Stock Market News

The DOW made an attempt at holding in positive territory but fell hostage to another selloff amidst the serious financial crisis the country is facing. At the closing bell, the major U.S. indices were positive other than the NASDAQ which ended in negative territory. Trading action for Fridays during this past summer has been very un-trader friendly. Citigroup (NYSE: C) reported earnings today with a loss of $2.5 billion or 54 cents per share compared to profit of $6.23 billion or $1.24 per share last year. Citigroup wrote down $7.2 billion related to bad mortgages in the quarter. Earnings reported on Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) came in with a loss of $4.9 billion with a $9.4 billion in losses related to mortgage losses. Google shares (NasdaqGS: GOOG) got slammed after reported earnings at $1.25 billion or $3.92 per share. Major deal for the day, Teva Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: TEVA) is buying Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) in a $7.46 billion cash and stock deal valuing Barr at $66.50 per share. Trading ranges through out the trading session were very snug and trading volume was light to moderate.

Todays top stock pick for the trading session was Ultrashort Financial (NYSE: SKF) which has provide very nice day trading over the past week. At the beginning of last week, Ultrashort was over the 200 dollar range and today, it clearly surpassed a fall into the low 130 dollar range. Typical financials have been steadily falling recently and Ultrashort is not exempt from the fall. At the closing bell, Ultrashort shed over 7 points for the trading session.

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 world market as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) gain of 49.91 points on the day to end the trading session at 11,496.57
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain of 38.80 points to end the trading session at 8,453.85
NASDAQ loss of 29.52 points to end the trading session at 2,282.78
S&P 500 gain of 0.36 points to end the trading session at 1,260.68
FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 0.49 points to end the trading session at 224.61
FTSE RAFI 1000 gain of 14.52 points to end the trading session at 4,936.83
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain of 75.36 points to end the trading session at 3,075.21
CAC 40 (CAC40) gain of 73.37 points to end the trading session at 4,299.36
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain of 90.1 points to end the trading session at 5,376.4
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) loss of 84.25 points to end the trading session at 12,803.7

Market trends on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today: advanced stocks 1,681; declined stocks 1,501; unchanged stocks 88; stocks hitting new highs 23; stocks hitting new lows 70. List of volatile stocks 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: Walter Industries Incorporated (NYSE: WLT) gained 3.34 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $94.84, low on the trading session $85.09 for a closing stock price at $90.09; Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) gained 1.06 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $101.82, low on the trading session $96.06 for a closing stock price at $98.57; AptarGroup Incorporated (NYSE: ATR) shed 5.46 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $40.30, low on the trading session $37.21 for a closing stock price at $38.07; Valmont Industries Incorporated (NYSE: VMI) gained 15.23 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $112.00, low on the trading session $99.88 for a closing stock price at $108.82; CONSOL Energy Incorporated (NYSE: CNX) shed 0.60 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $85.16, low on the trading session $79.78 for a closing stock price at $81.89; Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) shed 2.43 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $87.81, low on the trading session $83.37 for a closing stock price at $84.25; Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) shed 0.06 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $115.77, low on the trading session $110.12 for a closing stock price at $110.60; BlackRock Incorporated (NYSE: BLK) gained 9.74 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $222.88, low on the trading session $204.49 for a closing stock price at $218.00; Ultrashort Financial (NYSE: SKF) shed 7.76 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $144.21, low on the trading session $133.50 for a closing stock price at $138.00; CME Group Incorporated (NYSE: CME) shed 2.13 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $340.13, low on the trading session $323.00 for a closing stock price at $332.67; Potash Corporation Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) shed 4.11 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $215.59, low on the trading session $207.00 for a closing stock price at $209.11; Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) gained 2.47 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $14.14 low on the trading session $11.40 for a closing stock price at $13.40.

Market trends on the NASDAQ today: advanced stocks 1,286; declined stocks 1,603; unchanged stocks 142; stocks hitting new highs 36; stocks hitting new lows 77. List of volatile stocks 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: Gilead Sciences Incorporated (NasdaqGS: GILD) shed 5.65 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $51.61, low on the trading session $49.20 for a closing stock price at $49.75; Google Incorporated (NasdaqGS: GOOG) shed 53.44 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $498.98, low on the trading session $478.19 for a closing stock price at $480.00; Avocent Corporation (NasdaqGS: AVCT) shed 3.86 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $23.88, low on the trading session $20.64 for a closing stock price at $20.82; SemGroup Energy Partners LP (NasdaqGS: SGLP) shed 2.65 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $9.64, low on the trading session $5.98 for a closing stock price at $8.35.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) today: advanced stocks 587; declined stocks 577; unchanged stocks 85; stocks hitting new highs 5; stocks hitting new lows 33.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market activity for the day, September 2008 Contracts, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) end of day price 1,260.50, change 0.00
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) end of day price 1,828.25, change -0.50
E-mini S&P SmallCap 600 (SMP) end of day price 363.50, change -0.60
$5 DJIA (YM) end of day price 11,502, change 1

World Currencies at time of this posting:
Euro 0.6310 to U.S. Dollars 1.5848
Japanese Yen 106.94 to U.S. Dollars 0.0094
British Pound 0.5004 to U.S. Dollars 1.9984
Canadian Dollar 1.0055 to U.S. Dollars 0.9945
Swiss Franc 1.0223 to U.S. Dollars 0.9782

Commodities Markets:
Energy Sector: Light Crude (NYM) shed $0.41 on the day for a closing price of the range of $128.88 a gallon ($US per bbl.); Heating Oil (NYM) shed $0.05 on the day for a closing price of $3.72 a gallon ($US per gal.); Natural Gas (NYM) gained $0.03 on the day for a closing price of $10.64 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.); Unleaded Gas (NYM) gained $0.01 on the day for a closing price of $3.17 a gallon ($US per gal.). 

Metals Markets:
Gold Market Price (CMX) shed $12.70 on the day for a closing price of $958.00 ($US per Troy oz.); Silver (CMX) shed $0.54 on the day for a closing price of $18.20 ($US per Troy oz.); Platinum (NYM) shed $46.40 on the day for a closing price of $1,854.00 ($US per Troy oz.) and Copper (CMX) shed $0.05 on the day for a closing price of $3.67 ($US per lb.). 

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.): Lean Hogs (CME) shed 0.25 on the day for a closing price of 72.65; Pork Bellies (CME) shed 2.10 on the day for a closing price of 63.50; Live Cattle (CME) gained 0.05 on the day for a closing price of 105.10; Feeder Cattle (CME) gained 2.33 on the day for a closing price of 113.88. 

Other Commodities (cents per bu.): Corn (CBT) shed 21.50 on the day for a closing price of 628.50 and Soybeans (CBT) shed 50.00 on the day for a closing price of 1,450.00.

Bond action for the day: 2 year bond shed 9/32 on the day for a closing price of 100 14/32 with a Yield of 2.64, Yield Change +0.15; 5 year bond shed 20/32 on the day for a closing price of 99 26/32 with a Yield of 3.41, Yield Change +0.14; 10 year bond shed 23/32 on the day for a closing price of 98 23/32 with a Yield of 4.08, Yield Change +0.15; the 30 year bond shed 20/32 on the day for a closing price of 95 18/32 with a Yield of 4.65, Yield Change +0.04.

At the close of the week, performance results for our Moderators:

Stocks Trading Room:  
Jeannie $11,828
Barry $19,617
Marty $13,255
Sam $4,356

Futures Trading Room: 
JT $9,501.00

Forex Trading Room: 
JT $9,600

Daily Swing Trades: 
Barry $20,480

Weekly Swing Trades:
Jeannie $3,870

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