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Well. I guess we had better get cracking.
One short advance warning - there might not be an OzRant for the upcoming Australian session.
I have to go down to see my chum Adjutant Lienard (at the gendarmerie) tomorrow morning. If I can't keep my gob shut I might end up in a concentration camp. Again.
Wouldn't that be funny?
The funniest thing about French concentration camps is that they give you duck confit and quail once a week. YUM!
The second funniest is that each expulsion costs about the same amount as a year's worth of a gendarme's pension. The poor bastards who act as the State's goon squad are squandering their own retirement incomes.
Anyhow, Adj. Lienard is not a bad egg. His boss - M. Belouis - is a very nice fellow.
I might be very opposed to any system that has paramilitary police swanning about in jackboots on behalf of a Hungarian reffo runt, but that does not extend to personal dislike of the chaps themselves, even if they don't appear to be freemasons.
Anyway - tomorrow I might give them a full excursus on how their political masters will, in the end, stiff them on their retirement benefits.
Imagine the annoyance they will feel when I ring them twenty years from now and tell them "Quand j'ai vu sur le télé que le gouvernement francais refuse desormais d'honorer les pensions des anciens fonctionnaires, j'ai pensé a vous... vous rappellez ce que je vous disais en 2008? J'avais raison!"
No, it's not perfect, but it'll get the point across. Besides, by then French (as a language) will no longer exist (half of all corporate signage is now in English - it's the bigget cultural defeat since Agincourt).
I've thought about this for some time - there would definitely be a silver lining: I would go back into the pain-inducing industry just for a month or so, to tie up some short ends.
Oops - I mean loose ends.
Call it privatised justice. Or, as a funny fellow once said...
We don't expect you to do your job, Mr Bond. We expect you to die.
Economic News
Global unprecedented co-ordinated easing by central banks.
Hearing the breathless blather on Bloomberg and CNBC, you would swear that central bank intervention was the biggest thing since Hitler's gas bill.
Here's a tip for all journalist dickwads - central banks have been intervening since just after 9-11: they didn't stop the low being set in 2003 (which was advertised by me on the CNBC forums to within three minutes) and they're not going to stop it now either.
Apart from that, there was something about house sales rising. Well I'll be damned - prices falling and volume increased... the words "demand curves are downward sloping" come to mind.
Fed Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed a single repurchase today - a 1 Day repurchase totalling $ 20.000bn, with not a single cracker in Treasury-backed collateral.
Frankly I don't think the usual repo-pump paradigm is operational - there has been such a proliferation of market-goosing mechanisms under Doctor Helichopper, that alas I fear that I could drop the repo bit altogether without a loss of expanatory power.
"Without loss of explanatory power" is one of those wank-filled statements used by academics who are only passingly good at stats. People like Professor Helichopper, who was an essay writer and economic historian, use it all the time.
My mate Ditch (who is probably the only person I know who is more numerate than me) would never say such a thing, even though he went to work for Merrill Lynch.
Oddly enough, I thought Ditch would not pass the Ethics exam at Merrill... because Ditch actually had a sense o ethics.
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 189.01 points (2%) to 9258.10 points. With forty minutes to go in the session, the Dow was within spitting distance of its session high (which was set jsut after 10 a.m. NY time - in a highly suspicious post-opening moonshot off a 200-point decline at the open).
The index high for the day was 9628.07, while the low was 9194.78 just after 12:30 p.m., before a second suspicious surge higher.
The total volume traded in the index was 1.86bn units. Within the index, 6 issues rose, with aggregate gaining volume of 405.78m units; 24 issues fell, with aggregate losing volume of 1.45bn units.
The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Alcoa (AA) -2 (12%) to $14.71 on volume of 57.97m shares;
- AIG (AIG) -0.32 (9.1%) to $3.19 on volume of 85.72m shares;
- General Motors (GM) -0.65 (8.6%) to $6.91 on volume of 24.74m shares;
- Bank Of America (BAC) -1.67 (7%) to $22.1 on volume of 320.94m shares; and
- IBM (IBM) -5.1 (5.3%) to $90.55 on volume of 17.71m shares.
The S&P500 Index lost 11.29 points (1.13%) to 984.94 points, which looks bad until you compare it to the session low at 970.97.
Total volume traded in the index was 6.8bn units (I think that's a data error myself).
Within the index, 175 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 2.26bn units; 314 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 4.6bn units. To me, both of those numbers look suss, but I can't be arsed checking them.
