Bear Market

The Bear is back! The markets were in a strong negative mood today with the major indices starting the regular trading session in the red zone and holding negative, throughout the trading day, as the Bears held the markets hostage during the session. Triple digit losses were seen striking the DOW and the NYSE early on during the day, where they only moved lower, as the day moved forward. Today was the DOW's fourth worst loss of this year. Trading activity was moderately active with numerous spurts of whip, hitting day traders and short term traders, out of the clear blue. The heavy losses were attributed to the results from weekly jobless claims (details lower in this Commentary). Across the board, stocks were immersed in a sea of red which resulted in the worse losses seen in the markets since late June. The economic data released today leads many to believe that, we have not seen the worst of the economy, yet. Comments from members of the Federal Reserve today, compounded the glum view of the economy, as well.

August retail numbers show little hope for recovery this year. Teen retailers, for the most part, posted August same-store sales numbers either in line with or ahead of expectations but, industry watchers say the results are simply beating diminished estimates as well as, provide little hope for a turnaround in the run-up of the holiday season. Retailers have been among the hardest hit in the consumer discretionary area since the economic slowdown became more pronounced within the past year. With the credit crisis, the downturn in the housing market as well as, oil prices hitting record highs, cash-strapped consumers felt the pinch on their wallets and have cut back on discretionary spending. August is typically the month when retailers depend heavily on back-to-school spending. Two days of the crucial Labor Day weekend fell in August but even that, failed to boost spending results significantly.

President Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Janet L. Yellen comments today:
Does not see U.S. wage price spiral; expects inflation to moderate into 2009; Fed has faced many challenges over last year; tight credit conditions weighing on rate policy; current Fed policy not that accommodative; inflation expectations 'relatively well contained'; Fed remains watchful of inflation pressures; price pressures have not disappeared; better price outlook tied to commodity declines; recent inflation has been 'unacceptably high'; prognosis for inflation has improved; expects 'decidedly sub-par' U.S. economic growth; expects unemployment rate to rise more; markets remain 'very fragile'; market may get worse before improving; U.S. seeing 'severe' economy-wide credit crunch; housing prices likely to fall further; overseas economies suffering from slow U.S. economy.

President Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Richard W. Fisher comments today:
Lower oil, stronger dollar impact still uncertain; more work needs to be done to fix credit market; progress has been made in healing credit market; U.S. faces threat from unfunded liabilities; FOMC must be mindful of both growth and prices; rate outlook depends on prices, economic data; credit markets 'remain tempestuous'; housing has not yet bottomed out; unsure whether slower growth will quell prices; recent price data 'not particularly encouraging'; jury remains out on inflation outlook; 'economic momentum is slowing'; economy still working through housing, credit woes; economy likely 'sluggish' until early 2009.

Economic data released today:

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Employment Report: ADP sees August U.S. Private Sector Jobs lower by 33,000 and ADP August U.S. Private Sector Jobs Expected to drop by 30,000.

Productivity and Cost: U.S. 2Q Non-Farm Productivity revised to an increase of 4.3% from increase of 2.2%; U.S. 2Q Non-Farm Productivity consensus was an increase by 3.9%; U.S. 2Q Unit Labor Costs revised to a drop by 0.5% from an increase by 1.3%; U.S. 2Q Unit Labor Costs consensus fell by 0.3%.

Jobless Claims: U.S. Jobless Claims increased by 15K to 444K for week of August 30 compared to survey of a drop by 5K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of August 23 increased by 6K to 3,435,000; U.S. Jobless Claims for week of August 23 Week revised to 429K from 425K.

Institute for Supply Management: U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Composite Index came in at 50.6; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Composite Index expected reading to come in at 49.5; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Composite Index 50.6 versus July reading at 49.5; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Business Index came in at 51.6; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Business Index 51.6 versus July reading at 49.6; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Employment Index came in at 45.4 versus July reading at 47.1; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing Prices Index came in at 72.9 versus July reading at 80.8; U.S. ISM August Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index came in at 49.7 versus July reading at 47.9.

