Bulls and Bears

[MTnews]

Daily Market Commentary for April 15, 2008 from

The markets faced a battle between the Bulls and the Bears today, along with the occasional whip action that day traders strongly frown on. Airlines Delta and Northwest intend to merge which will create the worlds largest airline with a value of $17.7 billion. ()

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) gain of 61.31 points on the day to end the session at 12,363.37

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain of 55.35 points to end the session at 8,978.19

NASDAQ gain of 10.22 points for a close at 2,286.04

S&P 500 gain of 6.20 points for a close at 1,334.52

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 0.86 points to close at 241.57

FTSE RAFI 1000 gain of 18.40 points to close at 5,357.81

BEL 20 gain of 2.62 points on the day to end the session at 3,789.22

CAC 40 gain of 14.19 points on the day to end the session at 4,780.68

FTSE100 gain of 75.3 points on the day to end the session at 5,906.90

NIKKEI 225 gain of 73.1 points on the day to end the session at 12,990.60

News on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today: advanced stocks 1,543; declined stocks 1,359; unchanged stocks 94; stocks hitting new highs 65; stocks hitting new lows 76. Daily Trading Range and end of day trading results for volatile NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Avnet Incorporated (NYSE: AVT) shed 3.95 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $31.13, low on the trading day $27.77, for a closing price at $28.38; Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) shed 0.84 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $111.76, low on the trading day $107.50, for a closing price at $108.58; Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) shed 2.95 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $55.75, low on the trading day $52.05, for a closing price at $53.70; CF Industries Holdings, Incorporated (NYSE: CF) shed 1.55 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $146.11, low on the trading day $140.15, for a closing price at $142.87; Mosaic Corporation (NYSE: MOS) gained 1.20 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $129.93, low on the trading day $124.75, for a closing price at $127.60; UltraShort Financials ProShares (NYSE: SKF) shed 2.29 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $119.48, low on the trading day $113.96, for a closing price at $115.70; Diamond Offshore Drilling Incorporated (NYSE: DO) shed 1.69 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $131.00, low on the trading day $127.27, for a closing price at $129.83; Covance Incorporated (NYSE: CVD) shed 3.43 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $86.00, low on the trading day $82.22, for a closing price at $82.57; Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) shed 5.27 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $76.45, low on the trading day $71.34, for a closing price at $71.57; Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) gained 0.92 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $123.99, low on the trading day $119.41, for a closing price at $123.10; Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (NYSE: POT) gained 2.51 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $185.49, low on the trading day $181.61, for a closing price at $184.41; Transocean, Incorporated (NYSE: RIG) shed 2.59 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $152.71, low on the trading day $148.02, for a closing price at $149.30; Mechel Open Joint Stock Corporation (NYSE: MTL) shed 4.02 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $145.90, low on the trading day $138.52, for a closing price at $140.00; State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) shed 7.63 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $79.96, low on the trading day $68.61, for a closing price at $69.23; Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS) shed 4.99 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $74.57, low on the trading day $68.10, for a closing price at $69.03.

News on the NASDAQ today: advanced stocks 1.543; declined stocks 1,359; unchanged stocks 162; stocks hitting new highs 19; stocks hitting new lows 174. Trading range and end of day trading results for volatile NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Affymetrix Incorporated (NasdaqGS: AFFX) shed 5.38 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $11.44, low on the trading day $10.08, closing price $10.95; Baidu.com, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: BIDU) gained 1.08 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $296.84, low on the trading day $285.22, closing price $290.24; CROCS Incorporated (NasdaqGS: CROX) shed 7.67 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $12.24, low on the trading day $10.13, closing price $10.10; Sigma Designs Incorporated (NasdaqGS: SIGM) shed 5.27 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $19.80, low on the trading day $15.31, closing price $15.74; Google Incorporated (NasdaqGS: GOOG) shed 2.66 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $459.72, low on the trading day $443.72, closing price $449.00; Illumina Incorporated (NasdaqGS: ILMN) shed 4.15 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $75.07, low on the trading day $69.80, closing price $72.00; First Solar, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) gained 15.90 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $290.70, low on the trading day $281.70, closing price $290.00.

News on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) today: advanced stocks 597; declined stocks 586; unchanged stocks 110; stocks hitting new highs 28; stocks hitting new lows 27.

