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You're probably thinking "I bet our Beloved GT gives the horn a good old toot, what with Crude going through the roof following his genius declaration on the day of the low".
Not a bit of it, Dear Reader. I will gently point out that amongst the subscribers to the USSpy futures triggers, there are people who are long Crude from the mid-$112 range who are now sitting on profits of almost $10k per contract. Not bad for four sessions.
Depending on how you get your exposure, that is a profit of between 88% (for those who pay full exchange margin) to 350% (for those who use more leverage... my preference is 50:1 that you can get at places like HY Markets, where bad spreads are made up for by good execution and flexible contract sizes).
Anyhow... just thought I would mention it.
Oh, who are we kidding?
TOOT!
Ahhh... that's that out of the system.
Economic News
- Initial Jobless Claims fell to 432k - slightly better than the expected fall to 438k;
- Leading Indicators for July fell 0.7%; consensus was for a fall of -0.3%;
- the Philadelphia Fed Index for August gave a reading of -12.7, sl;ightly better than the -13.4 expected by the market.
Fed Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 2 repurchase operations:
- a 7 Day repurchase totalling $9bn, but with just $0.271bn in Treasury-backed collateral at a weighted average rate of 2.0%.
- a 14 Day repurchase totalling $5bn, $4.688bn of which was Treasury-backed collateral... at a weighted average rate of 2.02%.
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 12.78 points (0.11%) to 11430.21 points after dropping sharply at the open. The index high for the day was 11476.13 at 3:15 p.m., while the low was 11315.57 at just after 9:30 a.m. NY time.
Total volume traded in the Dow was 551.63m units. Within the index, 16 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 201.87m units; 14 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 349.76m units.
The S&P500 Index advanced 3.18 points (0.25%) to 1277.72 points.
Total volume traded in the S&P500 was 3.07bn units. Within the index, 245 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 1.32bn units; 241 issues fell, with declining volume totalling 1.65bn units.
The biggest gainers in the S&P were -
- Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) +2.31 (12.9%) to $20.28 on volume of 19.09m shares;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +0.45 (10.2%) to $4.85 on volume of 185.47m shares;
- Centex Corp. (CTX) +1.06 (7.5%) to $15.12 on volume of 5.9m shares;
- Massey Energy Company (MEE) +4.41 (6.8%) to $69.27 on volume of 5.89m shares; and
- D.R. Horton (DHI) +0.67 (6.2%) to $11.4 on volume of 7.11m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 8.7 points (0.36%) to 2380.38 points, and the Nasdaq100 lost 6.28 points (0.33%) to 1906.74 points.
The total volume traded in the Nasdaq100 was 643.37m units. Within the index, 35 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 157.2m units; 62 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 463.01m units.
Today the index fell by 6.28 points (0.33%) to 1906.74 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- UAL (UAUA) -1.07 (8.6%) to $11.33 on volume of 35.42m shares;
- NVIDIA (NVDA) -0.46 (3.3%) to $13.62 on volume of 25.26m shares;
- Patterson Companies (PDCO) -1.06 (3.2%) to $31.89 on volume of 2.87m shares;
- Hansen Natural (HANS) -0.89 (2.9%) to $29.32 on volume of 2.53m shares; and
- Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) -0.66 (2.6%) to $24.92 on volume of 2.98m shares.
The CBOE Volatility Index lost 0.5 points (2.45%) to 19.92 points and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index lost 0.36 points (1.53%) to 23.17 points.
Breadth and market internals did not agree at all with the headline index gains.
