Biggest Merger Ever Ignites Explosion In Tech Futures
NASDAQ 100 futures [NDH0>NDH0] exploded on news of Time Warner’s merger with AOL, the world’s largest corporate merger in history, following up on Friday’s record point rise with a gain of 212.15 to 3770.00. NASDAQ 100 futures [NDH0>NDH0] registered on the Pullback Off Highs List and traced out a classic continuation pattern by closing above the high of a three-day pullback on Friday and then rallying today.
March Dow futures [DJH0>DJH0] rose 42.0 to 11,702.0 and the S&P futures [SPH0>SPH0] gained 14.50 to close at 1475.00.
March T-bonds [USH0>USH0] fell 12/32 to 90 18/32 ahead of reports this week that are expected to enhance the view that the Fed will raise rates at its FOMC meeting in early February.
March dollar index futures [DXH0>DXH0] got a shot in the arm from a rally in US equities (the Nasdaq Composite posted its biggest one-day point gain ever), rising .15 to 100.65. The Japanese yen [JYH0>JYH0] slipped .0010 to .9606 and Swiss francs [SFH0>SFH0] and British pounds [BPH0>BPH0] fell .0018 each.
Energies got going in the final half-hour of trading after breaking above the session’s high. February crude [CLG0>CLG0] rose .45 to 24.67, unleaded gas [HUG0>HUG0] gained .0086 to .6696 while heating oil [HOG0>HOG0] finished little changed at .6472. Natural gas [NGG0>NGG0] added .043 to 2.216.
Soybeans [SH0>SH0] fell 5 1/4 to 473 1/2 on forecasts of rain over the major growing regions in Brazil, the second largest exporter. Soybean oil [BOH0>BOH0] fell .21 to 15.98 and soymeal [SMH0>SMH0] sank 1.3 to 149.4
After leaving a reversal topping pattern on Friday (a new high and close near their low) February pork bellies [PBG0>PBG0] fell 1.325 to 80.900 amid profit-taking. Other livestock contracts closed narrowly mixed.
An unconfirmed crop estimate from a noted agronomist, Leon Yallouz, produced a bullish response from traders, pushing coffee [KCH0>KCH0] sharply higher. Yallouz’s estimate of slightly less than 27 million 60-kilogram bags for the 2000-2001 harvest was below a recent Brazilian government estimate and takes into account recent crop-damaging dryness. The bullish report sent the March contract up as many as 7 before settling up 3.4 at 117.55.
Finally, cocoa [CCH0>CCH0] fell back into a recent trading range and ended down 14 at 117.55.