On The Verge Of Moving Higher

• January 2, 2002
• Paul Letourneau

On Wednesday, most markets saw
little change from Monday’s trade, but there were a few that may be on the verge
of moving higher. Action in stock indexes, copper, soybeans and hogs could lead
to better returns. And monthly closes in bonds, soybeans, wheat, cattle, hogs,
many currencies, and several others have set the stage for potentially bigger
events fairly early in the year. Some could come out of the chute running to
start the new trading year, while at least a couple could start with pauses. A
late rally in the day helped the broader index futures to post gains.

BROADER MARKET INDEX FUTURES

March S&P 500 futures
(
SPH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied
higher by 4.80 to close up to 1154.00. The March Dow Jones futures
(
DJH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed stronger to 10076.0, up 108.0, while the March Nasdaq Index
(
NDH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed
up 34.00 to 1670.50. The March E-mini S&P 500
(
ESH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was also
higher by 4.75 to 1154.00. 

FINANCIALS

The financials lost some ground
on the first day of the New Year. The March 30-Year T-Bond
(
USH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was lower by 1’13 to close at 100’04. USH2 hits S1 pivot of 100.885. The March
10-Year T-Note
(
TYH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 265 to end at 104’100. The TYH2 hits
S1 pivot of 104.65. And the March 5-Year T-Note
(
FVH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) ended at 105’065,
down 265.

CURRENCIES

The dollar index did not get off to a happy new year.
The introduction of the European currency into circulation has given the initial
rise to the euro market, which was expected. For
the dollar index, that meant a strong sell off. It took out support at 116.40
quite easily. I am still evaluating some longer-term buys and am watching
support at 115.85 to add long positions. The
euro had its biggest gain in four months against the dollar after 12 countries
introduced notes and coins to 300 million people without the disruptions some
analysts and investors expected. The March
euro
(
FXH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was the star of the day, closing higher, up .01350 to
.90130. The March US dollar index

(
DXH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 116.27, down 265. The March British pound [BPH2|BPH2] dropped
0.0100 to 1.4386. The March Japanese yen
(
JYH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continued its
decline to .007596, down .000033. The March Swiss franc
(
SFH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed
up to 0.00680, an increase of .60880, and the March Australian dollar
(
ADH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) moved
higher by .00540 to .51280. 

PRECIOUS METALS

Feb Gold
(
GCG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) added
0.2 to 279.2. March Silver
(
SIH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost .005 to close at 4.535.
Jan High Grade Copper
(
HGF2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was lower again today, down .0005
to .6525, and April Platinum
(
PLJ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was unchanged at 476.5.

GRAINS

March Wheat
(
WH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was
higher by 3 at 292. Corn remained weak today, as cornfields in South America see
no shortage of rain. March Corn
(
CH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost .50 to close down to
208.50. March Oats
(
OH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained 8 to 203.75. March Soybeans
(
SH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) were
lower by 4 at 418.25. March Soybean Meal
(
SMH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 1.0 to 142.80,
and March Soybean Oil
(
BOH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed lower to finish at 15.34, a 0.13
loss. 

SOFTS

March Cotton #2
(
CTH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was up .79 to 36.38. March Orange Juice [JOH2|JOH2] was higher 3.60 to
92.70. March Coffee
(
KCH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 47.35, up 1.15. March Cocoa
(
CCH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped
14 to 1296. March Sugar #11
(
SBH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed up .32 to 7.71, and
Jan Lumber
(
LBF2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was lower by 1.00 to 244.10.

MEATS

The meats were lower today. Feb
Live Cattle
(
LCG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped .175 to 70.525. Feb Live Hogs
(
LHG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed
down .475 to 56.575. Feb Pork Bellies
(
PBG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 80.225,
down 1.200, and Jan Feeder Cattle
(
FCF2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed out at 85.00, down
1.025

ENERGIES

The first trading session of the new year ushered
in the new OPEC/non-OPEC accord. Traders’ New Year’s eve reaction to the new
accord was less than celebratory. Those feelings followed through on Wednesday. Feb
Crude Oil
(
CLG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was up 1.17 to 21.01. Feb Unleaded Gas
(
HUG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) moved
to .6106, up .0347. Feb Heating Oil
(
HOG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was higher at .0253
to .5786, and Feb Natural Gas
(
NGG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down 0.105 to 2.465.