MarketRant: USRant: Inauguration Schminauguration...

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Well, it seems that the world is waking up to the idea that all that money that the political parasties have given to their banker mates, has done diddly-squat. RBS's fall of 67% (and its effective nationalisation) a couple of sessions back has been the catalyst that accelerates the next leg down (although don't be shocked if there is a bounce tomorrow).

There is a genius out there in the internets tubes, who said something like this (n January 6th, to be exact)...

The way I see it, the next two weeks are going to surprise to the downside

This chap - the very GT that you know and adore - is one of the few chaps whose 'non-advice advice' would have made you money last year, and the year before, and so on and so on.

{I must becareful about saying 'advice' - I am not a member of the silly financial shills' union - the 'Institute of Financial Wankery' or whatever it calls itself- so they may throw an anvil at me if I'm not careful... they are tougher than the BLF in the Gallagher days}

Of course nobody is surprised now, but you have to think a bit harder, dearest Reader: January 6th, the Dow was where again? It had done what in its first couple ofsession for the year?

it was also your beloved GT who warned that Obama the Magic Mulatto was not going to make the world better if we rubbed his tummy for luck. So far that's playing out just about as well as can be.

I would feel sorry for Obama as he grasps the rudder of a sinking ship of state. but he is a political scumbag and therefore deserves anything bad that happens to him, up to and including being fed to pigs.

After the opening selling orgasm in today's Oz market, I plan to have another stealthy punt long on the SPI - probably starting at abut 11:30 a.m. Strayan time.

Economic News

Nothing of note.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 332.13 points (4.01%) to 7949.09 points. The index high for the day was 8291.98, while the low was 7939.93.

If you think that was bad, then you would have been mortified to see the amount of effort (and therefore expense) being exerted at each 25 and 50 on the Dow: had the PPT not been in full swing, the dow might well have finished a couple of hndred point lower than it did. I know - I was watching it (I even snuck in a little long S&P trade... just 3 points, from 814-odd to 817-odd)

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.71bn shares. None of the 30 index components rose today: 30 stocks within the index fell, with downside volume of 1.71bn shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Bank Of America (BAC) -2.08 (29%) to $5.10 on volume of 412.12m shares;
JPMorganChase (JPM) -4.73 (20.7%) to $18.09 on volume of 141.72m shares;
Citigroup (C) -0.70 (20%) to $2.80 on volume of 383.45m shares;
Alcoa (AA) -1.08 (11.5%) to $8.35 on volume of 31.25m shares; and
General Motors (GM) -0.43 (10.9%) to $3.50 on volume of 17.93m shares.

The S&P500 Index dipped 44.9 points (5.28%) to 805.22 points. Again, it could have been so much worse.

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 5.2bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 36 to one, with 468 decliners to 13 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 5.05bn to 104.62m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

State Street Corp. (STT) -21.46 (59%) to $14.89 on volume of 76.58m shares;
PNC Financial Services (PNC) -15.54 (41.4%) to $22 on volume of 35.06m shares;
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) -2.08 (29%) to $5.10 on volume of 412.12m shares;
SunTrust Banks (STI) -4.87 (24.4%) to $15.07 on volume of 16.98m shares; and
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) -1.47 (24.2%) to $4.60 on volume of 27.95m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 88.47 points (5.78%) to 1440.86 points. while the Nasdaq100 slid 61.53 points (5.14%) to 1136.61 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 866.3m shares. None of the 100 index components rose today: 98 stocks within the index fell, with downside volume of 866.3m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Logitech International (LOGI) -2.19 (16.6%) to $11.02 on volume of 2.62m shares;
Virgin Media (VMED) -0.74 (16.3%) to $3.8 on volume of 3.38m shares;
Liberty Global (LBTYA) -2.35 (13.1%) to $15.6 on volume of 3.94m shares;
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) -1.4 (12%) to $10.23 on volume of 2.75m shares; and
Flextronics International (FLEX) -0.35 (12%) to $2.56 on volume of 8.81m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index gained +10.54 points (22.86%) to 56.65 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index added +10.26 points (23.22%) to 54.45 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3748 issues traded today on the NYSE; 426 stocks posted gains for the day, and there were 3255 losers. 9 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 157 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2901 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 2.02bn shares. A total of 407 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.07bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 2400 losers, and total declining volume was 1.95bn shares. 9 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 171 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Major Market Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	7949.09	-332.13	-4.01%
S&P500 Index	805.22	-44.90	-5.28%
Nasdaq Composite	1440.86	-88.47	-5.78%
Nasdaq100	1136.61	-61.53	-5.14%
CBOE Volatility Index	56.65	+10.54	22.86%
CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index	54.45	+10.26	23.22%

No Dow components rose

Dow Duds:

