Tenth-Inning Rally

Stock index futures
closed decisively higher, surging in the last hour of the session after the
Federal Reserve cut interest rates to their lowest level in 40 years.

As many expected, the
Fed cut its federal funds target rate one-half percent to 2.00%, its tenth
cut this year. This is the third 50-basis-point cut in less than two
months and provides the economy with significant fuel to drive any economic
recovery.

After a lower start
and the Fed announcement,

December Nasdaq 100 futures

(
NDZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
, a new arrival on the Momentum-5
List
, ignited to trigger an Off The Blocks
long when it closed above the high from the last hour of trading on Monday.
The NDZ1 finished up 58.00 at 1537.00.
S&P futures
(
SPZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
significantly closed above the pre-9/11
level for the first time, an important technical milestone, up 17.30 at
1121.00. Like the other index futures products, Dow futures
(
DJZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

closed on their highs, up 160.0 at 9595.0.

Bonds closed higher
before the Fed’s announcement on interest rate policy. The contract, from
the
Momentum-5
List
, continues to make good on Off The Blocks
longs setups.

T-bonds
(
USZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
rallied over 20 ticks early, retracing
50% of their decline from the contract high to Friday’s low. Later in the
session, good intraday range swings provided opportunities for taking
positions at opening levels and again back at the high before tanking
tanking to the starting point. The intraday swings ranged over 80 ticks
before T-bonds settled 5/32 higher at 110 11/32.

Down for a sixth consecutive day and filling out the
Implosion-5 List
, energies appear to be finding a short-term bottom. Unleaded gasoline

(
HUZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
managed a slight gain.

Expectations that India would import less soybean oil weighed on
that market and spilled over into other contracts in the soybean complex.
December soybean oil
(
BOZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell .2900 to 15.8400.

Besides the bean oil spillover effect, January 2002 soybeans

(
SF2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
were also affected by views that the Chinese crop could be larger
than expected. Beans fell 5 1/4 to 436.

Unable to sustain an eighth consecutive day of upside momentum,
December lean hogs
(
LHZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gapped down and traded due south to
close down nearly their daily limit, a loss of 1.800 to 51.025.

February 2002 pork bellies
(
PBG2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
were a
Turtle Soup Plus One
Sell
and also nearly made a limit move, falling 2.850 to 71.150.

After an outside bar yesterday that closed above the previous seven
closes, March 2002 sugar
(
SBH2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
rallied (in
still-shortened, 90-minute sessions) to a one-month high. Sugar rallied out
of a Pullback From Highs
contract yesterday and today. Volume yesterday was heavy.

Finally,

coffee

(
KCZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and cotton
(
CTZ1 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
are
continuing a week-long rally that has lifted both off 15-year lows.