This Happened 14 Out The Past 22 Weeks…
Today the markets got off to a rough start. You
could see it developing on the futures prior to the opening. And the promise
become a reality when the June S&P 500 futures
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gapped down 15.48 to 1014 at the open. The S&Ps worked hard through out the
trading session to make it to the green zone. At one point they were positive,
but ended the day down 1.19 at 1028.29. Out of the 22 trading weeks this year,
the S&Ps have been down 14 of those weeks.
The June Nasdaq 100 futures
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didn’t make it back to positive territory by the close today, but the effort was
there. The NDM2 has been plagued by the Semiconconductor sector lately and the
news on Intel
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lost 26 points to end at 1137.50. This week we saw the Nasdaq 100 fall briefly
below the September 2001 lows.
July soybeans
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Soup Plus One sell setup had been rallying to new highs of late. Beans have
rallied 12 cents a bushel in the past five sessions, but met resistance today at
the Chicago Board of Trade. Profit takers stepped in and took what was
rightfully theirs before the end of the trading session. July soybeans closed at
$5.07 1/2 a bushel, down 5 3/4 cents or 1.12% . July wheat
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suffered a sharp drop to void the inverted head-and-shoulders pattern it had
been forming. Wheat was influenced by possible good weather in the
growing regions. Wheat for July delivery fell 5 1/2 cents or 1.96% to $2.75 a
bushel. July corn
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or 1.08% to $2.06 3/4 a bushel.
In the precious metals, some traders were
influenced by gold’s appeal when stocks opened and showed signs of
disappointment. August gold
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troy ounce, just off the New York session low of $325.30 in midday trading on
the comex division of the New York Mercantile exchange. August gold rose as high
as $328.69 an ounce, and then reversed and closed negative at $325.40 an ounce
down .40. July silver
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ounce at mid-morning. Silver didn’t move too much during the rest of the session
closing at $4.98 an ounce. July copper
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78 a pound.
July crude oil
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declines little by little. Today crude slid 20 cents to $24.59 a barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange; July gasoline
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75.09 cents a gallon; July heating oil
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63.17 cents a gallon. July natural gas was the only winner on the day, gaining
.02 of a cent to $3.20 per million British thermal units.
Having an understanding of how the economy
works and how the Fed controls it, is important if you are going to be a trader.
I know the thought of ECON 101 may turn some people’s stomachs, but when you’re
studying something that applies to your everyday success, then the thought turns
to excitement. One person I look forward to hearing from and reading his
insights on the Economy is Tony Crescenzi.
Click here to read Tony Crescenzi’s Bond Wire.