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Federal Reserve Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 1 repurchase operation.
- a $3billion, overnight repurchase entirely in T-backed collateral.
Major US Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 27.56 points (0.26%), closing out the day at 10486.02 points. The opened at its low (10453.38) and spiked to its session high (10526) at 11:30 a.m. NY time. From there it went nowhere for 2 hours, until an afternoon fade saw it close below the level it traded at in the first five minutes of the day. In other words, anyone who got long after 10:05, finished the day in the red... that's odd.
Oh wait... Greenspan spoke... starting at 10 a.m.! Now there's the reason... ego-handjob for the Maestrobater, then... yawn.
Within the blue-chip index, 17 stocks rose, the biggest gainers being General Motors (GM, +2.82% to $29.86) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, +1.40% to $60.90), which accounted for +12 Dow points between them. Losers in the Dow numbered 11 and were led by Home Depot (HD, -1.15% to $37.79) and International Business Machines (IBM, -0.64% to $89.00), with these two stocks contributing -7 Dow points worth of downward pressure on the index. Volume traded was tilted in favour of the gainers by 178.8m shares to 158.3m. You will notice below that the Dow was the only index that had positive breadth and volume breadth... circling the wagons?
The broader S&P500 gained 2.68 points (0.23%), ending the day at 1184.07. Within the index, gainers numbered 274, while 210 S&P500 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 1.1:1 in favour of the losers by 923m shares in the losers to 815m in the winners.
Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.18 points (0.01%), to close at 1999.14, while larger-cap technology issues fared worse with the Nasdaq100 losing 3.08 points (0.21%), to end at 1480.67 points. Within the tech benchmark, gainers numbered 42, while 53 Nasdaq100 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 2.4:1 in favour of the losers - a total of 557m shares traded in the decliners compared with 236m in stocks that gained for the session.
NYSE Volume was chunky, with 1.8 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was salsa-esque (medium-chunky), with 1.75 billion shares traded.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 10486.02 | 27.56 | 0.26% |
| S&P500 | 1184.07 | 2.68 | 0.23% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1999.14 | -0.18 | -0.01% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1480.67 | -3.08 | -0.21% |
| NYSE Volume | 1.8bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Volume | 1.75bn | - | - |
Bellwethers
My 9-stock "bellwethers" group rose by an average of 0.32%; Fannie Mae's bounce continued.
Again, I reiterate how perfectly the "good traders zag when journalists zig" (also known as "when journalists are on a bandwagon, get off the wagon") worked. The $55 FNM call I mentioned yesterday rose another $95 (48%), however as I said yesterday I won't claim it in the "track record" because the initial discussion (in a specially-sent-out FannieRant) was too diffuse. I just have to satisfy myself with the knowledge that I was right (again), and the journalist community sent its readers in exactly the wrong direction (again).
Forewarned is forearmed, as they say (although almost all of us have forearms, so I don't get it); you will be forewarned here to a far better extent than if you read the Wall Street Journal...
- General Electric (GE) -$0.00 (0%) to $35.50;
- Citigroup (C) +$0.21 (0.47%) to $45.15;
- Wal Mart (WMT) -$0.17 (0.34%) to $49.50;
- I.B.M. (IBM) -$0.57 (0.64%) to $89.00;
- Intel (INTC) -$0.08 (0.35%) to $23.05;
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -$0.05 (0.28%) to $17.77;
- eBay (EBAY) -$1.11 (2.9%) to $37.17;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +$1.87 (3.58%) to $54.15; and
- Freddie Mac (FRE) +$2.04 (3.3%) to $63.80.
Market Breadth & Internals
NYSE advancing Issues exceeded decliners by 1945 to 1306 for a single-day A/D reading of 639; Nasdaq gainers trumped losers by 1624 to 1472. The 10-day moving average of the A/D line rose to 385.8 on the NYSE, while the 10dma of the Nasdaq A/D rose to -110.6.
NYSE advancing volume exceeded volume in decliners by 993.4 to 756.3 million shares; On the Nasdaq declining volume exceeded volume in advancing issues by 984.3 to 669.5 million shares.