New York Fed April Manufacturing Index came in at 0.63 versus a drop by 22.23 in March; New York Fed April New Orders came in at 0.06 versus a drop by 4.69 in March; New York Fed April Employment came in at 0.00 versus 4.49 in March; New York Fed April Prices received came in at 20.83 versus 15.73 in March.

U.S. March Producer Prices rose by 1.1% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.6%; U.S. March PPI Ex-Food & Energy rose by 0.2% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.2%; U.S. March PPI Intermediate Goods rose by 2.3%; U.S. March PPI Intermediate Goods Core rose 1.1%; U.S. March PPI Crude Goods rose by 8.0%; U.S. March PPI Crude Goods Core rose 3.5%; U.S. March PPI Energy Prices rose by 2.9%; U.S. March Passenger Car Prices fell 0.2%; U.S. February PPI Unrevised at an increase by0.3%.

Treasury International Capital (TIC) Data for February: Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for February 2008 released today and posted on the U.S. Treasury web site (). The next release, which will report on data for March, is scheduled for May 15, 2008. Net foreign purchases of long-term securities were $72.5 billion. Net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities were $82.8 billion. Of this, net purchases by foreign official institutions were $6.1 billion, and net purchases by private foreign investors were $76.6 billion. U.S. residents purchased a net $10.2 billion of long-term foreign securities. Net foreign acquisition of long-term securities, taking into account adjustments, is estimated to have been $60.1 billion. Foreign holdings of dollar-denominated short-term U.S. securities, including Treasury bills, and other custody liabilities increased $3.4 billion. Foreign holdings of Treasury bills increased $14.6 billion. Banks' own net dollar-denominated liabilities to foreign residents increased $0.5 billion. Monthly net TIC flows were positive $64.1 billion. Of this, net foreign private flows were $73.1 billion, and net foreign official flows were negative $9.0 billion.

Commodities Markets
Energy Sector:
Light Crude (NYM) gained $2.03 on the day to close at $113.79 a barrel ($US per bbl.); Heating Oil (NYM) gained $0.01 on the day to close at $3.16 a gallon ($US per gal.); Natural Gas (NYM) gained $0.19 on the day to close at $10.24 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.); Unleaded Gas (NYM) gained $0.07 on the day to close at $2.89 a gallon ($US per gal.).

Metals Markets:
Gold (CMX) gained $3.30 to close at $932.00 ($US per Troy oz.); Silver (CMX) gained $0.06 to close at $17.85 ($US per Troy oz.); Platinum (NYM) gained $4.90 to close at $1,986.40 ($US per Troy oz.) and Copper (CMX) shed $0.04 to close at $3.86 ($US per lb.).

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (CME) gained 2.18 to close at 74.10; Pork Bellies (CME) gained 2.58 to close at 79.95; Live Cattle (CME) gained 1.58 to close at 91.58; Feeder Cattle (CME) gained 0.88 to close at 103.95.

Other Commodities (cents per bu.):
Corn (CBT) gained 14.75 to close the session at 619.58 and Soybeans (CBT) gained 7.75 to close the session at 1,397.00.

Bonds were higher across the board today:
2 year bond shed 5/32 at 99 26/32 with a Yield of 1.84, Yield Change +0.08; 5 year bond shed 12/32 to close at 99 6/32 with a Yield of 2.67, Yield Change +0.08; 10 year bond shed 18/32 to close at 99 10/32 with a Yield of 3.58, Yield Change +0.07; the 30 year bond shed 1 8/32 to close at 99 1 8/32 on the day with a Yield of 4.42, Yield Change +0.08.

The e-mini Dow $5 ended the commodity session today at 12,328 with a gain of 12 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.

The end of day results for the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) which is comprised of the total Exchange Volume for Futures and Options (EVFO) including Electronic, Open Auction, Cash Exchange, Wholesale and Cleared Only ended the day at 2,742,957; Open Interest for Futures shed 8,642 points to close at 9,429,251; the Open Interest for Options gained 57,482 points to close at 9,429,251 and the Cleared Only gained 432 points to close at 25,219 for a total Open Interest on the day of 18,814,462 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 49,272 points.

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