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The US markets had a bit of a 'do nothing' day, since everyone is waiting for the Magic Mulatto to announce the structure of his theft from future generations.
Me, I managed to augment the old account balance by about 12 hunjie - 7-hunjie-fiddie in the SPI yesterday and about 5 hunjie off a little scalp in Crude. This brings me to about $25 short of a gain of 30% for the month (the month started on Jan 19th).
Bonds fell: the dumbasses who were buying bonds at 130 and above have well and truly learned the axiom - don't fade the Rant - because (of course) on nett they are now underwater.
Since the session was pretty boring, let's have a bit of a think about stuff...
A load of Strayans who chose to live surrounded by lovely bushland, have been burnt to a crisp. Sad for their families and so forth, but frankly - in my view - sympathy can still be found in the dictionary (between 'shit' and 'syphilis'): if you think a bit about things, it makes sense not to live surrounded by a load of fuel... would we have sympathy for people who chose to live on top of a massive keg of gunpowder?
And those who crashed into each other in cars while fleeing - why would you not alter your driving habits when visibility is compromised because of smoke and so forth? I think the average IQ of Australia went up.
Doubtless every journalist in the English speaking southern hemisphere will be instantly converted to Gore-ism (the church in which man is the primary contributor to a naturally-occuring variation in temperatures).
So we will, no doubt, be inundated with bullshit about 'carbon footprints' and so on - while Poms shovel snow off their footpaths.
But I want to think a bit more deeperly, dear Reader: I want to think about what protection these poor human cinders got as a result of paying all that tax.
I have said before - when people like me decide to take matters into our own hands (say, carving a swathe of destruction through a group of people who have displeased me), the only thing that the state's armed goon squad can do is pfaff around in the aftermath.
And so it is with natural disasters: fuck-all actual useful stuff (firefighters are brave, don't get me wrong). Loads of political parasites turn up to feign a tear and get their photo taken with people they ordinarily would not piss on if they were actually on fire, and bugger-all else.
And to add insult to injury - havng paid loads of taxes - society is then asked to make contributions to an appeal: in other words, private sector charity is required to try and make the victims whole.
Doesn't the State exist to ameliorate shortcomings in private-sector provision of welfare? Isn't that the whole point?
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI) fell -9.72 points (0.12%) to 8270.87 points. Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.39bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.9 to one, with 19 decliners to 10 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 991.1m shares to 365.93m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Coca-Cola (KO) -1.24 (2.8%) to $42.31 on volume of 9.81m shares;
- Procter & Gamble (PG) -1.06 (2%) to $52.94 on volume of 13.26m shares;
- Home Depot (HD) -0.44 (1.9%) to $23.09 on volume of 16.27m shares;
- Caterpillar (CAT) -0.56 (1.7%) to $32.72 on volume of 9.05m shares; and
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.52 (1.4%) to $36.33 on volume of 14.05m shares.
The S&P500 index (SPX) added 1.29 points (0.15%) to 869.89 points. Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 4.2bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.2 to one, with 258 decliners to 218 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.48bn shares to 1.62bn. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- American CapitalLtd. (ACAS) +0.6 (22%) to $3.33 on volume of 6.82m shares;
- Hartford Financial Svc.Gp. (HIG) +2.35 (18.5%) to $15.03 on volume of 31.15m shares;
- Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) +0.36 (15.5%) to $2.68 on volume of 20.68m shares;
- General Electric (GE) +1.54 (13.9%) to $12.64 on volume of 232.36m shares; and
- Bank of America Corp. (BAC) +0.76 (12.4%) to $6.89 on volume of 456.87m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.15 points (0.01%) to 1591.56 points while the Nasdaq100 gained +4.16 points (0.33%) to 1281.65 points.
The Nasdaq100 index (NDX) rose 4.16 points (0.33%) to 1281.65 points. Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 847.44m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.1 to one, with 51 advancers to 46 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 430.1m to 409.31m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Baidu.com (BIDU) +15.96 (12.8%) to $140.57 on volume of 4.34m shares;
- Focus Media Holding (FMCN) +0.73 (9.3%) to $8.61 on volume of 4.45m shares;
- Liberty Media (LINTA) +0.14 (4%) to $3.64 on volume of 2.12m shares;
- Foster Wheeler (FWLT) +0.84 (3.7%) to $23.24 on volume of 3.81m shares; and
- Wynn Resorts (WYNN) +1.09 (3.7%) to $30.85 on volume of 1.75m shares.
Volatility
The CBOE Volatility Index advanced +0.27 points (0.62%) to 43.64 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index added +1.56 points (3.72%) to 43.51 points..
