The Big Story In The Currencies
It was not a very good day for the
bulls — or was it? It depends what market you were looking at. If you were
involved in precious metals, bonds and foreign currencies, you are probably quite
pleased at today’s market results. If you are an S&P or Nasdaq 100 player and
are in long positions, you are probably wondering when the bleeding will stop.
The number one reason for the down arrows today
was due in
large part to the poor economic reports. Nonfarm Payrolls rose just 43K in April
below the consensus of a +60K. The unemployment rate hit 6%, which also
disappointed relative to the 5.8% consensus. ISM Services data for April was
reported at 55.3. While a reading above 50 still suggests growth, it was below
the consensus of 57. The price index rose to 59.3 vs. 53 in March. The weakness
in the market is broad-based as investors are rotating into cash.
Today in the currency market, with the exception
of the Canadian dollar, several foreign currencies rose against the
dollar. The June British pound
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range of 146.00 and settled at 146.37, an increase of .44. The June Swiss
franc
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chart. Today the Canadian dollar tried to take out its Dec.16 2001 high at
.64040, but was not successful, closing at .63.95 down .03.
The Japanese yen for June
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again the big story in the currencies was the June euro
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closing at .91 up .01 or 1.10% and taking out the highs set earlier this year.
The dollar
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In the metals today, June gold
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$312.50 an increase of 3.89 or 1.26% increase. May silver followed suit with a
story of its own. Silver gained 5.40 or 1.19% to close at 459.70. May copper
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In the treasury markets, investors were moving
money into the more conservative vehicles. The June 30 year bond
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gained .53 to close at 102.68 and the June 10 year note
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tacked on .42 to close the week at 105.82.
After dropping for the past several sessions, oil prices
moved up in today’s trade.
At NYMEX, where the energies are traded, June
crude oil
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added .46 to 66.53. Unleaded gasoline for June
delivery
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June natural gas
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These were the Bulls for the Day, now for the
Bears…
The June Nasdaq 100
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get battered today. NDM2 lost 31.50 or 2.56% to 1197.50.
The June S&P 500 futures
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continued lower today. It closed at 1073.00 down 11.59. The SPM2 has support at
1050.00. For more on the S&Ps
click here for Lewis Borsellino’s commentary.
The June Dow Jones Industrial Average
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