The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- XL Capital (XL) -3.32 (27.7%) to $8.68 on volume of 20.49m shares;
- MetLife Inc. (MET) -9.87 (26.8%) to $27 on volume of 23.17m shares;
- Allstate Corp. (ALL) -8.05 (21.2%) to $29.96 on volume of 12.75m shares;
- Principal Financial Group (PFG) -5.37 (19.8%) to $21.74 on volume of 5.08m shares; and
- Office Depot (ODP) -0.85 (18.8%) to $3.67 on volume of 16.39m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 14.55 points (0.83%) to 1740.33 points and the Nasdaq100 advanced +0.63 points (0.05%) to 1330.61 points.
The Nasdaq100 index (NDX) contains 100 components; the total volume traded in the index was 1682.69m units. Within the index, 40 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 731.35m units; 58 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 951.34m units.
Today the index rose by 0.63 points (0.05%) to 1330.61 points. Contributing to the advance were -
- UAL (UAUA) +0.38 (7.6%) to $5.4 on volume of 20.63m shares;
- DISH Network (DISH) +1.26 (7.4%) to $18.19 on volume of 7.26m shares;
- Lamar Advertising (LAMR) +1.67 (6.5%) to $27.4 on volume of 2.97m shares;
- Hologic (HOLX) +0.82 (5.3%) to $16.19 on volume of 7.97m shares; and
- Citrix Systems (CTXS) +1.04 (5.3%) to $20.58 on volume of 7.97m shares.
Volatility
The CBOE Volatility Index advanced +4.31 points (8.03%) to 57.99 points, adding yet more juice to the long VIX futures trade we have had on since late 2005. I am considering declaring that trade to have finished.
The CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index advanced +4.66 points (7.96%) to 63.17 points.
BreadthA Total of 3561 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.52 billion shares. A total of 836 counters posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 2.94 billion shares trading to the upside. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were the 2682 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 1.53 billion shares. 12 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 2041 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
Over on the Nasdaq 3090 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 3.5 billion shares. A total of 841 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.61 billion shares trading to the upside. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange was populated with 2170 losers, which accounted for a total volume of 1.87 billion shares. 6 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 1180 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 9258.10 | -189.01 | -2% |
| S&P500 Index | 984.94 | -11.29 | -1.13% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1740.33 | -14.55 | -0.83% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1330.61 | +0.63 | 0.05% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 57.99 | +4.31 | 8.03% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 63.17 | +4.66 | 7.96% |
Dow Darlings
- General Electric (GE) +0.35 (1.7%) to $20.65 on volume of 137.9m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.23 (1.4%) to $16.25 on volume of 123.1m units
- Exxon-Mobil (XOM) +0.93 (1.2%) to $77 on volume of 73.5m units
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.32 (0.8%) to $40 on volume of 41m units
- Caterpillar (CAT) +0.32 (0.7%) to $47.65 on volume of 15.7m units
Dow Duds
- Alcoa (AA) -2 (12%) to $14.71 on volume of 58m units
- General Motors (GM) -0.65 (8.6%) to $6.91 on volume of 24.7m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) -1.67 (7%) to $22.1 on volume of 321.1m units
- IBM (IBM) -5.1 (5.3%) to $90.55 on volume of 17.7m units
- Citigroup (C) -0.75 (5%) to $14.4 on volume of 154.1m units
Most Traded Dow stocks
- Bank Of America (BAC) --1.67 (7%) to $22.1 on volume of 321.1m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) --0.22 (0.9%) to $23.01 on volume of 170.1m units
- Citigroup (C) --0.75 (5%) to $14.4 on volume of 154.1m units
- General Electric (GE) +0.35 (1.7%) to $20.65 on volume of 137.9m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.23 (1.4%) to $16.25 on volume of 123.1m units
Precious Metals
Precious metals futures advanced - with the exception of our mate Platinum.
| Precious Metals Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 909.2 | 27.2 | 3.08 |
| Silver | 11.76 | 0.38 | 3.34 |
| Palladium | 200 | 1.55 | 0.78 |
| Platinum | 1012 | -8.7 | -0.85 |
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) contains 16 components; the total volume traded in the index was 229.11m units. Within the index, all 16 issues rose.
Today the index rose by 17.84 points (17.22%) to 121.47 points. Contributing to the advance were -
- Harmony Gold (HMY) +2.75 (34.8%) to $10.66 on volume of 8.84m shares;
- Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) +2.17 (32.1%) to $8.94 on volume of 14.55m shares;
- RandGold Resources (GOLD) +7.72 (22.8%) to $41.6 on volume of 2.45m shares;
- GoldCorp (GG) +5.11 (19.7%) to $31.02 on volume of 30.3m shares; and
- AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +3.22 (19.5%) to $19.71 on volume of 3.73m shares.
