Jobless Claims Plunge
 

Jobless claims plunge on Thursday with the release of new numbers from the Government. Labor Department said recent unemployment number were at the lowest level since early January, but feel unemployment rate will still continue to rise due to the fact that employers are still afraid and might play it safe by keeping staff to a minimum. Analysts think the drop in claims doesn't necessarily mean the economy is improving but may be due to problems with adjusting layoffs for the temporary shutdowns at General Motors and Chrysler plants. In the markets, investors seemed to lay low today after the big rallies earlier this week, and after the news that CIT Group is unable to get the Government funding they need, which may force them to file for bankruptcy protection, shares of CIT dropped more than 70%. Positive news came from JPMorgan Chase today when they reported a 36% increase in second-quarter profits earning $2.72 billion dollars. Traders had a tough morning with stocks flat lining, it turned around in the afternoon and provided reasonable trading for investors, Core CPI data will be released tomorrow.
 

Comments from International Monetary Fund:
Detailed Government Spending Plans Would Enhance Credibility; U.K .Outlook "Highly Uncertain," Recovery "Slow"; Market won't give U.K. benefit of fiscal doubt forever; sees U.K. economy falling 4.2% in 2009, up 0.2% in 2010.

Economic data released today:

Initial Jobless Claims: 
U.S. Jobless Claims fell 47K to 522K for week of July 11 compared to Survey of a decrease by 52K;U.S. July 4 Week Continuing Claims fell 642K to 6,273,000;U.S. July 4 Week Jobless Claims Revised to 569K from 565K;Labor: Claims Decline Due to Technical Factors;Labor: Big Claims Drops not Indicative of Economic Revival;U.S. Continuing Claims Drop Largest on Record.

Treasury International Capital (TIC) Net Long-Term Transactions:
Net Foreign Long Term Secs Disposal $37.2 billion in May; Net Long Term Securities Disposal $19.8 billion in May; Net Foreign Capital Outflow $66.6 billion in May; Foreigners Net Sellers $22.6 billion U.S. Tresury notes, bonds in May; Foreigners Net Buyers $12.8 billion of U.S. agency debt in May; Foreigners Net Buyers $0.94 billion of U.S. Corp bondsiIn May; Foreigners Net Buyers $16.7 billion of U.S. Equities in May.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index:
July Business Index fell 7.5 versus June drop by 2.2;July Business Index Expected to drop by 5.0;July Price Paid fell 3.5 versus June drop by 13.0;July Price Received fell 21.5 versus June fall by 16.6;July Employment fell 25.3 versus June fall by 21.8;New Orders fell 2.2 versus June fall by 4.8;July Shipments fell 9.5 versus June fall by 2.1;July Delivery Times fell 10.3 versus Jun drop by 18.9;July Inventories fell 15.4 versus June fall by 15.3;firms continue to see weakness.

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 trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) gain 95.61 points, EOD 8,711.82
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain 49.89, EOD 6,043.05
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) gain 22.13 points, EOD 1,885.03
S&P 500 (SPX) gain 8.06 points, EOD 940.74

BEL 20 (BEL20) gain 2.26 points, EOD 2,084.55
CAC 40 (CAC40) gain 28.41 points, EOD 3,199.68
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain 15.38 points, EOD 4,361.84

NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain 74.91 points, EOD 9,334.16

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 2,143, declined stock prices 904, unchanged stock prices 126, stock prices hitting new highs 46 and stock prices hitting new lows 10.

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: CME shed 5.42, HOD 280.51, LOD 267.42, EOD 272.48; POT gain 3.82, HOD 92.46, LOD 89.89, EOD 91.58; APA gain 0.75, HOD 75.78, LOD 73.01, EOD 75.32; RTP gain 2.29, HOD 141.96, LOD 136.56, EOD 141.25; ICE shed 1.27, HOD 92.34, LOD 88.27, EOD 90.03; MA gain 5.90, HOD 180.76, LOD 171.48, EOD 178.27; WHR gain 4.53, HOD 54.99, LOD 50.05, EOD 54.40; FDX gain 4.43, HOD 62.51, LOD 57.07, EOD 61.79.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,685, declined stock prices 980, unchanged stock prices 141, stock prices hitting new highs 54 and stock prices hitting new lows 12. 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: UFPI gain 6.15, HOD 41.38, LOD 37.16, EOD 40.81; LSTR shed 0.08, HOD 34.98, LOD 33.22, EOD 34.30; RECN shed 2.12, HOD 16.01, LOD 14.80, EOD 15.41; CTAS shed 0.58, HOD 22.67, LOD 22.08, EOD 22.54; XLNX shed 0.40, HOD 20.32, LOD 19.45, EOD 20.26; BIDU gain 6.69, HOD 325.60, LOD 316.00, EOD 322.50; BDSI gain 0.15, HOD 7.25, LOD 5.75, EOD 6.15; FSLR shed 3.43, HOD 150.47, LOD 144.73, EOD 145.18; STEC gain 4.20, HOD 32.31, LOD 29.60, EOD 31.79; JRCC gain 1.87, HOD 18.24, LOD 16.81, EOD 18.07; GOOG gain 4.43, HOD 445.75, LOD 434.10, EOD 442.60.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 297, declined stock prices 227, unchanged stock prices 54, stock prices hitting new highs 5 and stock prices hitting new lows 7.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:

E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Sept 09: EOD 935.50; Change 8.25

E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Sept 09: EOD 1,512.25; Change 15.00
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Sept 09: EOD 8,670; Change 127
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Sept 09: EOD 588.10; Change 8.90

Nikkei 225 (Yen) Sept 09: EOD 9,435; Change -80

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7068 to U.S. Dollars 1.4148
Japanese Yen 93.9000 to U.S. Dollars 0.0106
British Pound 0.6083 to U.S. Dollars 1.6440
Canadian Dollar 1.1168 to U.S. Dollars 0.8954
Swiss Franc 1.0732 to U.S. Dollars 0.9318

COMMODITY MARKETS:
Energy Sector - Nymex:

Light Crude (August 09) gain $0.48, EOD $62.02 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (September 09) gain $0.02, EOD $1.63 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (Septembert 09) gain $0.38, EOD $3.81 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (August 09) gain $0.01, EOD $1.71 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (August 09) shed $4.00, EOD $935.40 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (September 09) gain $0.03, EOD $13.24 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (October 09) gain $11.40, EOD $1,169.30 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (September 09) no change $0.00, EOD $2.39 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (October 09) gain $1.38, EOD $60.48
Pork Bellies (August 09) gain $2.00, EOD $62.05
Live Cattle (October 09) gain $1.15, EOD $91.43
Feeder Cattle (August 09) gain $0.85, EOD $103.90

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (December 09) shed $12.25, EOD $325.25

Soybeans (November 09) shed $14.50, EOD $890.00

BOND MARKET:

2 year EOD 100 8/32, change 2/32, Yield 0.98, Yield change -0.03
5 year EOD 100 25/32, change 8/32, Yield 2.45, Yield change -0.05
10 year EOD 96 11/32, change 10/32, Yield 3.56, Yield change -0.04
30 year EOD 96 26/32, change 24/32, Yield 4.44, change -0.04

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