Gov’t Money And Oil Pumps Index Futures

• September 22, 2000
• Marc Dupee

One of the biggest stocks of the Nasdaq 100 Index
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Intel
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heavily weighted stocks on the NDX down at least 5% on the open and leaving
the Nasdaq futures
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But the Naz 100 heavies quickly found their footing and
staged an impressive comeback at ground zero: the 50%
retracement of the May 24 low to September 1 high to drive the index and the Naz futures higher. Coordinated intervention by
the world’s largest economies in the currency market and the uncorking of the US
Strategic Petroleum Reserve coincided to brighten the global economic picture
of an otherwise ugly start. 

Dow components were snapped up off multi-month lows.
Consumers such as Johnson & Johnson
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the Dow, Hewlett-Packard
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16-point dip, to return the Dow futures
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a 115.0 gain and close at 11,010.0.

The S&Ps
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1-handle deficit to close at 1468.50.

The world’s central bankers also found Intel’s demise to be the
opportune moment to intervene to support the failing European monetary unit for
the first time since its inception in January 1999. The euro has fallen as much
as 28% since its inauguration 20 months ago. Most of the treasuries from the Group of
Seven nations–Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Canada
and Italy–participated in the intervention, in a move aimed at halting a
brewing global recession. Coordinated intervention has been the only
historically effective means of manipulating currency prices over the long run.
Currency futures traded lower since gapping in reaction to the
intervention. 

Dollar index futures
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governments’ sale of dollars, leaving the December contract 1.66 lower at 113.34.
The euro FX
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throughout the futures session to settle .02070 lower at .88260. Swiss francs
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also benefited, adding .0116 to .5822, and
British pounds
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To put some icing on the rebound-cake, a seemingly very worried international body politic and White House appear to want to give both the US and International economy a booster shot to ensure economic health through the November US
elections. The Clinton Administration, at the behest of Presidential hopeful Al
Gore, promised by day’s end, some 30 million barrels of oil to replenish depleted stockpiles
that threaten spot shortages and have created upward momentum in energy
prices. 

Crude oil
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unleaded gasoline
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In other markets, grains continued to make some progress
off lows, with December wheat
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after a week of declines, and orange juice tanked after a volume spike.