Why Thursday’s Action May Improve
On this first-ever
Patriots Day, traders had a lot on their minds. For many, it seemed
that trading really was on auto-pilot and given what this country has
gone through, just having our markets open was good enough. The delayed opening
caused a shorter trading day that opened up fairly strong, but started to
sputter, primarily due to lack of involvement.
The S&P 500 futures for
September
(
SPU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) sold off at the end of the day to close right around
the 50-day moving average at 906.10, down 5.09. The Nasdaq 100 for Sept.
(
NDU2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) at one point broke above the 20-day and 50-day moving average, but
by the end of the session, lost 7.50 to end at 943.00.
Tomorrow we
will be rolling the broader index futures to the December contract. SPU2 will
become SPZ2 and NDU2 will become NDZ2. The E-mini’s ESU2 (S&P 500) and NQU2 (Nasdaq
100) will become ESZ2 and NQZ2.
The Treasury market closed one-hour earlier in
observance of Sept. 11. Both the Dec. 10-year note
(
TYZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and the
Dec. 30-year bond
(
USZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed lower. TYZ2 closed at 112 175 down
160 and USZ2 closed at 110’16 down ’23.
The dollar for December
(
DXZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) climbed higher from its 106 support level. Today the dollar closed
above the 108 resistance level ending at 108.20 up .12.
Energies were mixed today after yesterday’s
weekly inventory numbers were released. Oct. crude oil
(
CLV2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained
.02 to close at $29.75 a barrel. Oct heating oil
(
HOV2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped .17
of a cent to 79.09 a gallon. Unleaded gasoline for Oct.
(
HUV2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gained .76 of a cent to end at 80.70 a gallon and Oct. natural gas
(
NGV2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost .10 or 3.16% to end at 3.25.
At the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) where grains
and beans are traded, December wheat
(
WZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) ended positive ahead of
tomorrow’s monthly U.S. government crop report. Yesterday wheat fell victim to
profit taking, but today rose .50 of a cent to $4.15 1/2 a bushel. Dec. corn
(
CZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) also gained, rising 1.65% or 4 3/4 cents to $2.92 1/4 a bushel.
November soybeans
(
SX2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) were the big winners of the day. Beans rallied
and closed above key resistance at 5.76 to fresh new highs. SX2 closed at $5.89
1/2 a bushel a gain of 12 1/4 cents or 2.12%.
Key metals broke down into negative territory and
closed out negative. Gold and Silver have both been moving to the upside
primarily due to talk of war with Iraq. Dec. gold
(
GCZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 1.39
to close at $318.00 a troy ounce. December silver
(
SIZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) ended at
$4.563 down 1.30 cent. Dec. copper
(
HGZ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 70.70 a pound
down .25.
In closing I would like to
honor the memory of those who lost their lives last Sept. 11. My thoughts and
prayers go out to all those that lost family, friends and/or co-workers. I
praise the heroes who died in their selfless rescue efforts and the men and
women that protect our freedoms. God be with you and God Bless America.