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Well, the Monday Orgasm was delayed by Presidents' Day, but was none the less orgasmic for having had to wait until the special day. the US markets opened wit ha hiss and a roar, and the Dow was up 150 pints within minutes of the open.
And what would we Rant types consider to be the most likely sound thereafter?
Yes, that's right - the screams of nuffies being skinned alive. There will be more of this in the small end of the Platinum market over the next week or so. If Platinum doesn't fall 10-15% during that time, you may call me Meyer.
Economic News
None - tomorrow is CPI, Housing starts and Building Permits.
Fed Open Market Operations
The Fed did one open market operation - a $10.75 billion repurchase with $8.06 billion in Treasury-backed collateral; the deal was struck at a 10 basis point discount to Fed Funds.
Headline Indices
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 10.99 points (0.09%) to 12337.22 points. The index high for the day was 12505.25 at 9:35 a.m. (minutes after the open), while the low was 200 points lower, at 12304.08 - and was set within half an hour of the close. Singed nuffie is a savour pleasant unto the Lord of the Market.
Major Advancers in the Dow were
- AIG (AIG) +0.92 (2%) to 47.03 on volume of 27.1 million units
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) +1.64 (1.92%) to 87.01 on volume of 21.1 million units
- Du Pont (DD) +0.73 (1.6%) to 46.22 on volume of 6 million units
- Alcoa (AA) +0.48 (1.34%) to 36.2 on volume of 12.8 million units
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +0.76 (1.21%) to 63.66 on volume of 9.4 million units
Major Decliners in the Dow were
- Verizon Communication (VZ)-2.49 -6.58%) to 35.34 on volume of 32.2 million units
- AT&T (T) -1.99 (5.25%) to 35.89 on volume of 49.2 million units
- American Express (AXP) -0.56 (1.24%) to 44.55 on volume of 8 million units
- Coca Cola (KO) -0.66 (1.12%) to 58.1 on volume of 7.3 million units
- IBM (IBM) -1.16 (1.09%) to 105 on volume of 6.9 million units
Most Traded Dow stocks were
- Citigroup (C) -0.16 (0.63%) to 25.32 on volume of 69.9 million units
- Microsoft (MSFT) -0.14 (0.49%) to 28.17 on volume of 67.5 million units
- Intel (INTC) +0.05 (0.25%) to 20.16 on volume of 65.4 million units
- AT&T. (T) -1.99 (5.25%) to 35.89 on volume of 49.2 million units
- Pfizer (PFE) 0.04 (0.18%) to 22.37 on volume of 34.4 million units
The S&P500 Index lost 1.21 points (0.09%) to 1348.78 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 15.6 points (0.67%) to 2306.20 points and the Nasdaq100 lost 15.57 points (0.87%) to 1764.81 points.
The CBOE Volatiity Index advanced +0.57 points (2.28%) to 25.59 points while the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index advanced +1.30 points (4.87%) to 27.99 points.
NYSE Total Volume totalled 3.59billion units; Nasdaq Total Volume totalled 1.99billion units.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 12337.22 | -10.99 | -0.09% |
| S&P500 Index | 1348.78 | -1.21 | -0.09% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2306.20 | -15.60 | -0.67% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1764.81 | -15.57 | -0.87% |
| CBOE Volatiity Index | 25.59 | +0.57 | 2.28% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index | 27.99 | +1.30 | 4.87% |
| NYSE Total Volume | 3.59bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Total Volume | 1.99bn | - | - |
Precious Metals
Precious metals futures advanced solidly - it is very nearly time to short Platinum. Tomorrow or the following session whould see a top.
| Precious Metal Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 930.4 | +24.3 | 2.68 |
| Silver | 1753.0 | +41.2 | 2.41 |
| Platinum | 2156.0 | +92.3 | 4.47 |
| Palladium | 490.00 | +38.30 | 8.48 |
Energy Complex
Energy futures rose across the board - a refinery explosion in the US and the new Iranian oil burse (which commenced operations over the weekend) helped, as did the continuing signs of entente corial between Iran and Russie... th Iranians have gone so far as to suggest the oil ought to be priced - in part - in Rubles.
| Energy Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Crude Oil | 99.46 | +3.96 | 4.15 |
| Heating Oil | 2.7455 | +0.0986 | 3.73 |
| Gasoline RBOB | 2.5850 | +0.0912 | 3.66 |
| Natural Gas | 8.992 | +0.332 | 3.83 |
| Ethanol | 2.100 | unch | 0 |
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 1.2%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) down $0.09 (0.26%) to $34.28 on volume of 30.95 million units.
- Citigroup (C) down $0.16 (0.63%) to $25.32 on volume of 69.86 million units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) up $+0.22 (0.44%) to $49.66 on volume of 18.98 million units.
- IBM (IBM) down $1.16 (1.09%) to $105.00 on volume of 6.86 million units.
- Intel (INTC) up $+0.05 (0.25%) to $20.16 on volume of 65.36 million units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) down $0.418 (1.79%) to $22.88 on volume of 71.75 million units.
- Google (GOOG) down $20.69 (3.91%) to $508.95 on volume of 6.33 million units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) down $0.41 (1.4%) to $28.98 on volume of 10.09 million units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) down $0.77 (2.71%) to $27.63 on volume of 8.93 million units.
Currencies
| Currency Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 76.075 | -0.305 | -0.4 |
| British Pound | 1.9456 | -0.0095 | -0.49 |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.9827 | -0.0077 | -0.78 |
| Japanese Yen | 0.9312 | +0.0004 | 0.04 |
| Swiss Franc | 0.9141 | -0.0018 | -0.2 |
| Euro FX | 1.4722 | +0.0065 | 0.44 |
| Australian Dollar | 0.9179 | +0.0146 | 1.62 |
| New Zealand Dollar | 0.79600 | +0.0117 | 1.49 |
