Consumer Spending Up

Despite the troubling economy, the U.S. Commerce Department reported consumer spending was up 0.3% today,  the highest it's been in nearly 3 months. Does this mean the economy isn't as bad as everyone thought, not necessarily, consumers are in the mind frame that the worst is over and things can only get better from here on out. This month marks the 5th straight month for these spending increases, however,  more and more people have seen their financial situations steeply disintegrate, with income losses 3 times more than income gains.  "Such a sizable gain has usually indicated that an end to the economic downturn is on the horizon, as consumers begin to increase their spending on houses, vehicles, and large household durables," the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said in a statement.

Economic data released today:  N/A

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) shed 44.97 points, EOD 8,427.43
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) shed 11.25, EOD 5,899.78
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) gain 2.88 points, EOD 1,832.42
S&P 500 (SPX) shed 3.19 points, EOD 917.07

BEL 20 (BEL20) shed 2.36 points, EOD 2,013.32
CAC 40 (CAC40) shed 33.37 points, EOD 3,129.73
FTSE100 (UKX100) shed 11.56 points, EOD 4,241.01

NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain 81.31 points, EOD 9,877.39

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,855, declined stock prices 1,199, unchanged stock prices 99, stock prices hitting new highs 30 and stock prices hitting new lows 5.

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 gain 1.89, HOD 319.92, LOD 313.61, EOD 317.45; KBH shed 1.35, HOD 14.84, LOD 13.30, EOD 13.42; RTP shed 1.51, HOD 164.92, LOD 159.32, EOD 164.29; POT shed 0.43, HOD 93.39, LOD 90.05, EOD 93.09; MA gain 4.63, HOD 168.91, LOD 163.32, EOD 168.91; GHL gain 0.50, HOD 74.53, LOD 70.96, EOD 72.25; ACL gain 0.72, HOD 118.90, LOD 113.27, EOD 116.44; FPL shed 0.81, HOD 57.64, LOD 56.37, EOD 56.69.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,743, declined stock prices 965, unchanged stock prices 115, stock prices hitting new highs 93 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: PALM gain 2.20, HOD 16.59, LOD 14.90, EOD 16.22; BLUD shed 2.29, HOD 13.99, LOD 11.24, EOD 13.80; GOOG gain 9.55, HOD 428.23, LOD 413.11, EOD 425.32; FSLR gain 1.24, HOD 163.66, LOD 156.80, EOD 160.72; BIDU gain 8.03, HOD 301.84, LOD 291.50, EOD 301.18; BWEN gain 2.75, HOD 11.45, LOD 8.44, EOD 10.98; PWRD gain 1.44, HOD 33.90, LOD 31.10, EOD 32.60; RGLD shed 3.93, HOD 46.24, LOD 41.99, EOD 42.07; UTHR shed 3.57, HOD 86.55, LOD 81.91, EOD 82.28.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 304, declined stock prices 241, unchanged stock prices 40, stock prices hitting new highs 13 and stock prices hitting new lows 4.

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

E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Sept 09: EOD 912.25; Change -4.25

E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Sept 09: EOD 1,477.00; Change 4.00
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Sept 09: EOD 8,363; Change -51
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Sept 09: EOD 573.20; Change 0.20

Nikkei 225 (Yen) Sept 09: EOD 9,880; Change -25

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7106 to U.S. Dollars 1.4072
Japanese Yen 95.1600 to U.S. Dollars 0.0105
British Pound 0.6047 to U.S. Dollars 1.6538
Canadian Dollar 1.1518 to U.S. Dollars 0.8682
Swiss Franc 1.0815 to U.S. Dollars 0.9246

COMMODITY MARKETS:
Energy Sector - Nymex:

Light Crude (August 09) shed $1.13, EOD $69.10 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (August 09) shed $0.04, EOD $1.79 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (August 09) gain $0.12, EOD $4.11 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (July 09) shed $0.02, EOD $1.88 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (August 09) gain $1.50, EOD $941.00 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (September 09) gain $0.12, EOD $14.16 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (October 09) gain $13.70, EOD $1,210.70 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (September 09) shed $0.01, EOD $2.31 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (August 09) shed 1.10, EOD 57.70
Pork Bellies (August 09) shed 0.40, EOD 59.65
Live Cattle (August 09) shed 0.15, EOD 82.40
Feeder Cattle (August 09) gain 0.03, EOD 98.98

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (December 09) gain 2.00, EOD 403.50

Soybeans (November 09) shed 12.00, EOD 990.00

BOND MARKET:

2 year EOD 100 1/32, change 1/32, Yield 1.10, Yield change -0.02
5 year EOD 100 14/32, change 8/32, Yield 2.53, Yield change -0.05
10 year EOD 96 27/32, change 9/32, Yield 3.50, Yield change -0.04
30 year EOD 99 3/32, change15/32, Yield  4.30, change -0.03

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