Why Copper Finally Moved Higher Today
Coalition forces made
significant progress in Baghdad, and the
news continues to dominate the markets. However, overall, volume was relatively
light and, with the exception of the currency and energy markets, most other
markets reversed the majority of their intraday moves.
Equities
Equities ran out of steam and closed well below
their highs for the day. Overall, volume was relatively light and as a result,
there weren’t enough bulls to keep the momentum going. The Nasdaq
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finished up 3.00 to close at 1053.00. The S&P
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down .50 to finish at 878.00; and the Dow
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at 8265.
Fixed Income
US Treasuries yields
traded higher today on positive news from the warfront with Iraq, unwinding of
yield curve steepening trades, corporate supply and mortgage related selling.
The market did recover some lost ground over the course of the day, but trading
was relatively quiet. The 10 year contract
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was down 0-140, closing at 112-220; the 30 year
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-15, closing at 110-25, ; and the five year note finished
down 0-130 to close at 112-220
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Metals
Finally, copper was given some fundamental news
to digest, as London inventory numbers (805,400 vs 856,000 tons at the beginning
of the year) were lower than expected. The base metal was up 1.05 to finish at 72.85
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expected, Gold was down -3 8, to finish at 322.20
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Energy
Energy futures fell on the back of coalition
gains in Iraq over the weekend and reports that Russia is expected to boost
exports 6% this month from the same period one year ago. Crude was down .66
cents to close at 27.96
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7164
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Currencies
The US dollar had impressive gains against the
European currencies (Swiss franc, UK pound, and euro) on the back of the
coalition gains in Iraq. The USD index
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finished at 101.48.