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Well, yesterday's euphoria seemed not to have endured. It might have to do with the unexpected slump in Personal Income, or it might be traceable to the failure of Dell to meet analysts' estimates. Either way, today would see a lot of yesterday's buyers feeing slack in front of the long weekend.
Economic News
Personal Income fell by 0.7%, far exceeding the 0.2% decline expected by the market. As I said when discussing that stupid GDP advance estimate the other day, the US statistical authorities are still slapping lipstick on a pig in advance of the US elections in two months. The way you can tell that: personal income dropped by 0.7%, but expenditure rose... this in a climate where nobody can get access to debt (be it credit card or mortgage refi)... so how are they sourcing this supposed growth in expenditure?
The answer is - the number is fake. When the final revisions are done (ten quarters from now), Expenditure for the month of July 2008 will show a contraction of more than 1% - bet on it.
And why? Because GDP is measured by expenditure, not by income.
Fed Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed a single repurchases today - a 4 day repurchase totalling $8.5bn, of which $1.57bn was in Treasury-backed collateral. The T-backed component was undertaken at a weighted average rate of 1.899% - fully 10bp below Fed Funds.
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 171.22 points (1.46%) to 11543.96 points. The index high for the day was 11713.23 set at the open, while the low was 11543.39, within seconds of the close.
Total volume traded in the index was modest - just 513.86m units. Within the index, all 30 stocks fell, with aggregate volume of 513.86m units. Days like this make it terribly hard to do index-level McLellan Oscillators - because when 100% of a market goes up (or down) it results in part of the oscillator formula being undefined due to division by zero.
The S&P500 Index lost 17.86 points (1.37%) to 1282.82 points: total volume traded in the index was 2.64bn units. Within the index, 77 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 523.62m units; 412 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 2.1bn units.
The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Federal Home Loan Mtg. (FRE) -0.77 (14.6%) to $4.51 on volume of 111.53m shares;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -1.11 (14%) to $6.84 on volume of 92.05m shares;
- Dell Inc. (DELL) -3.48 (13.8%) to $21.73 on volume of 96m shares;
- LSI Corporation (LSI) -0.41 (5.8%) to $6.65 on volume of 13.62m shares; and
- AutodeskInc. (ADSK) -2.01 (5.4%) to $35.53 on volume of 3.19m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 44.12 points (1.83%) to 2367.52 points while the Nasdaq100 lost 42.58 points (2.22%) to 1872.54 points. Total volume traded in the Nasdaq100 was 748.86m units: 8 index components rose, with upside volume totalling just 48.12m units; 90 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 700.74m units.
Main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Dell (DELL) -3.48 (13.8%) to $21.73 on volume of 96m shares;
- Autodesk (ADSK) -2.01 (5.4%) to $35.53 on volume of 3.19m shares;
- KLA-Tencor (KLAC) -2.03 (5.2%) to $37.06 on volume of 5.52m shares;
- SanDisk (SNDK) -0.71 (4.7%) to $14.46 on volume of 5.89m shares; and
- Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) -0.65 (4.4%) to $14.11 on volume of 29.82m shares.
The CBOE Volatility Index added 1.27 points (6.54%) to 20.70 points and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index advanced +0.98 points (4.23%) to 24.13 points.
