MTnews

Daily Market Commentary for May 1, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

The markets posted favorable gains across the board with the DOW tacking on a triple digit gain of almost 200 points as well as climbing over 13,000 for the first time since the beginning of January. (read more)

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:

DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit gain of 189.71 points on the day to end the session at 13,009.84

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain of 95.44 points to end the session at 9,395.04

NASDAQ gain of 67.91 points for a close at 2,480.71

S&P 500 gain of 23.65 points for a close at 1,409.24

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 0.42 points to close at 251.57

FTSE RAFI 1000 triple digit gain of 102.31 points to close at 5,710.69

BEL 20 unchanged at 3,925.43

CAC 40 unchanged at 4,996.54

FTSE100 unchanged at 6,087.30

NIKKEI 225 loss of 83.1 points on the day to end the session at 13,766.9

News on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today: advanced stocks 2,206; declined stocks 976; unchanged stocks 68; stocks hitting new highs 57; stocks hitting new lows 26.
Daily Trading Range and end of day trading results for volatile NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today:
Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE: MUR) shed 6.36 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $89.94, low on the trading day $82.07, for a closing price at $83.98;
CME Group, Incorporated (NYSE: CME) gained 22.35 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $481.28, low on the trading day $455.08, for a closing price at $479.80;
Bunge Ltd (NYSE: BG) shed 3.48 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $113.99, low on the trading day $106.47, for a closing price at $110.61;
Flowserve Corporation (NYSE: FLS) shed 2.01 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $124.80, low on the trading day $117.45, for a closing price at $122.08;
Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) shed 4.29 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $73.22, low on the trading day $68.05, for a closing price at $71.93;
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) shed 3.37 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $90.43, low on the trading day $88.30, for a closing price at $89.70;
Owens-Illinois, Incorporated (NYSE: OI) shed 1.21 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $57.75, low on the trading day $52.84, for a closing price at $53.94;
Interoil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) gained 3.67 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $24.34, low on the trading day $20.95, for a closing price at $22.60;
Oceaneering International, Incorporated (NYSE: OII) shed 4.50 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $65.00, low on the trading day $60.63, for a closing price at $62.28;
Suncor Energy Incorporated (NYSE: SU) shed 3.97 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $111.07, low on the trading day $105.75, for a closing price at $108.72;
Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (NYSE: CLF) shed 5.59 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $160.95, low on the trading day $147.72, for a closing price at $154.81;
ITT Educational Services Incorporated (NYSE: ESI) gained 0.76 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $78.81, low on the trading day $74.26, for a closing price at $77.42;
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) shed 2.20 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $99.51, low on the trading day $95.81, for a closing price at $98.35;
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) shed 2.29 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $154.46, low on the trading day $147.50, for a closing price at $151.66;
Helmerich & Payne Incorporated (NYSE: HP) shed 3.68 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $52.48, low on the trading day $48.26, for a closing price at $50.07;
NVR Incorporated (NYSE: NVR) gained 30.50 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $646.92, low on the trading day $602.59, for a closing price at $644.00;
Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE: GVA) shed 4.23 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $35.42, low on the trading day $29.28, for a closing price at $30.07;
Transocean, Incorporated (NYSE: RIG) shed 1.70 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $146.95, low on the trading day $141.25, for a closing price at $145.76;
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) gained 0.53 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $126.89, low on the trading day $117.17, for a closing price at $121.95;
CF Industries Holdings, Incorporated (NYSE: CF) shed 1.66 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $134.75, low on the trading day $126.49, for a closing price at $132.04;
Mosaic Corporation (NYSE: MOS) gained 0.04 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $123.68, low on the trading day $115.55 , for a closing price at $122.55;
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (NYSE: POT) shed 0.79 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $187.24, low on the trading day $175.00, for a closing price at $183.16;
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) gained 15.78 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $297.65, low on the trading day $276.62, for a closing price at $293.94;
Monsanto Corporation (NYSE: MON) shed 0.36 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $115.59, low on the trading day $108.11, for a closing price at $113.66;
Visa Incorporated (NYSE: V) gained 1.95 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $87.64, low on the trading day $83.90, for a closing price at $85.40.

News on the NASDAQ today: advanced stocks 1,976; declined stocks 945; unchanged stocks 118; stocks hitting new highs 52; stocks hitting new lows 59.
Trading range and end of day trading results for volatile NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today:
Hologic Incorporated (NasdaqGS: HOLX) shed 5.44 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $26.36, low on the trading day $21.25, for a closing price at $23.75;
Itron Incorporated (NasdaqGS: ITRI) gained 3.91 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $100.00, low on the trading day $96.11, for a closing price at $96.99;
FARO Technologies Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FARO) shed 7.48 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $30.90, low on the trading day $27.23, for a closing price at $27.76;
Baidu.com, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: BIDU) gained 4.40 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $374.50, low on the trading day $362.50, for a closing price at $370.00;
Elizabeth Arden, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: RDEN) shed 5.05 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $15.81, low on the trading day $13.03, for a closing price at $13.46;
Signature Bank (NasdaqGS: SBNY) gained 3.00 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $30.63, low on the trading day $25.26, for a closing price at $29.38;
Priceline.com Incorporated (NasdaqGS: PCLN) gained 0.59 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $134.99, low on the trading day $124.28, for a closing price at $128.23;
First Solar, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) shed 28.64 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $285.20, low on the trading day $261.12, for a closing price at $263.35.

