Nearing A Decision
Crude oil futures were in and out of the positive
zone for most of the trading day. Investors are all ears as the Bush
administration appears to be nearing a decision on when and how to topple Saddam
Hussein. President Bush warned that he hasn’t ruled out military action against
Iraq. It is this thought that is making oil investors a little edgy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Crude oil for March delivery
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put in a modest gain of .04 cents to close at 21.22. March unleaded gasoline
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fell slightly to trade at 55.30.
March soybean futures
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the Chicago Board of Trade. This reaction was due to an unexciting weekly export
sales total. Soybean prices fell after weekly export sales came in 61% lower
than the previous week, marking a new low for this year. The sell-off was mild,
but there are continued concerns about dry conditions in Argentina. March
soybean meal
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delivery lost 1.75 to end at 280.500 a bushel, and March corn
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dropped 2.50 to close at 206.25 a bushel.
Precious metals were trading mixed most of the
day. April gold
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right on its support line. March silver
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close at 452.50. March copper fell .75 to 74.40.
The March Dow futures
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slightly above its 200-day EMA at 10,000, up 17.00. What started the move this
morning was a report from the Labor Department that said initial jobless claims
fell last week, totaling less than 400,000 for a sixth straight week. This is a
sign that in all likelihood, U.S. payrolls are as lean as they will get. The
March Nasdaq 100 futures
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throughout much of the morning and early afternoon. Then at around 2:00 PM ET,
the March Nasdaq 100 began to sell-off and ended in negative territory to close
at 1485.500, down .500. March S&P 500 futures
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range between 1112.200 to 1125.500 with volume of 67,334. The March S&Ps
lost 1.90 to close at 1160.80.