94 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 20 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 75 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 98 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.
| Market Breadth Statistics | ||
| NYSE | Nasdaq | |
| Advancers | 1945 | 1624 |
| Decliners | 1306 | 1472 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 993.39 | 669.46 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 756.34 | 984.33 |
| New Highs | 94 | 75 |
| New Lows | 20 | 98 |
| Market Sentiment Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 13.14 | -0.54 | -3.95% |
| CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index | 17.37 | -0.3 | -1.7% |
| Equity Put-Call Ratio | 0.73 | 0.03 | 4.29% |
| 10-day PCR | 0.72 | 0 | 0.28% |
| SPX-VIX Ratio | 90.1 | 3.75 | 4.35% |
Bond Market Analysis
Bonds rose along the curve, with the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond shedding 1.1 basis points to 4.742%. Prices in the belly rose faster, with yields in the 2-10 strip falling by 3-4 basis points apiece. Spreads to high-grade corporate bonds (those rated 'A' or higher) tightened by an average of 2 basis points across the entire maturity spectrum, with the bulk of the spread closing at the 20-year AA maturity, where spreads dipped by 6 basis points.
| Treasury Yields | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| UST 13wk (yld) | 2.702 | 0 | 0% |
| UST 2Y (yld) | 3.67 | -0.04 | -1.08% |
| UST 5Y (yld) | 4.089 | -0.041 | -0.99% |
| UST 10Y (yld) | 4.436 | -0.034 | -0.76% |
| UST 30Y (yld) | 4.742 | -0.011 | -0.23% |
The Banks Index added 0.8 points (0.83%), to end the session at 97.13; within the index,
- Northern Trust (NTRS) +$1.08 (2.49%) to $44.52;
- Comerica (CMA) +$1.05 (1.93%) to $55.45;
- Washington Mutual (WM) +$0.68 (1.75%) to $39.44;
- PNC Financial Services (PNC) +$0.83 (1.61%) to $52.30; and
- Keycorp (KEY) +$0.44 (1.39%) to $32.19.
The Broker-dealer Index gained 0.82 points (0.57%), to 145.8; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -
- Lehman Brothers (LEH) +$1.63 (1.75%) to $94.93;
- Goldman Sachs (GS) +$1.91 (1.73%) to $112.50;
- Bear Stearns (BSC) +$1.37 (1.39%) to $99.64;
- Raymond James (RJF) +$0.29 (0.97%) to $30.30; and
- Ameritrade (AMTD) +$0.09 (0.84%) to $10.83.
The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index advanced 0.96 points (0.23%), to end the session at 410.87
- Maxim Integrated (MXIM) +$0.46 (1.14%) to $40.86;
- Infineon Tech (IFX) +$0.10 (1.08%) to $9.39;
- Broadcom (BRCM) +$0.31 (1.04%) to $30.07;
- Teradyne (TER) +$0.13 (0.95%) to $13.84; and
- Freescale Semiconductors (FSL-B) +$0.15 (0.88%) to $17.24.
Gold & Silver Markets
Gold rose $2.60 (0.61%) to close at $427.10 per ounce. Seems those nuffie-bulls are watching the USDX for signs of weakness. The currency market will show them some weakness, they will get all energised and increase long positions, then the USDX will have another spurt upwards and the Gold market will have some more nuffie-heads to mount on its wall.
Honestly if it wasn't for the fact that there's a lot of money to be made, I don't think any self-respecting trader would actually enjoy the nuffie-hunt; it's too much like "shooting fish in a barrel". That might push Dick Cheney's 'on' button (his idea of "hunting" is standing somewhere and having a load of birds released in front of him, then shooting them... him and his Opus Dei freakazoid-cult buddy Antonin Scalia do this for gags on weekends...) but us humans are different.
You have my word on this: anytime I felt the same as Cheney about ANYTHING, I would cut my own head off with the edge of a ruler ... as a service to mankind. He should have been drowned as an infant.
