to $17.75; and
- Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.12 (1.45%) to $8.16.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 426.4 | -0.6 | -0.14% |
| Silver | 7.345 | 0.045 | 0.62% |
| PHLX Gold and Silver Index | 94.86 | -0.47 | -0.49% |
| AMEX Gold BUGS Index | 208.14 | -2.29 | -1.09% |
Oil Market
Oil lost ground, shedding $0.10 per barrel, closing at $47.30 per barrel. The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) gained 4.35 points (0.54%), closing at 802.82
- Marathon Oil (MRO) +$0.70 (1.66%) to $42.99;
- Royal Dutch Shell (RD) +$0.95 (1.61%) to $59.99; and
- Kerr Mcgee (KMG) +$0.86 (1.27%) to $68.72.
The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index declined 0.17 points (0.13%), to end the session at 135.2
- Global Industries (GLBL) -$0.23 (2.65%) to $8.26;
- Nabors Industries (NBR) -$0.42 (0.77%) to $53.83; and
- Baker Hughes (BHI) -$0.30 (0.64%) to $46.49.
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Reuters CRB | 289.33 | 1.46 | 0.51% |
| Crude Oil Light Sweet | 47.3 | -0.1 | -0.21% |
| Heating Oil | 1.2933 | -0.002 | -0.15% |
| Natural Gas | 6.17 | 0.09 | 1.48% |
| Unleaded Gas | 1.257 | -0.0252 | -1.97% |
| AMEX Oil Index | 802.82 | 4.35 | 0.54% |
| Oil Service Index | 135.2 | -0.17 | -0.13% |
Currency Markets
[Commentary]
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| US Dollar Index | 83.56 | -0.44 | -0.52% |
| Euro | 1.3017 | 0.0055 | 0.42% |
| Yen | 104.4 | -0.77 | -0.73% |
| Sterling | 1.8965 | 0.0087 | 0.46% |
| Australian Dollar | 0.7871 | -0.0009 | -0.11% |
| Swiss Franc | 1.1902 | -0.0086 | -0.72% |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8121 | 0.0021 | 0.26% |