A Total of 3458 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4 billion shares. A total of 1484 counters posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 2.01 billion shares trading to the upside. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were the 1886 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 1.93 billion shares. 9 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 136 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
Over on the Nasdaq 2939 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.52 billion shares. A total of 1081 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.46 billion shares trading to the upside. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange was populated with 1721 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 1.01 billion shares. 40 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 106 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 11430.21 | +12.78 | 0.11% |
| S&P500 Index | 1277.72 | +3.18 | 0.25% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2380.38 | -8.70 | -0.36% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1906.74 | -6.28 | -0.33% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 19.92 | -0.50 | -2.45% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 23.17 | -0.36 | -1.53% |
Dow Darlings
- Chevron (CVX) +2.06 (2.4%) to $88.52 on volume of 10.9m units
- Home Depot (HD) +0.6 (2.3%) to $26.57 on volume of 17.4m units
- Exxon-Mobil (XOM) +1.54 (2%) to $80.35 on volume of 23.9m units
- Alcoa (AA) +0.43 (1.4%) to $32.14 on volume of 7.5m units
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.29 (0.6%) to $46.45 on volume of 14.2m units
Dow Duds
- AIG (AIG) -1.02 (4.9%) to $19.78 on volume of 44.9m units
- General Motors (GM) -0.24 (2.4%) to $9.92 on volume of 17.2m units
- JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.74 (2%) to $36.26 on volume of 30.1m units
- Coca-Cola (KO) -0.84 (1.5%) to $53.51 on volume of 5.7m units
- Intel (INTC) -0.34 (1.5%) to $23.05 on volume of 54.7m units
Most Traded Dow stocks
- Citigroup (C) --0.02 (0.1%) to $17.47 on volume of 60.3m units
- Intel (INTC) --0.34 (1.5%) to $23.05 on volume of 54.7m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) --0.25 (0.9%) to $29.04 on volume of 49.4m units
- AIG (AIG) --1.02 (4.9%) to $19.78 on volume of 44.9m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) --0.11 (0.4%) to $27.18 on volume of 42.8m units
Precious Metals
Precious metals futures advanced solidly... I am spewing now at having missed that pullback to $800 yesterday. Still, it will take a breath and we will make our move. You'll be aware, no doubt, that yet again Platinum was the element in the Precious Matric that gave the heads-up some days ago, and hasn't it gone bererk since!
| Precious Metals Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 837.5 | 25.1 | 3.09 |
| Silver | 13.815 | 0.775 | 5.94 |
| Palladium | 291 | 12.45 | 4.47 |
| Platinum | 1457.5 | 88.6 | 6.47 |
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) contains 16 components; the total volume traded in the index was 114.58m units. All of the index components rose.
Today the index rose by 8.43 points (5.8%) to 153.78 points. Contributing to the advance were -
- Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +3.27 (13.4%) to $27.69 on volume of 1.01m shares;
- Kinroos Gold (KGC) +1.48 (9.4%) to $17.22 on volume of 9.99m shares;
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) +0.16 (8.9%) to $1.96 on volume of 12.48m shares;
- Yamana Gold (AUY) +0.93 (8.8%) to $11.47 on volume of 17.16m shares; and
- Harmony Gold (HMY) +0.63 (8%) to $8.51 on volume of 2.63m shares.
Energy Complex
Energy futures continued to follow the advice given earlier in the week - Crude is now running with the bit between its teeth. Today it ran so hard that when it touched $122, I sent out a missive to subscribers telling them that it would be OK to take some money off the tabel if they felt like it. That despite my prattling about our intention to dig in for the long haul.
I think i also pointed out that resistance was at $122... the high of the day was ... $121.99.
| Energy Futures | |||
| Commodity | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Crude Oil | 121.78 | 6.22 | 5.38 |
| Heating Oil | 3.3339 | 0.1426 | 4.47 |
| Natural Gas | 8.325 | 0.248 | 3.07 |
| Gasoline RBOB | 3.0556 | 0.1453 | 4.99 |
| Ethanol | 2.398 | 0.12 | 5.27 |
The Oil Services index (OSX) contains 15 components; the total volume traded in the index was 91.65m units. Within the index, 15 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 91.65m units; 0 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 0m units.
