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Federal Reserve Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 2 repurchase operations.
- a $8billion, overnight repurchase entirely in T-backed collateral; and
- a $5billion, 4-day repurchase with $4.462billion in T-backed collateral .
Plenty of repo meant that there was little risk to long positions at 10 a.m., and that proved to be the case (although it must be said that some nerve was required during lunch for those who didn't take profits early). The repo had to be taken in conjunction with two important things: S&P1200 providing support, plus the fact that Mondays are notoriously biased upwards (because the mainstream media spews and endless torrent of "we are so prosperous" tripe every weekend).
Major US Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a rise of 30.15 points (0.28%), closing out the day at 10804.51 points. The Dow closed at its session high, and fell as low as 10754.41 (the low was at about 1:30 p.m. and was re-tested about an hour later).
Within the blue-chip index, 25 stocks rose, the biggest gainers being Hewlett Packard (HPQ, +1.71% to $20.20) and United Technology (UTX, +1.60% to $102.98), which accounted for 14 Dow points between them. Losers in the Dow numbered 5 and were led by Caterpillar (CAT, -2.49% to $96.53) and American International Group (AIG, -1.33% to $63.85), with these two stocks contributing -25 Dow points worth of downward pressure on the index. Volume traded was tilted in favour of the gainers by 276.4m shares to 52.3m.
The broader S&P500 rose 6.75 points (0.56%), ending the day at 1206.83. Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite rose 9.44 points (0.46%), to close at 2051.04, while larger-cap technology issues fared better with the Nasdaq100 adding 9.45 points (0.63%), to end at 1515.09 points.
NYSE Volume was reasonable, with 1.44 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was OK, with 1.71 billion shares being shifted from one online brokerage account to another (and back again, in all likelihood). Folks should be quite pensive about the huge increase in OTCBB volume (the OTCBB market is the so-called "pink slips" - a market that has virtually no listing rules... it is "penny dreadful" land, and its volume is routinely greater than both the NYSE and the Nasdaq). The "flight to shite" is deeper than you might expect if you only look at the "respectable" indices.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 10804.51 | 30.15 | 0.28% |
| S&P500 | 1206.83 | 6.75 | 0.56% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2051.04 | 9.44 | 0.46% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1515.09 | 9.45 | 0.63% |
| NYSE Volume | 1.44bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Volume | 1.71bn | - | - |
Bellwethers
My 9-stock "bellwethers" group rose by an average of 0.05%
- General Electric (GE) +$0.40 (1.12%) to $36.22;
- Citigroup (C) +$0.43 (0.9%) to $48.22;
- Wal Mart (WMT) -$0.30 (0.58%) to $51.30;
- I.B.M. (IBM) +$0.39 (0.43%) to $91.90;
- Intel (INTC) +$0.07 (0.29%) to $24.27;
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +$0.09 (0.49%) to $18.54;
- eBay (EBAY) -$1.77 (4.63%) to $36.48;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +$0.39 (0.68%) to $57.69; and
- Freddie Mac (FRE) +$1.14 (1.76%) to $65.84.
Market Breadth & Internals
NYSE advancing issues exceeded decliners by 1772 to 1576 for a single-day A/D reading of 196; Nasdaq gainers trumped losers by 1661 to 1453. The 10-day moving average of the A/D line rose to -133.3 on the NYSE, while the 10dma of the Nasdaq A/D rose to -169.5.
NYSE advancing volume exceeded volume in decliners by 989.1 to 432.4 million shares; Nasdaq advancing volume was greater than volume in decliners by 1040.6 to 642.8 million shares.
82 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 32 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 54 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 83 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.
| Market Breadth Statistics | ||
| NYSE | Nasdaq | |
| Advancers | 1772 | 1661 |
| Decliners | 1576 | 1453 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 989.08 | 1040.57 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 432.37 | 642.76 |
| New Highs | 82 | 54 |
| New Lows | 32 | 83 |
| Market Sentiment Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 12.42 | -0.38 | -2.97% |
| CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index | 18.32 | -0.25 | -1.35% |
| Equity Put-Call Ratio | 0.84 | -0.03 | -3.45% |
| 10-day PCR | 0.72 | 0.03 | 4.29% |
| SPX-VIX Ratio | 97.2 | 3.41 | 3.64% |
Bond Market Analysis
Bonds rose at the long end, with the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond shedding 2.9 basis points to 4.78%.
| Treasury Yields | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| UST 13wk (yld) | 2.712 | 0 | 0% |
| UST 2Y (yld) | 3.71 | 0.01 | 0.27% |
| UST 5Y (yld) | 4.196 | -0.018 | -0.43% |
| UST 10Y (yld) | 4.516 | -0.019 | -0.42% |
| UST 30Y (yld) | 4.78 | -0.029 | -0.6% |
The Banks Index rose 0.95 points (0.96%), closing at 100.13; within the index,
- Mellon Financial (MEL) +$1.06 (3.67%) to $29.97;
- Suntrust Banks (STI) +$1.54 (2.15%) to $73.32;
- North Fork Bancorp (NFB) +$0.59 (2.07%) to $29.05;
- State Street (STT) +$0.84 (1.89%) to $45.37; and
- Washington Mutual (WM) +$0.70 (1.71%) to $41.75.