News on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) today: advanced stocks 650; declined stocks 522; unchanged stocks 109; stocks hitting new highs 16; stocks hitting new lows 35.

U.S. Construction Spending fell by 1.1% in March compared to consensus of a drop by 0.7% and February Construction Spending was revised to an increase by 0.4% from a drop by 0.3%.

U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) April Manufacturing Business Index came in at 48.6; U.S. ISM April Manufacturing Business Index came in at 48.6 versus March reading at 48.6; U.S. ISM April Manufacturing Business Index expected to come in at 47.5; U.S. ISM April Prices Index came in at 84.5 versus March reading at 83.5; U.S. ISM April Employment Index came in at 45.4 versus March reading at 49.2; U.S. ISM April New Orders Index came in at 46.5 versus March reading at 46.5; U.S. ISM April Production Index came in at 49.1 versus March reading at 48.7; U.S. ISM April Inventories Index came in at 48.1 versus March reading at 44.9.

BTMU Business Barometer up 0.1% for week of April 19.

U.S. Jobless Claims increased by 35K to 380K for week of April 26 compared to survey of an increase by 18K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of April 19 increased by 74K to 3,019,000; U.S. Continuing Claims were highest since April 2004.

U.S. Personal Income increased by 0.3% in March compared to consensus of an increase by 0.3%; U.S. Personal Spending increased by 0.4% in March compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; March PCE Core Price Index increased by 0.2% rate on the month; March PCE Core Price Index increased by 2.1% on the year; March PCE Price Index increased by 0.3% rate on the month; March PCE Price Index increased by 3.2% on the year; February Personal Income left unrevised at increase of 0.5%; February Spending left unrevised at increase of 0.1%.

U.S. Layoffs jump to 19-month high in April, per Challenger Gray & Christmas. Led by cost-conscious financial companies, major U.S. corporations announced 90,015 job reductions in April, up 68% from March and the most since September 2006, according to a monthly tally released today. Announced layoffs through the first four months of the year have increased to 290,671 which is up 9% from a year ago. Financial companies announced 23,106 layoffs during April, including major cut-backs by Merrill Lynch (MER) and Citigroup (C). April marked the largest cuts in the sector since last September. Telecommunications companies announced 8,007 layoffs which included more than half from AT&T (T). While the bust of the housing bubble is responsible for most of the cuts in financials, rising energy costs are responsible for the reductions in transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and services.

Commodities Markets
Energy Sector: Light Crude (NYM) shed $0.94 on the day to close at $112.52 a barrel ($US per bbl.); Heating Oil (NYM) shed $0.04 on the day to close at $3.12 a gallon ($US per gal.); Natural Gas (NYM) shed $0.28 on the day to close at $10.56 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.); Unleaded Gas (NYM) shed $0.03 on the day to close at $2.88 a gallon ($US per gal.).

Metals Markets: Gold (CMX) shed $14.20 to close at $850.90 ($US per Troy oz.); Silver (CMX) shed $0.39 to close at $16.21 ($US per Troy oz.); Platinum (NYM) shed $52.90 to close at $1,882.30 ($US per Troy oz.) and Copper (CMX) shed $0.21 to close at $3.69 ($US per lb.).

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.): Lean Hogs (CME) shed 2.38 to close at 71.10; Pork Bellies (CME) shed 1.43 to close at 74.55; Live Cattle (CME) shed 2.03 to close at 91.45; Feeder Cattle (CME) shed 1.25 to close at 107.28.

Other Commodities (cents per bu.): Corn (CBT) gained 5.00 to close the session at 617.25 and Soybeans (CBT) shed 43.00 to close the session at 1,271.00.

Bonds were higher across the board today: 2 year bond shed 6/32 to close at 99 17/32 with a Yield of 2.36, Yield Change +0.10; 5 year bond shed 9/32 to close at 100 7/32 with a Yield of 3.07, Yield Change +0.06; 10 year bond shed 7/32 to close at 97 28/32 with a Yield of 3.76, Yield Change +0.03; the 30 year bond shed 12/32 to close at 98 2/32 on the day with a Yield of 4.49, Yield Change +0.03.

The e-mini Dow $5 ended the commodity session today at 12,965 with a gain of 158 points on the trading session. Futures Traders should review workshops available at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade). Educational in-person seminars schedules available on the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) website.

Monitor scheduled economic data every market morning by viewing the Daily Market Report from Millennium-Traders, free access to visitors on our website.

Subscribe to our free Weekly MarketNews for a review of the past weeks trading action plus, view upcoming economic data for the week ahead.

Review archives of the News & Commentary plus, our FREE Monthly Trading Lesson posted on our website.

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders.Com