Gold Bugs Index posted a rise of 1.16 points (0.58%), to end the session at 200.21
- Glamis Gold (GLG) +$0.26 (1.72%) to $15.38;
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) +$0.05 (1.45%) to $3.51;
- Goldcorp (GG) +$0.19 (1.38%) to $13.98;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) +$0.19 (1.14%) to $16.86; and
- Eldorado Gold (EGO) +$0.03 (1.06%) to $2.85.
Silver rose $0.08 (1.09%) to close at $7.12 per ounce. The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) gained 0.7 points (0.75%), at 93.48 points.
- Goldcorp (GG) +$0.19 (1.38%) to $13.98;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) +$0.19 (1.14%) to $16.86;
- Harmony Gold (HMY) +$0.08 (1.04%) to $7.79; and
- Anglogold Ashanti (AU) +$0.36 (1.03%) to $35.30.
| Precious Metals and Indices | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 427.10 | 2.60 | 0.61% |
| Silver | 7.12 | 0.08 | 1.09% |
| PHLX Gold and Silver Index | 93.48 | 0.7 | 0.75% |
| AMEX Gold BUGS Index | 200.21 | 1.16 | 0.58% |
Oil Market
Oil was firmer, rising by $0.09 per barrel, closing at $55.85 per barrel. The Crude Oil inventories turned out to be a non-event, which was a little annoying - although taking the futures trade off at the open (and converting it to an option strangle) was a reasonable move: crude had dipped to under $55.50 (meaning that the futures short was in profit to the tune of over $2500) and the $56 call had fallen to $110 (it got as high as $150, and closed at $132 - for an intraday gain of 20%). The $55.50 put opened at $148 and closed at $122 for an intraday loss of 21%. Overall, the options outlay of $258 had almost maintained its value.
That's all very well, but Heating Oil again went berserk (downwards); it opened all the way down at $1.6100, bringing the total profit on a short position to a whopping $3360 (one tick short of 100% in under three sessions); at that point in time, the appropriate strangle was a $1.62 call and a $1.60 put; these opened at 47.6 ticks ($200) and 53 ticks ($222.60) respectively.
During the session, the call was unchanged, and the put rose to 65 ticks ($273) for a gain on the overall position of 12% for the session. (Sadly, holding the futures was a far better idea - the contract fell another 2.5 full cents at which point the total gain on a futures-only position hit $4494... so 'nimble traders' were actually disadvantaged by swapping into an options strangle.
The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) advanced 12.68 points (1.49%), ending the day at 865.75
- Sunoco (SUN) +$4.27 (4.06%) to $109.33;
- ChevronTexaco (CVX) +$1.52 (2.73%) to $57.23; and
- ConocoPhillips (COP) +$2.55 (2.35%) to $110.87.
The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index posted a rise of 2.79 points (1.99%), ending the day at 143.08
- Global Industries (GLBL) +$0.73 (7.29%) to $10.67;
- BJ Services (BJS) +$1.70 (3.28%) to $53.50; and
- Transocean (RIG) +$1.70 (3.24%) to $54.13.
| Energy Complex | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Reuters CRB | 308.07 | -0.7 | -0.23% |
| Crude Oil Light Sweet | 55.85 | 0.09 | 0.16% |
| Heating Oil | 1.5875 | -0.03 | -1.85% |
| Natural Gas | 7.535 | -0.02 | -0.33% |
| Unleaded Gas | 1.659 | -0.02 | -1.19% |
| AMEX Oil Index | 865.75 | 12.68 | 1.49% |
| Oil Service Index | 143.08 | 2.79 | 1.99% |
Currency Markets
| USD Exchange Rates | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| US Dollar Index | 84.71 | 0.05 | 0.06% |
| Euro | 1.2868 | 0.0016 | 0.12% |
| Yen | 108.62 | 0.41 | 0.38% |
| Sterling | 1.8794 | -0.0004 | -0.02% |
| Australian Dollar | 0.764 | -0.0034 | -0.44% |
| Swiss Franc | 1.2058 | -0.001 | -0.08% |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8183 | -0.0017 | -0.21% |