A Total of 3451 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.16 billion shares. A total of 1209 counters posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 870 million shares trading to the upside. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were the 2119 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 2.25 billion shares. 22 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 48 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
Over on the Nasdaq 2992 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.51 billion shares. A total of 1060 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of just 250 million shares trading to the upside. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange was populated with 1789 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 1.25 billion shares. 43 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 79 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 11543.96 | -171.22 | -1.46% |
| S&P500 Index | 1282.82 | -17.86 | -1.37% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2367.52 | -44.12 | -1.83% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1872.54 | -42.58 | -2.22% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 20.70 | +1.27 | 6.54% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 24.13 | +0.98 | 4.23% |
Major Dow Duds
- General Motors (GM) -0.34 (3.3%) to $10 on volume of 14.2m units
- Intel (INTC) -0.72 (3.1%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) -0.65 (2.3%) to $27.29 on volume of 47.1m units
- IBM (IBM) -2.85 (2.3%) to $121.73 on volume of 6.8m units
Most Traded Dow stocks
- Intel (INTC) --0.72 (3.1%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units
- Citigroup (C) --0.09 (0.5%) to $18.99 on volume of 50.1m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) --0.65 (2.3%) to $27.29 on volume of 47.1m units
- General Electric (GE) --0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) --0.29 (0.9%) to $31.14 on volume of 39m units
Precious Metals
Precious metals futures were mixed -
| Precious Metals Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 831.5 | -1.8 | -0.22 |
| Silver | 13.59 | -0.014 | -0.1 |
| Palladium | 302.45 | 9.35 | 3.19 |
| Platinum | 1493.5 | 9.3 | 0.63 |
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) contains 16 components; the total volume traded in the index was 40.46m units. All 16 issues fell contributing to a drop of 1.73 points (1.15%) to 149.28 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -0.07 (3.8%) to $1.79 on volume of 5.44m shares;
- Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) -0.34 (3.6%) to $9.1 on volume of 3.37m shares;
- Kinroos Gold (KGC) -0.42 (2.5%) to $16.45 on volume of 3.98m shares;
- RandGold Resources (GOLD) -1.06 (2.4%) to $43.89 on volume of 0.49m shares; and
- Silver Wheaton (SLW) -0.21 (1.8%) to $11.52 on volume of 1.46m shares.
Energy Complex
Energy futures ran up early in the session (similar to yesterday) before being slammed back down to finish pretty much unchanged -
| Energy Futures | |||
| Commodity | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Crude Oil | 115.55 | -0.04 | -0.03 |
| Heating Oil | 3.1935 | -0.0086 | -0.27 |
| Natural Gas | 7.981 | -0.069 | -0.86 |
| Gasoline RBOB | 2.97 | -0.0514 | -1.7 |
| Ethanol | 2.37 | 0.064 | 2.78 |
The Oil Services index (OSX) contains 15 components; the total volume traded in the index was 56.63m units. Within the index, 2 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 6.85m units; 13 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 49.78m units.
Today the index fell by 5.37 points (1.79%) to 294.44 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Cameron International (CAM) -1.58 (3.3%) to $46.59 on volume of 2.6m shares;
- Global Industries (GLBL) -0.3 (3%) to $9.67 on volume of 3.83m shares;
- Smith International (SII) -2.11 (2.9%) to $69.7 on volume of 4.73m shares;
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -2.19 (2.9%) to $73.73 on volume of 4.56m shares; and
- BJ Services (BJS) -0.67 (2.4%) to $26.85 on volume of 3.97m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 4.8% - as with recent advances, the size of the decline was due entirely to bug drops in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.53%) to $28.10 on volume of 45.01m units.
- Citigroup (C) -0.09 (0.47%) to $18.99 on volume of 50.11m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.81 (1.35%) to $59.07 on volume of 12.19m units.
- IBM (IBM) -2.85 (2.29%) to $121.73 on volume of 6.76m units.
- Intel (INTC) -0.72 (3.05%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.61 (2.47%) to $24.05 on volume of 30.86m units.
- Google (GOOG) -10.49 (2.21%) to $463.29 on volume of 3.76m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -1.11 (13.96%) to $6.84 on volume of 92.05m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.77 (14.58%) to $4.51 on volume of 111.53m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) contains 24 components; the total volume traded in the index was 336.04m units. Within the index, 11 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 118.37m units; 12 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 211.86m units.
Today the index was unchanged at 66.04 points. This rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -
- Washington Mutual (WM) +0.18 (4.7%) to $4.05 on volume of 56.66m shares;
- Regions Financial (RF) +0.35 (3.9%) to $9.27 on volume of 12.6m shares;
- Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.43 (2.8%) to $15.78 on volume of 8.49m shares;
- Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.71 (2.7%) to $26.84 on volume of 2.44m shares; and
- BB&T Corp (BBT) +0.78 (2.7%) to $30 on volume of 7.63m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) contains 18 components; the total volume traded in the index was 205.63m units. Within the index, 1 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 15.8m units; 17 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 189.83m units.