Hot Stock picks on the move today for day trading:                 
Ciena Corporation (NasdaqGS: CIEN) shed almost 25 percent on the session, for a loss of almost 4 1/2 points on the trading session. Ciena reported a drop in quarterly profit and warned of order delays from telecommunications service provider customers, adding to the concerns of a slowdown in technology spending. 3Q profits fell to $11.7 Million from $28.3 Million last year. Spectranetics Corporation (NasdaqGS: SPNC) which posted a hefty loss of over 4 points at the equivalent to over 47 percent. Spectranetics was halted near the 1:00 pm Eastern Time hour today and remained halted at the closing bell with the low of the day prior to the halt clearly blowing by it former, 52 week low.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the session on the world market as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss of 344.81 points on the day to end the trading session at 11,188.07
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit loss of 261.00 points to end the trading session at 8,008.25
NASDAQ loss of 74.69 points to end the trading session at 2,259.04
S&P 500 loss of 38.15 points to end the trading session at 1,236.83
FTSE All-World excluding - U.S. loss of 6.06 points to end the trading session at 209.99
FTSE RAFI 1000 triple digit loss of 157.26 points to end the trading session at 4,928.53
BEL 20 (BEL20) loss of 99.18 points to end the trading session at 3,066.15
CAC 40 (CAC40) triple digit loss of 143.12 points to end the trading session at 4,304.01
FTSE100 (UKX100) triple digit loss of 137.60 points to end the trading session at 5,362.10
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) triple digit loss of 131.93 points to end the trading session at 12,557.60

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the day:
Advanced stock prices 534; declined stock prices 2,641; unchanged stock prices 73; stock prices hitting new highs 18 and stock prices hitting new lows 168.
NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: Abercrombie & Fitch Corporation (NYSE: ANF) stock price shed 3.12 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $53.00, low on the trading session $50.75 with a closing stock price at $51.58; Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) stock price shed 9.30 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $41.90, low on the trading session $37.12 with a closing stock price at $38.02; MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) stock price shed 13.60 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $227.14, low on the trading session $214.70 with a closing stock price at $216.03; Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) stock price shed 3.78 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $80.00, low on the trading session $74.81 with a closing stock price at $76.76; Guess? Incorporated (NYSE: GES) stock price gained 0.46 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $40.55, low on the trading session $38.50 with a closing stock price at $38.71; Hovnanian Enterprises Incorporated (NYSE: HOV) stock price shed 1.35 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $7.35, low on the trading session $6.32 with a closing stock price at $6.40; Health Care REIT Incorporated (NYSE: HCN) stock price shed 2.10 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $49.29, low on the trading session $47.93 with a closing stock price at $48.00; Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) stock price gained 4.96 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $61.00, low on the trading session $57.59 with a closing stock price at $59.01; United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) stock price shed 6.08 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $119.37, low on the trading session $111.52 with a closing stock price at $112.67; Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) stock price shed 12.73 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $335.37, low on the trading session $310.80 with a closing stock price at $314.57; CME Group Incorporated (NYSE: CME) stock price shed 15.66 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $346.20, low on the trading session $324.31 with a closing stock price at $332.17; CF Industries Holdings Incorporated (NYSE: CF) stock price shed 10.91 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $135.54, low on the trading session $121.30 with a closing stock price at $123.43; Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) stock price shed 1.72 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $96.59, low on the trading session $90.69 with a closing stock price at $93.70; Forest Laboratories Incorporated (NYSE: FRX) stock price shed 0.83 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $30.89, low on the trading session $29.42 with a closing stock price at $30.25; Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) stock price shed 0.45 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $17.12, low on the trading session $16.24 with a closing stock price at $16.60; Potash Corporation Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) stock price shed 5.13 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $160.00, low on the trading session $146.04 with a closing stock price at $150.33; Ultrashort Financial Corporation (NYSE: SKF) stock price gained 8.88 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $119.50, low on the trading session $118.85 with a closing stock price at $118.85; Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (NYSE: CLF)  stock price shed 7.99 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $89.18, low on the trading session $79.99 with a closing stock price at $80.97.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators today:
Advanced stock prices 578; declined stock prices 2,291; unchanged stock prices 109; stock prices hitting new highs 16; stock prices hitting new lows 131.
NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: CIENA Corporation (NasdaqGS: CIEN) stock price shed 4.05 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $14.16, low on the trading session $13.00 with a closing stock price at $13.20; Spectranetics Corporation (NasdaqGS: SPNC) stock price shed 8.99 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $8.51, low on the trading session $3.78 with a closing stock price at $4.73; Baidu.com Incorporated (NasdaqGS: BIDU) stock price shed 22.15 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $292.00, low on the trading session $270.35 with a closing stock price at $271.10; Google Incorporated (NasdaqGS: GOOG) stock price shed 14.91 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $463.24, low on the trading session $449.40 with a closing stock price at $449.50; First Solar Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) stock price shed 4.83 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $255.17, low on the trading session $233.82 with a closing stock price at $242.30.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for today:
Advanced stock prices 286; declined stock prices 903; unchanged stock prices 78; stock prices hitting new highs 23; stock prices hitting new lows 134.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market activity for the day, at time of this posting for September 2008 Contracts:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) end of day price 1,236.25 change -39.00
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) end of day price 1,775.50, change -58.75
E-mini S&P SmallCap 600 (SMP) end of day price 377.90, change -11.10
$5 DJIA (YM) end of day price 11,199, change -342

