A Good Test Of Investor Confidence
After a strong finish on Friday, traders wanted to see if the S&Ps could rally on a full day after the
holiday. A weaker dollar and negative news on Merck Pharmaceuticals set the tone for a pretty non-eventful day.
The S&P futures for September
(
SPU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) stayed above the intraday support at 975. The resistance level (997) was almost hit. In spite of today’s negative action, it still failed to wipe out Friday’s gains. Firming action in the next couple of days would be
constructive as it might set the stage for positive action propelled by
second-quarter earnings which will start to trickle in later this week. How the market reacts will be a good test of investors’ confidence in corporate America, in light of recent accounting scandals.
The Sept. Nasdaq 100 futures
(
NDU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped off right at the opening. NDU2 established intraday support
at around 1025 and then attempted to rally to the 50% retracement (1041.23)
before weakening and dropping past the intraday support to 1015. The Nasdaq 100
futures for September finished back at the 1025 level, which was a 39 point
loss.
The energy market shrugged off what could have
been bullish news about Iraq. The Iraqis and the U.N. failed to reach an
agreement on weapons inspectors, but energies slid to the negative side.
August crude oil
(
CLQ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped .72 or 2.69% to $26.07 a barrel.
Heating oil for August
(
HOQ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 66.90 cents a gallon down 2.72%
or 1.87of a cent. August unleaded gasoline
(
HUQ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 2.39 of a
cent to 76.20 a gallon. August natural gas
(
NGQ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost .20 or 6.59%
to 2.93.
In the precious metals, After breaking below the
“valley” of the double top last week August gold futures
(
GCQ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) held mainly in a $311-$313 range and closed at $312.50 an ounce up
1.10. Gold was unable to move higher despite the weaker Sept US dollar
(
DXU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) against other currencies and a drop in the US equities market
under light profit taking from Friday’s trade. Sept. silver
(
SIU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was slightly higher and challenged its 5.00 resistance, but was unable to and
closed at $4.98 up 2.50. Sept. copper
(
HGU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) added .65 to 76.20 a
pound.
Grains and beans got hammered today on the
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) following a weekend of scattered rain in the heart
of the corn belt. This caused December corn
(
CZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) to fall 7 cents or
2.84% to $2.39 1/2 a bushel; Wheat for September delivery
(
WU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell
3 3/4 cent or 1.17% to $3.17 a bushel; November soybeans
(
SX2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 4
1/2 cents to close at $5.07 1/2 a bushel.