Merry U.S. Bonds

Marc Dupee will be out of the office until
October 9. In his absence this column is being written by TradersWire’s Duke
Heberlein.

Earnings warnings drove down stocks in the U.S. markets
Friday, spurring a flight into bonds and pressuring the stock index futures.
December T-bonds
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closed up 19 ticks on the day at 98^28, while
10-year notes
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gained 8 ticks to 100^07. Many analysts were viewing
the jobless numbers announced on Friday as a signal that the Federal Reserve
will consider inflation to still be a threat, other than keep a neutral
position. This added to the downside pressure on the indices, which took the
futures down. Dow futures
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dropped 153 points to 10695, NASDAQ 100 futures
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slid 122.50 to 32.50, and the December S&P futures
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lost 32.50 to end the trading day at 1423.50.

Energies for the most part enjoyed a bounce Friday after
consecutive days of dropping contract prices. Crude oil
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ended up .33
at 30.86, with November heating oil
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 gaining
.0022 to .9294, and unleaded gasoline
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closed at .8450, up .0100. Natural
gas
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was the lone negative in the group, slipping .144 to 5.008.

December dollar index futures
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continued their
climb higher, adding on .06 to end at 114.60. The Japanese yen
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 also
was able to close positive, up .0027 at .9302. The Euro FX
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dipped to
a new low since the ECB’s intervention, sliding down .0012 to .8709, in tandem
with the British pound
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, which was down .0020 at 1.4462. The Canadian
dollar
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 fell out of a pullback
from lows and closed poorly,
sinking
.0029 to .6666, while
and Swiss francs
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ended the session
unchanged at .5750.

December cocoa
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after gaining nearly 60 points
in the past three sessions, digested some of those gains Friday, giving back 5
points to close at 830. Coffee
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and December cotton
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 showed
strength in the softs, gaining .75 to 79.45 and .36 to 64.18, respectfully.
November
orange juice
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kept its downtrend intact, falling .10 to 70.40.

Corn
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dropped a slight 1/4 to end at 203 1/4,
consolidating further following its trading range breakout. December wheat
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managed to scratch out a 3/4 point gain, while November soybeans
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ended the trading day unchanged.  December soybean oil
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lost .0400 to close down at 15.46, and soymeal
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finished
to the downside 1 point at 167.9.

In the meats, October live cattle
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closed lower .325 at 68.950,
possibly due to increased slaughter and meat production for the last period.
Feeder cattle
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went down .300 in sympathy to 86.450. The hogs were
mixed, with bellies
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.150 to the upside at 63.375 and October lean
hogs
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dropped 1.125 to end the day at 57.550.