Today the index fell by 9.99 points (2.75%) to 352.84 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) -2.03 (5.2%) to $37.06 on volume of 5.52m shares;
- Sandisk (SNDK) -0.71 (4.7%) to $14.46 on volume of 5.89m shares;
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.65 (4.4%) to $14.11 on volume of 29.82m shares;
- Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) -0.35 (3.5%) to $9.71 on volume of 15.92m shares; and
- Broadcom (BRCM) -0.85 (3.4%) to $24.06 on volume of 12.29m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) contains 17 components; the total volume traded in the index was 65.87m units. Within the index, 3 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 1.37m units; 14 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 64.51m units.
Today the index fell by 3.61 points (0.95%) to 374.52 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- FLIRr Systems (FLIR) -1.19 (3.2%) to $35.7 on volume of 0.97m shares;
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) -3.15 (2.6%) to $116.44 on volume of 3.74m shares;
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m shares;
- ITT Corporation (ITT) -1.23 (1.9%) to $63.75 on volume of 0.93m shares; and
- Teledyne Tech (TDY) -1.17 (1.8%) to $62.33 on volume of 0.14m shares.
Currency Futures
Currency futures continued range-bound, although the Canadian dollar might have given a hint regarding nascent beginnings of the final spike before the death-plunge of the USD -
| Currency Futures | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Dollar Index | 77.4 | 0.145 | 0.19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Euro FX | 1.4631 | -0.0058 | -0.39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Swiss Franc | 0.9063 | -0.0035 | -0.38 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Dollar | 0.8554 | -0.0046 | -0.53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canadian Dollar | 0.9397 | -0.0109 | -1.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Japanese Yen | 0.9202 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 11543.96 | -171.22 | -1.46% |
| S&P500 Index | 1282.82 | -17.86 | -1.37% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2367.52 | -44.12 | -1.83% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1872.54 | -42.58 | -2.22% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 20.70 | +1.27 | 6.54% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 24.13 | +0.98 | 4.23% |
Major Dow Duds
- General Motors (GM) -0.34 (3.3%) to $10 on volume of 14.2m units
- Intel (INTC) -0.72 (3.1%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) -0.65 (2.3%) to $27.29 on volume of 47.1m units
- IBM (IBM) -2.85 (2.3%) to $121.73 on volume of 6.8m units
Most Traded Dow stocks
- Intel (INTC) --0.72 (3.1%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units
- Citigroup (C) --0.09 (0.5%) to $18.99 on volume of 50.1m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) --0.65 (2.3%) to $27.29 on volume of 47.1m units
- General Electric (GE) --0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) --0.29 (0.9%) to $31.14 on volume of 39m units
Precious Metals
Precious metals futures were mixed -
| Precious Metals Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 831.5 | -1.8 | -0.22 |
| Silver | 13.59 | -0.014 | -0.1 |
| Palladium | 302.45 | 9.35 | 3.19 |
| Platinum | 1493.5 | 9.3 | 0.63 |
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) contains 16 components; the total volume traded in the index was 40.46m units. All 16 issues fell contributing to a drop of 1.73 points (1.15%) to 149.28 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -0.07 (3.8%) to $1.79 on volume of 5.44m shares;
- Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) -0.34 (3.6%) to $9.1 on volume of 3.37m shares;
- Kinroos Gold (KGC) -0.42 (2.5%) to $16.45 on volume of 3.98m shares;
- RandGold Resources (GOLD) -1.06 (2.4%) to $43.89 on volume of 0.49m shares; and
- Silver Wheaton (SLW) -0.21 (1.8%) to $11.52 on volume of 1.46m shares.
Energy Complex
Energy futures ran up early in the session (similar to yesterday) before being slammed back down to finish pretty much unchanged -
| Energy Futures | |||
| Commodity | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Crude Oil | 115.55 | -0.04 | -0.03 |
| Heating Oil | 3.1935 | -0.0086 | -0.27 |
| Natural Gas | 7.981 | -0.069 | -0.86 |
| Gasoline RBOB | 2.97 | -0.0514 | -1.7 |
| Ethanol | 2.37 | 0.064 | 2.78 |
The Oil Services index (OSX) contains 15 components; the total volume traded in the index was 56.63m units. Within the index, 2 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 6.85m units; 13 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 49.78m units.