Today the index rose by 6.19 points (2.08%) to 303.09 points. Contributing to the advance were -
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +2.98 (4%) to $77.63 on volume of 8.93m shares;
- Schlumberger (SLB) +3.34 (3.5%) to $98.96 on volume of 10.98m shares;
- Tidewater (TDW) +1.71 (3%) to $59.19 on volume of 0.99m shares;
- Noble Corp (NE) +1.43 (2.8%) to $52.7 on volume of 4.56m shares; and
- Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.96 (2.7%) to $36.05 on volume of 8.45m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.8% - pushied mostly by a 10% bump in Fannie Mae. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +0.10 (0.35%) to $28.75 on volume of 34.8m units.
- Citigroup (C) -0.02 (0.11%) to $17.47 on volume of 60.34m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.14 (0.24%) to $58.50 on volume of 11.21m units.
- IBM (IBM) +0.48 (0.39%) to $122.99 on volume of 6.22m units.
- Intel (INTC) -0.34 (1.45%) to $23.05 on volume of 54.69m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0 (0%) to $24.23 on volume of 23.16m units.
- Google (GOOG) +1.53 (0.32%) to $486.53 on volume of 3.47m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) +0.45 (10.23%) to $4.85 on volume of 185.53m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.09 (2.77%) to $3.16 on volume of 146.22m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) contains 24 components; the total volume traded in the index was 375.91m units. Within the index, 5 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 28.83m units; 18 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 341.85m units.
Today the index fell by 0.75 points (1.19%) to 62.07 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Washington Mutual (WM) -0.2 (4.9%) to $3.9 on volume of 40.08m shares;
- Regions Financial (RF) -0.4 (4.7%) to $8.15 on volume of 13.5m shares;
- Comerica Inc (CMA) -1.2 (4.5%) to $25.7 on volume of 5.62m shares;
- Keycorp (KEY) -0.38 (3.5%) to $10.53 on volume of 6.86m shares; and
- Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) -1.11 (3.1%) to $34.23 on volume of 10.56m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) contains 18 components; the total volume traded in the index was 161.4m units. Within the index, 4 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 20.75m units; 13 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 139.07m units.
Today the index fell by 1.24 points (0.34%) to 361.43 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Broadcom (BRCM) -0.5 (1.8%) to $26.82 on volume of 9.26m shares;
- Intel (INTC) -0.34 (1.5%) to $23.05 on volume of 54.69m shares;
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.21 (1.3%) to $15.84 on volume of 6.68m shares;
- Sandisk (SNDK) -0.11 (0.7%) to $14.73 on volume of 5.97m shares; and
- Altera (ALTR) -0.15 (0.7%) to $22.61 on volume of 6.28m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) contains 17 components; the total volume traded in the index was 55.86m units. Within the index, 7 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 46.96m units; 10 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 8.89m units.
Today the index fell by 2.97 points (0.8%) to 369.8 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Gencorp (GY) -0.59 (7.4%) to $7.42 on volume of 0.41m shares;
- FLIRr Systems (FLIR) -1.24 (3.2%) to $37.15 on volume of 0.79m shares;
- Esterline Tech (ESL) -1.08 (2.1%) to $49.93 on volume of 0.18m shares;
- Embraer Empresa (ERJ) -0.43 (1.3%) to $32.54 on volume of 0.63m shares; and
- Rockwell Collins (COL) -0.58 (1.1%) to $50.77 on volume of 1.16m shares.
Currency Futures
Currency futures started to develop some downward zing - we're not long Euro just yet, which is a shame.
| Currency Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 76.2 | -0.895 | -1.16 |
| Euro FX | 1.4857 | 0.0139 | 0.94 |
| Swiss Franc | 0.9193 | 0.0094 | 1.03 |
| Australian Dollar | 0.8764 | 0.0077 | 0.89 |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.9561 | 0.0152 | 1.62 |
| Japanese Yen | 0.9218 | 0.0099 | 1.09 |
| New Zealand Dollar | 0.7174 | 0.0083 | 1.17 |
