The Pattern That May Tip Off Next Week’s Direction
Stocks suffered their worst losses in three weeks.
The culprits that scared today’s traders were weaker earnings and more talk of
war in Iraq. The futures were negative from the get go, with
Electronic Data Systems
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Starts came in weaker then expected. This continues to worry traders about the
pace of an economic improvement.
There was one small
piece of good news, but it wasn’t enough to bail out the markets. The Philly Fed
Index jumped to 2.3 (consensus was 2.0) from -3.1.
The Dec. S&P 500
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down from a head-and-shoulders pattern on the daily chart. SPZ2 closed at
842.00, down 21.80, or 2.52%. The next support level is at 829.00.
High-tech was a drag on the major markets today,
and the Dec. Nasdaq 100 futures
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of trade to the close, NDZ2 slowly and surely drifted off to close at the
worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq 100 for Dec. closed at 872.50, down 12.00, or
1.35%.
With the continued skepticism in the equity
markets, traders continue to flock to the Treasury markets. The Dec. 10-year
note
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3.84%. The Dec. 30-year bond
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dropped to 4.74%.
In the precious metal commodities, Dec gold
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settling down to close at $323.89 a troy ounce, up 2.20. Dec silver
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1/2 an ounce; and copper for Dec
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support level to close at 67.70, down .15.
At the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) where grains
and beans are traded, profit-takers pushed the markets lower. Dec. wheat
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a bushel. Dec. corn
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$2.66 3/4 a bushel, down 3.75 cent, or 1.39%; and Nov. soybeans
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dropped 6 3/4 cents to end the session at $5.63 3/4 a bushel.
In the energies, crude oil was little changed
after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to keep
production quotas at an 11-year low. According to Bloomberg.com, OPEC said this
year’s 47% rally in prices was caused by military tensions in the Middle
East, not reduced supply. Rilwanu Lukman, the group’s president, said OPEC
members are exceeding their daily production quotas by about 1.8 million
barrels, or 8.3%. Nov. crude oil
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$29.73 a barrel. Oct. unleaded gasoline
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to close at 79.95 a gallon. Oct. heating oil
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close at .79 a gallon; and Oct. natural gas
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1.93%, to 3.85.