Breadth and Internals
A total of 3872 issues traded today on the NYSE: 2085 stocks posted gains for the day, and there were 1667 losers. 9 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 57 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
On the Nasdaq 2891 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.85bn shares. A total of 1237 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.95bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1497 losers, and total declining volume was 0.88bn shares. 10 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 58 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 8270.87 | -9.72 | -0.12% |
| S&P500 Index | 869.89 | +1.29 | 0.15% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1591.56 | -0.15 | -0.01% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1281.65 | +4.16 | 0.33% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 43.64 | +0.27 | 0.62% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 43.51 | +1.56 | 3.72% |
Dow Darlings
- General Electric (GE) +1.54 (13.9%) to $12.64 on volume of 232.5m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.76 (12.4%) to $6.89 on volume of 457m units
- 3M Co (MMM) +1.72 (3.3%) to $54.11 on volume of 7.1m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.18 (1.2%) to $14.91 on volume of 63.7m units
- United Technologies (UTX) +0.59 (1.2%) to $49.62 on volume of 7m units
Dow Duds:
- Coca-Cola (KO) -1.24 (2.8%) to $42.31 on volume of 9.8m units
- Procter & Gamble (PG) -1.06 (2%) to $52.94 on volume of 13.3m units
- Home Depot (HD) -0.44 (1.9%) to $23.09 on volume of 16.3m units
- Caterpillar (CAT) -0.56 (1.7%) to $32.72 on volume of 9.1m units
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.52 (1.4%) to $36.33 on volume of 14.1m units
Most Traded Dow stocks:
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.76 (12.4%) to $6.89 on volume of 457m units
- General Electric (GE) +1.54 (13.9%) to $12.64 on volume of 232.5m units
- Citigroup (C) +0.04 (1%) to $3.95 on volume of 173.5m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.18 (1.2%) to $14.91 on volume of 63.7m units
- JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.35 (1.3%) to $27.28 on volume of 54.3m units
Precious Metals
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) slid -3.62 points (2.79%) to 126.1 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 110.58m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 14 to one, with 14 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 102.86m to 3.9m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Royal Gold (RGLD) -2.95 (6.4%) to $43.03 on volume of 0.85m shares;
- Harmony Gold (HMY) -0.66 (5.5%) to $11.31 on volume of 2.39m shares;
- Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) -0.52 (4.7%) to $10.47 on volume of 5.3m shares;
- RandGold Resources (GOLD) -2.03 (4.4%) to $44.58 on volume of 0.6m shares; and
- Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) -2.35 (4.2%) to $53.13 on volume of 3.86m shares.
Energy Complex
The Oil Services index (OSX) added 0.25 points (0.18%) to 138.05 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 103.39m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.1 to one, with 8 decliners to 7 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 53.11m to 50.27m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Global Industries (GLBL) +0.24 (6.3%) to $4.03 on volume of 1.75m shares;
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.9 (3.1%) to $30.09 on volume of 11.65m shares;
- Schlumberger (SLB) +0.83 (1.8%) to $46.12 on volume of 13.34m shares;
- Transocean Inc (RIG) +1.01 (1.7%) to $60.74 on volume of 10.08m shares; and
- Tidewater (TDW) +0.46 (1.1%) to $44.01 on volume of 1.19m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 1.9%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +1.54 (13.87%) to $12.64 on volume of 232.48m units.
- Citigroup (C) +0.04 (1.02%) to $3.95 on volume of 173.47m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.35 (0.71%) to $49.28 on volume of 16.27m units.
- IBM (IBM) +0.68 (0.71%) to $96.82 on volume of 8.02m units.
- Intel (INTC) +0.18 (1.22%) to $14.91 on volume of 63.75m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.19 (1.12%) to $16.85 on volume of 37.13m units.
- Google (GOOG) +7.49 (2.02%) to $378.77 on volume of 4.95m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -0.01 (1.54%) to $0.64 on volume of 19.12m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) +0.01 (1.56%) to $0.65 on volume of 9.3m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) added 0.67 points (2.21%) to 31.04 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 993.23m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 6 to one, with 18 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 857.2m to 136.03m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.76 (12.4%) to $6.89 on volume of 456.86m shares;
- Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.25 (10.6%) to $2.61 on volume of 25.49m shares;
- Regions Financial (RF) +0.44 (10.5%) to $4.64 on volume of 32.82m shares;
- Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.26 (9.9%) to $2.89 on volume of 52.42m shares; and
- Keycorp (KEY) +0.56 (6.6%) to $9.03 on volume of 12.9m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) slid -1.37 points (0.6%) to 227.81 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 250.01m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.6 to one, with 11 decliners to 7 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 126.64m shares to 123.37m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Applied Materials (AMAT) -0.25 (2.4%) to $10.2 on volume of 26.79m shares;
- Altera (ALTR) -0.4 (2.4%) to $16.4 on volume of 8.59m shares;
- Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) -0.2 (2.3%) to $8.49 on volume of 21.95m shares;
- National Semiconductor (NSM) -0.25 (2.1%) to $11.72 on volume of 5.23m shares; and
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.05 (2.1%) to $2.36 on volume of 8.91m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) advanced 2.75 points (1.1%) to 252.27 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 266.45m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.2 to one, with 11 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 257.97m to 8.48m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- General Electric (GE) +1.54 (13.9%) to $12.64 on volume of 232.36m shares;
- Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.54 (3.4%) to $16.64 on volume of 0.59m shares;
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) +2.13 (2.7%) to $81.5 on volume of 3.75m shares;
- FLIRr Systems (FLIR) +0.47 (2%) to $23.6 on volume of 3.22m shares; and
- Raytheon (RTN) +0.61 (1.3%) to $48.41 on volume of 2.75m shares.