Today the index fell by 5.37 points (1.79%) to 294.44 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Cameron International (CAM) -1.58 (3.3%) to $46.59 on volume of 2.6m shares;
- Global Industries (GLBL) -0.3 (3%) to $9.67 on volume of 3.83m shares;
- Smith International (SII) -2.11 (2.9%) to $69.7 on volume of 4.73m shares;
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -2.19 (2.9%) to $73.73 on volume of 4.56m shares; and
- BJ Services (BJS) -0.67 (2.4%) to $26.85 on volume of 3.97m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 4.8% - as with recent advances, the size of the decline was due entirely to bug drops in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.53%) to $28.10 on volume of 45.01m units.
- Citigroup (C) -0.09 (0.47%) to $18.99 on volume of 50.11m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.81 (1.35%) to $59.07 on volume of 12.19m units.
- IBM (IBM) -2.85 (2.29%) to $121.73 on volume of 6.76m units.
- Intel (INTC) -0.72 (3.05%) to $22.87 on volume of 51.4m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.61 (2.47%) to $24.05 on volume of 30.86m units.
- Google (GOOG) -10.49 (2.21%) to $463.29 on volume of 3.76m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -1.11 (13.96%) to $6.84 on volume of 92.05m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.77 (14.58%) to $4.51 on volume of 111.53m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) contains 24 components; the total volume traded in the index was 336.04m units. Within the index, 11 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 118.37m units; 12 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 211.86m units.
Today the index was unchanged at 66.04 points. This rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -
- Washington Mutual (WM) +0.18 (4.7%) to $4.05 on volume of 56.66m shares;
- Regions Financial (RF) +0.35 (3.9%) to $9.27 on volume of 12.6m shares;
- Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.43 (2.8%) to $15.78 on volume of 8.49m shares;
- Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.71 (2.7%) to $26.84 on volume of 2.44m shares; and
- BB&T Corp (BBT) +0.78 (2.7%) to $30 on volume of 7.63m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) contains 18 components; the total volume traded in the index was 205.63m units. Within the index, 1 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 15.8m units; 17 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 189.83m units.
Today the index fell by 9.99 points (2.75%) to 352.84 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) -2.03 (5.2%) to $37.06 on volume of 5.52m shares;
- Sandisk (SNDK) -0.71 (4.7%) to $14.46 on volume of 5.89m shares;
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.65 (4.4%) to $14.11 on volume of 29.82m shares;
- Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) -0.35 (3.5%) to $9.71 on volume of 15.92m shares; and
- Broadcom (BRCM) -0.85 (3.4%) to $24.06 on volume of 12.29m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) contains 17 components; the total volume traded in the index was 65.87m units. Within the index, 3 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 1.37m units; 14 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 64.51m units.
Today the index fell by 3.61 points (0.95%) to 374.52 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- FLIRr Systems (FLIR) -1.19 (3.2%) to $35.7 on volume of 0.97m shares;
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) -3.15 (2.6%) to $116.44 on volume of 3.74m shares;
- General Electric (GE) -0.73 (2.5%) to $28.1 on volume of 45m shares;
- ITT Corporation (ITT) -1.23 (1.9%) to $63.75 on volume of 0.93m shares; and
- Teledyne Tech (TDY) -1.17 (1.8%) to $62.33 on volume of 0.14m shares.
Currency Futures
Currency futures continued range-bound, although the Canadian dollar might have given a hint regarding nascent beginnings of the final spike before the death-plunge of the USD -
| Currency Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 77.4 | 0.145 | 0.19 |
| Euro FX | 1.4631 | -0.0058 | -0.39 |
| Swiss Franc | 0.9063 | -0.0035 | -0.38 |
| Australian Dollar | 0.8554 | -0.0046 | -0.53 |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.9397 | -0.0109 | -1.15 |
| Japanese Yen | 0.9202 | 0.0068 | 0.74 |
| New Zealand Dollar | 0.6972 | -0.0023 | -0.33 |