The Broker-dealer Index added 0.77 points (0.51%), ending the day at 150.57; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -
- Bear Stearns (BSC) +$1.41 (1.36%) to $104.74;
- Ameritrade (AMTD) +$0.10 (0.93%) to $10.89;
- Morgan Stanley (MWD) +$0.51 (0.87%) to $59.00;
- Legg Mason (LM) +$0.54 (0.68%) to $79.49; and
- Jeffries Group (JEF) +$0.24 (0.61%) to $39.55.
The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index advanced 2.37 points (0.55%), ending the day at 430.25
- Freescale Semiconductors (FSL-B) +$0.39 (2.2%) to $18.10;
- National Semiconductors (NSM) +$0.40 (1.92%) to $21.22;
- Teradyne (TER) +$0.18 (1.2%) to $15.13;
- Altera (ALTR) +$0.24 (1.18%) to $20.54; and
- Linear Technology (LLTC) +$0.42 (1.06%) to $39.89.
Gold & Silver Markets
Gold fell by $4.80 (1.08%) to close at $441.6 per ounce. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Gold market, it turns out to be a Monday and people forget that the US is bankrupt and behave as if the USD is worth buying.
Gold Bugs Index shed 2.34 points (1.06%), ending the day at 219.22
- Randgold Resources (GOLD) -$0.48 (3.49%) to $13.29;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.31 (1.7%) to $17.95;
- Hecla Mining (HL) -$0.10 (1.69%) to $5.83;
- Glamis Gold (GLG) -$0.28 (1.62%) to $17.03; and
- Iamgold (IAG) -$0.11 (1.59%) to $6.79.
Silver fell by a whopping $0.42 (5.51%) to close at $7.14 per ounce. The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) lost 1.06 points (1.04%), to 100.83 points.
- Placer Dome (PDG) -$0.34 (1.91%) to $17.45;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.31 (1.7%) to $17.95;
- Anglogold Ashanti (AU) -$0.59 (1.54%) to $37.61; and
- Kinross Gold (KGC) -$0.10 (1.45%) to $6.82.
| Precious Metals and Indices | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 441.60 | -4.80 | -1.08% |
| Silver | 7.14 | -0.42 | -5.51% |
| PHLX Gold and Silver Index | 100.83 | -1.06 | -1.04% |
| AMEX Gold BUGS Index | 219.22 | -2.34 | -1.06% |
Oil Market
Oil was firmer, rising by $0.42 per barrel, closing at $54.85 per barrel and briefly trading above $55. There was commentary by the oil minister of an OPEC country (I forget which) that said that any output increase at the upcoming OPEC meeting would be largely (if not purely) cosmetic. Seems that the oil-rich countries are getting used to the idea of getting paid more USD promissory notes in exchange for their crude. They keep putting up "trial balloons" to see how the market responds. Funny stuff, since they all now know that invasion is unlikely (the US having shown itself to be a paper superpower).
The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) gained 4.11 points (0.48%), closing at 861.86
- Unocal (UCL) +$1.37 (2.25%) to $62.39;
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY) +$1.10 (1.54%) to $72.40; and
- ChevronTexaco (CVX) +$0.59 (1.01%) to $58.89.
The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index added 1.73 points (1.26%), to 138.96
- Halliburton (HAL) +$1.62 (4.01%) to $42.00;
- Cooper Cameron (CAM) +$1.34 (2.46%) to $55.86; and
- Nabors Industries (NBR) +$0.81 (1.45%) to $56.83.
| Energy Complex | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Reuters CRB | 317.24 | -1.37 | -0.43% |
| Crude Oil Light Sweet | 54.85 | 0.42 | 0.77% |
| Heating Oil | 1.5351 | -0.01 | -0.49% |
| Natural Gas | 713.5 | 706.73 | 10436.03% |
| Unleaded Gas | 1.5079 | -0.01 | -0.63% |
| AMEX Oil Index | 861.86 | 4.11 | 0.48% |
| Oil Service Index | 138.96 | 1.73 | 1.26% |
Currency Markets
| USD Exchange Rates | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| US Dollar Index | 81.95 | 0.51 | 0.63% |
| Euro | 1.3367 | -0.01 | -0.74% |
| Yen | 104.88 | 0.85 | 0.82% |
| Sterling | 1.9135 | -0.0118 | -0.61% |
| Australian Dollar | 0.7871 | -0.0069 | -0.87% |
| Swiss Franc | 1.1593 | 0.0098 | 0.85% |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8278 | -0.0016 | -0.19% |
