What Fueled Today’s Optimism
Stocks rose after a stronger-than-expected
employment report fueled optimism about the economy, but investors favored
technology stocks over blue chips.
The March Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
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37.000 at 10579.000. The March S&P 500
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1173.500 before falling back down to 1163.800 a 4.500 gain on the day. The tech-dominated March Nasdaq 100
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2.94%, to 1556.000.
For the week, the Dow industrials climbed nearly 2% and the Nasdaq jumped 7%.
Treasury’s were battered Friday by a bullish report on the labor market Friday.
At the close, the benchmark June 10-year Treasury Note
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down .700 to 102.828. The June 30-year Treasury
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end at 98.906.
The March Japanese Yen gave back some of its
gains from yesterday. The yen closed at 77.780 down 1.06. The March U.S. dollar
rose 1.200 or 1.03% to end at 118.000. Today is the LTD for Future Currencies
for March. June will be the next front month.
Some of the precious metals traded mixed today. More Japanese liquidation of
long positions overnight continued to set the tone for gold, prompting further
selling in the European and New York trading sessions. The leading April
contract for gold
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Mercantile Exchange was trading 80 cents lower at $289.70 a troy ounce below its
$290 support level, then rallied to close at 290.20 down .30. May silver
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cents to trade at $4.50 an ounce. May copper
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end the week at 75.20.
Crude-oil and petroleum-products traded higher on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. The employment data released today added to the spreading
conviction that the U.S. economy has emerged from recession, which should feed
demand for petroleum products. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
is set to meet March 15 to decide whether to extend its output cuts to shore up
prices. After a steeper drop early in the session, the April contract for
crude oil
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heating oil
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gasoline
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Soybean futures continued to climb Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, a day
after posting big gains on word of a U.S.-China agreement related to the trade
of genetically modified products. Corn prices, which tumbled Thursday on a weak
export outlook, gained, while wheat prices continued their decline from last
session. Wheat for May delivery
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bushel; May corn
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May soybeans
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