Stock Indexes Fight Downdraft
Stock indexes turned around late in the session, fighting back from gains that had the Dow futures [DJZ9>DJZ9] down by as much as 100. The December contract ended down 29 at 10,861. The December S&P futures [SPZ9>SPZ9] fought their way back to actually finish up 2.00 at 1334.0, shaking off a 20-point intra-day loss. NASDAQ 100 futures [NDZ9>NDZ9] closed 5.25 lower at 2488.77 after rallying from bigger losses.
T-bonds [USZ9>USZ9] rallied as traders squared positions in the fall out from hurricane Floyd. The December contract gained 13/32 to 113 17/32.
Yen [JYZ9>JYZ9] futures fell following comments by Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi who said the government would intervene to prevent the yen from becoming too strong and hurting economic recovery. The December contract lost .0092 to close at .9630. December dollar index futures [DXZ9>DXZ9] fell .13 to 99.71 and British pounds [BPZ9>BPZ9] gained .0090 to 1.6244.
Energy contracts finished the day mixed. October crude [CLV9>CLV9] rallied .38 to a new high of 24.51, but unleaded gas [HUV9>HUV9] fell .0028 to .6877 and
heating oil [HOV9>HOV9] closed almost unchanged at .6108. Natural gas [NGV9>NGV9] fell back, approaching recent lows, closing down .082 at 2.546
Metals contracts had another quiet day but should continue to be monitored due to their standing on the Multiple Days Low Volatility List. December silver [SIZ9>SIZ9] gained 2 to close at 513.5 but appeared on today’s Implosion-5 List, giving a negative bias.
The grains finished slightly higher: December wheat [WZ9>WZ9] gained 1 ¾ to 276 ¼, November soybeans [SX9>SX9] moved up 4 to 493 and soymeal [SMZ9>SMZ9] rose 2.1 to 149.9.
Pork contracts have also flat-lined on recent closes, implying a volatility move will soon be in store. October lean hogs [LHV9>LHV9] registered on today’s Implosion-5 List.
Softs and fibers closed narrowly mixed. Orange juice fell again today after the storm passed by Florida, leaving the November contract [OJX9>OJX9] down .85 at 90.70.