Energy Complex
Energy futures were soft across the board, but Crude got as high as 90.91 - so anybody who didn't carry away a gain of at least $500 based on Monday's entry, deserves a kick in the bum.
| Energy Futures | |||
| Commodity | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Crude Oil | 88.83 | -1.23 | -1.37 |
| Heating Oil | 2.5043 | -0.0014 | -0.06 |
| Natural Gas | 6.753 | -0.015 | -0.22 |
| Gasoline RBOB | 2.0225 | -0.0403 | -1.95 |
| Ethanol | 1.833 | -0.006 | -0.33 |
The Oil Services index (OSX) contains 15 components; the total volume traded in the index was 232.84m units. Within the index, 9 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 134.07m units; 6 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 98.77m units.
Today the index rose by 1.68 points (0.99%) to 171.35 points. Contributing to the advance were -
- Cameron International (CAM) +2.14 (8.1%) to $28.54 on volume of 10.32m shares;
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +1.29 (3.9%) to $34.04 on volume of 22.79m shares;
- Weatherford International (WFT) +0.52 (3.2%) to $16.62 on volume of 30.19m shares;
- Transocean Inc (RIG) +1.3 (1.6%) to $81.69 on volume of 19.58m shares; and
- Baker Hughes (BHI) +0.52 (1.3%) to $41.42 on volume of 12.2m shares.
Bellwethers
The seven-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 2.5%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +0.35 (1.72%) to $20.65 on volume of 137.86m units.
- Citigroup (C) -0.75 (4.95%) to $14.40 on volume of 154.06m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.29 (0.53%) to $54.55 on volume of 46.73m units.
- IBM (IBM) -5.1 (5.33%) to $90.55 on volume of 17.71m units.
- Intel (INTC) +0.23 (1.44%) to $16.25 on volume of 123.13m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.5 (2.65%) to $18.34 on volume of 128.86m units.
- Google (GOOG) -7.9 (2.28%) to $338.11 on volume of 11.77m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) contains 24 components; the total volume traded in the index was 908.36m units. Within the index, 6 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 107.72m units; 17 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 800.64m units.
Today the index fell by 1.66 points (2.91%) to 55.31 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Keycorp (KEY) -1.61 (15.2%) to $9 on volume of 13.18m shares;
- Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) -1.07 (11.5%) to $8.24 on volume of 6m shares;
- Comerica Inc (CMA) -3.22 (10.7%) to $26.78 on volume of 2.77m shares;
- Suntrust Banks (STI) -4.15 (9%) to $41.75 on volume of 9.12m shares; and
- Regions Financial (RF) -0.89 (8.4%) to $9.75 on volume of 10.38m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) contains 18 components; the total volume traded in the index was 440.75m units. Within the index, 7 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 230.7m units; 11 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 210.05m units.
Today the index fell by 1.79 points (0.69%) to 256.17 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.54 (11.8%) to $4.05 on volume of 45.79m shares;
- Xilinx (XLNX) -1.05 (5.1%) to $19.48 on volume of 18.31m shares;
- Teradyne (TER) -0.12 (1.9%) to $6.07 on volume of 5.38m shares;
- National Semiconductor (NSM) -0.15 (1.1%) to $14.13 on volume of 11.15m shares; and
- Micron Technology (MU) -0.04 (1%) to $3.87 on volume of 35.69m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) contains 17 components; the total volume traded in the index was 198.96m units. Within the index, 3 issues rose, with aggregate volume of 145.35m units; 14 issues fell, with aggregate volume of 53.61m units.
Today the index fell by 5.78 points (2.01%) to 281.43 points. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Embraer Empresa (ERJ) -1.62 (7.9%) to $18.99 on volume of 2.96m shares;
- Teledyne Tech (TDY) -3.05 (6.2%) to $46.27 on volume of 0.36m shares;
- Alliant Tech (ATK) -3.71 (4.3%) to $83.34 on volume of 0.55m shares;
- Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -2.16 (4%) to $52.06 on volume of 5.03m shares; and
- Boeing (BA) -1.58 (3.2%) to $47.7 on volume of 11.77m shares.
Currency Futures
Currency futures were all over the place like a mad woman taking a wee in a snowfield (I don't know why that's specifically supposed to indicate randomness, but every soldier has heard "Your kit is all over the place like a mad woman pissing in the snow").
Still, the key point is that we're within a half cent of the three-cent target gain for the EURUSD. (3 cents = $3,000 per contract).
| Currency Futures | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 81.065 | -0.155 | -0.19 |
| Euro FX | 1.3718 | 0.0066 | 0.48 |
| Swiss Franc | 0.8925 | 0.0094 | 1.06 |
| Australian Dollar | 0.6755 | -0.0397 | -5.55 |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8933 | -0.0135 | -1.49 |
| Japanese Yen | 1.0048 | 0.0141 | 1.42 |
| New Zealand Dollar | 0.6073 | -0.0194 | -3.1 |