Bank Of America (BAC) -2.08 (29%) to $5.10 on volume of 412.1m units
JPMorganChase (JPM) -4.73 (20.7%) to $18.09 on volume of 141.7m units
Citigroup (C) -0.70 (20%) to $2.80 on volume of 383.5m units
Alcoa (AA) -1.08 (11.5%) to $8.35 on volume of 31.2m units
General Motors (GM) -0.43 (10.9%) to $3.50 on volume of 17.9m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

Bank Of America (BAC) -2.08 (29%) to $5.10 on volume of 412.1m units
Citigroup (C) -0.70 (20%) to $2.80 on volume of 383.5m units
JPMorganChase (JPM) -4.73 (20.7%) to $18.09 on volume of 141.7m units
General Electric (GE) -1.03 (7.4%) to $12.93 on volume of 117.9m units
Microsoft (MSFT) -1.23 (6.2%) to $18.48 on volume of 89.2m units

Precious Metals

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) slid -0.33 points (0.29%) to 113.45 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 170.36m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.3 to one, with 9 decliners to 7 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 104.14m shares to 66.21m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -0.13 (15.5%) to $0.71 on volume of 7.69m shares;
Freeport McMoran (FCX) -2.26 (9.3%) to $22.14 on volume of 23.03m shares;
AngloGold Ashanti (AU) -1.15 (4.4%) to $24.81 on volume of 2.74m shares;
Silver Wheaton (SLW) -0.23 (3.7%) to $5.92 on volume of 10.81m shares; and
Harmony Gold (HMY) -0.38 (3.7%) to $9.85 on volume of 3.76m shares.

Energy Complex

The Oil Services index (OSX) dipped -8.77 points (7.27%) to 111.78 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 106.54m shares. None of the 15 index components rose today: the main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Global Industries (GLBL) -0.54 (14.5%) to $3.18 on volume of 1.57m shares;
Weatherford International (WFT) -1.41 (13.1%) to $9.36 on volume of 21.88m shares;
Cameron International (CAM) -1.95 (8.6%) to $20.63 on volume of 4.73m shares;
Baker Hughes (BHI) -2.7 (8.5%) to $29.18 on volume of 5.08m shares; and
Smith International (SII) -1.97 (8.3%) to $21.75 on volume of 4.52m shares.

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 7%. The fallout occurred as follows:

General Electric (GE) -1.03 (7.38%) to $12.93 on volume of 117.92m units.
Citigroup (C) -0.7 (20%) to $2.80 on volume of 383.45m units.
Wal-Mart (WMT) -1 (1.94%) to $50.56 on volume of 22.38m units.
IBM (IBM) -2.94 (3.46%) to $81.98 on volume of 13.47m units.
Intel (INTC) -0.88 (6.4%) to $12.86 on volume of 61.38m units.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.81 (5.12%) to $15.01 on volume of 55.34m units.
Google (GOOG) -16.92 (5.65%) to $282.75 on volume of 5.02m units.
Fannie Mae (FNM) -0.04 (5.97%) to $0.63 on volume of 16.77m units.
Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.05 (7.14%) to $0.65 on volume of 7.56m units.

Other Indices of Interest...

The Banks index (BKX) dropped -6.22 points (19.71%) to 25.34 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 1.54bn shares. None of the 24 index components rose today: the main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

State Street (STT) -21.46 (59%) to $14.89 on volume of 76.58m shares;
PNC Financial (PNC) -15.54 (41.4%) to $22 on volume of 35.06m shares;
Bank Of America (BAC) -2.08 (29%) to $5.1 on volume of 412.12m shares;
Suntrust Banks (STI) -4.87 (24.4%) to $15.07 on volume of 16.98m shares; and
Regions Financial (RF) -1.47 (24.2%) to $4.6 on volume of 27.95m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) dropped -15.35 points (7.16%) to 199.07 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 231.26m shares. None of the 18 index components rose today: the main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.29 (12.7%) to $2 on volume of 12.94m shares;
Teradyne (TER) -0.58 (11.4%) to $4.53 on volume of 4.83m shares;
Sandisk (SNDK) -1.29 (10.7%) to $10.74 on volume of 6.79m shares;
Micron Technology (MU) -0.32 (9.4%) to $3.08 on volume of 22.17m shares; and
KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) -1.79 (8.4%) to $19.54 on volume of 4.54m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) lost -10.61 points (4.1%) to 248 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 155.39m shares. None of the 17 index components rose today: the main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

Gencorp (GY) -0.43 (13.9%) to $2.66 on volume of 0.46m shares;
General Electric (GE) -1.03 (7.4%) to $12.93 on volume of 117.92m shares;
ITT Corporation (ITT) -2.83 (6%) to $44.36 on volume of 1.37m shares;
Esterline Tech (ESL) -1.86 (5%) to $35.23 on volume of 0.2m shares; and
Boeing (BA) -2.1 (4.9%) to $40.36 on volume of 9.58m shares.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

USRant: Inauguration Schminauguration...