Expectations Of Economic Recovery

Index futures were slightly higher on optimistic
expectations of an economic recovery, but slid lower as the session progressed.
Dow futures
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finished unchanged at 10,110, with the Nasdaq
100 futures

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gaining 1 point to 1722. The December S&P futures
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were down 0.70 at 1168 heading into the Globex overnight trading.

T-bonds
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continued to trade lower after
Wednesday’s beating, losing 1 ’03 to 102 ’20, and the 10-year notes
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headed down in sympathy, dropping 265 ticks to 106 ‘100.

Cattle were distributed, as live cattle
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lost 0.575 to 69.30 at closing, while feeder cattle
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ended down 0.375 at 84.75 amid speculation of ample near-term
supply. Hog futures began a turn around near mid-session and finished in the
green, with December lean hogs
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up 0.75 to 47.775 and pork
bellies

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rallying 1.10 to close at 75.175.

Currency futures were mixed, as the dollar index
futures

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sold off on news of higher-than-expected jobless claims
numbers, which lessened by half of what was originally prognosticated. This
boosted the British pound
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, which rose 0.0128 to 1.4274, and
the euro FX futures
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, which gained 0.0085 to 0.8950. Swiss
francs

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also had a net gain on the day, finishing at 0.6070, up
0.0055. The Japanese yen
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continues to slide, losing 0.000034
to 0.00802, and the Canadian dollar
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closed well, but was
still negative, down 0.0003 at 0.6358.

In the softs, sugar
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continues to ride
a strong trend higher, gaining 0.05 to 7.84 in the session. March cocoa
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triggered out of its pullback from high, but closed weakly, ending
the day down 1 point at 1278. Coffee
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drifted lower after
attempting a mid-day rally, settling at 45.80, down 0.20, while January
orange juice

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fell 3.00 to 91.15, breaking down from a
low-volatility triangle. Cotton
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shot out of a pullback, aided
by reports of strong exports, closing up 1.12 to 37.90.

Grains were split in mostly thin and sluggish trading,
with soybean oil
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being the only contract to close positive,
up 0.04 at 16.37. Corn
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lost 4.14 to 205 1/2, as did wheat
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, which finished at 273. Soybeans
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were down 1 point at
441 1/2, and soy meal
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fell 2.7 points to 151.20.

Gold
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finished higher, but did not
receive the amount of volatility it normally gets when the dollar is
distributed, rising 0.05 to 274.20. Copper
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is still trading
in a pullback from its high, falling 0.0065 to 0.6875, and silver
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finished 0.041 higher at 4.217.

Natural gas
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was the lone energy to
close up, gaining 0.074 to 2.565. Crude oil
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was down on light
trading, losing 0.95 to 18.54, with heating oil
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dropping
0.0248 to 0.5066. Unleaded gasoline
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finished the group,
falling 0.0255 to 0.5175.