Pigs Get Slaughtered

The end of the grilling season and a lower cash market gutted pork prices, slicing
both hog and bellies down their daily limit. Both October lean hogs
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and January pork bellies
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also showed particularly ugly chart
patterns and registered on the Pullback From Lows List.
Lean hogs hit their limit down of 2.000 to close at 53.050 and January bellies
sank 2.525 to 64.850. In expanded trading limits, August bellies
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closed down their 4.500 limit at 69.675. 

In stock index futures trading, an unusually low market
volatility reading stymied a rally in Dow index futures
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that had
broken the contract out of  a three-month trading range. The VIX
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,
a measure of volatility of the S&P 100
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, hit its lowest level since
December 1999. When the VIX reaches low levels, it shows that the market is
unusually complacent, with few players buying protective puts and many seeking
to earn premium income. Readings in the 20s on the VIX are also considered
extreme and likely to cause a reversion to the mean reading around 26.00. Monday the VIX closed at 20.35. The VIX is a contrary indicator in that
unusually low levels generally signal that a reversal from a high is at hand.
Dow futures
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closed down 100.0 at 11,120.0.
September S&P futures
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fell 3.30 to 1494.80.

Nasdaq 100 futures also hit a critical
resistance level and turned downward.

The 3775 area has proved pivotal over the past few months
and that level proved to be the top in trading twice Tuesday.
NASDAQ 100 futures
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edged 3.00 higher to 3751.00. 

Japanese yen
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 made good on a Turtle Soup Plus One
Sell
set up off a contract lows. The September contract started higher and
retested the open. But after failing to break the opening range by more than two
ticks rallied up to the most obvious resistance, the Aug. 10 low at .9240. The yen closed .0029 higher at .9216.
September dollar index futures
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continued lower out of a topping
pattern to end down .66 at 110.35.
The euro FX
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rallied .00790 against the buck to end at .91490. 

Energies gapped open and
head-faked to contract records before trending steadily lower to end down about
1% in New York trading. Last week’s stockpiles report highlighted the tight supplies
situation which stands at a 24-year low. September crude oil
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 fell .29 to 31.65 and heating oil
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 fell .0089
to .9200. 

Natural gas
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took the hardest hit in the energies, sinking as tropical storm Beryl made landfall. September fell .083
to 4.235.