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.6981 to U.S. Dollars 1.4324
Japanese Yen 107.040 to U.S. Dollars 0.0093
British Pound 0.5656 to U.S. Dollars 1.7681
Canadian Dollar 1.0691 to U.S. Dollars 0.9354
Swiss Franc 1.1082 to U.S. Dollars 0.9024

Commodity Markets:
Energy Sector: Light Crude (NYMEX: NYM) shed $1.46 on the day for a closing price of $107.89 a barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (NYMEX: NYM) shed $0.06 on the day for a closing price of  $3.02 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (NYMEX: NYM) gained $0.06 on the day for a closing price of $7.32 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (NYMEX: NYM) shed $0.03 on the day for a closing price of $2.70 a gallon ($US per gallon) 

Metals Markets:
Gold Market Price (COMEX: CMX) shed $5.00 on the day for a closing price of $803.20 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (COMEX: CMX) gained $0.01 on the day for a closing price of $12.96 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (NYMEX: NYM) shed $11.30 on the day for a closing price of $1,392.20 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (COMEX: CMX) shed $0.05 on the day for a closing price of $3.27 ($US per pound) 

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (Chicago Mercantile Exchange: CME) gained 0.38 on the day for a closing price of 69.03
Pork Bellies (Chicago Mercantile Exchange: CME) shed 2.88 on the day for a closing price of 87.43
Live Cattle (Chicago Mercantile Exchange: CME) gained 0.15 on the day for a closing price of 103.30
Feeder Cattle (Chicago Mercantile Exchange: CME) gained 0.10 on the day for a closing price of 110.38 

Other Commodities (cents per bushel):
Corn (Chicago Board of Trade: CBT) gained 2.25 on the day for a closing price of 564.50
Soybeans (Chicago Board of Trade: CBT) shed 16.50 on the day for a closing price of 1,235.00

Bond Market:
2 year bond gained 4/32 on the day for a closing price of 100 11/32 with a Yield of 2.18, Yield Change -0.08
5 year bond gained 13/32 on the day for a closing price of 101 6/32 with a Yield of 2.87, Yield Change -0.08
10 year bond gained 18/32 on the day for a closing price of 103 1/32 with a Yield of 3.63, Yield Change -0.07
30 year bond gained 29/32 on the day for a closing price of 103 28/32 with a Yield of 4.26, Yield Change -0.06

Access upcoming scheduled economic data anytime by viewing the Economic Calendar from Millennium-Traders, free access to visitors on our website.

Visitors may subscribe to our free Weekly MarketNews for a review of the previous weeks trading news plus, view upcoming economic data scheduled for the week ahead.

Review current edition as well as, archives of the News & Commentary plus, view complete details of calls made in our Trading Rooms and stock picks from our Swing Trading services. Traders should review our FREE Monthly Trading Lesson posted on our website.