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A Tiny German Student Chick…

http://wikileaks.marketmentat.com/

Said this, at the height of the most repressive regime in history apart from those in the Arab world backed by the US.

When Little Sophie was dragged before the costumed fuckwits who wield the whip of the State, did she grovel and beg? Like fuck. Here's what she said as she was being sentenced to death:

Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did.

And

I am, now as before, of the opinion that I did the best that I could do for my nation. I therefore do not regret my conduct and will bear the consequences that result from my conduct.

Betray-Us and Broadwell (nee Kranz)… OK, I’ll Bite.

by Kratoklastes in Collected Wisdom, Politics, Stuff

A lot of people are missing a key point in l'affaire Petraeus: how about the fact that the CIA was unable to determine that its leader was 

(a) having an affair;

(b) had his e-mail account hacked (or attempted-hacked, depending on who you read); and

(c) WAS UNDER FBI SURVEILLANCE.

Ditto for the DIA as concerns General Allen (OK, so Allen was not Director of DIA, but you get the point). Hell, Allens' correspondence with Kelley ran to TWENTY THOUSAND PAGES – he must have been typing full-time (or transferring documents), and NOBODY CAUGHT ON. WTF? Billions of dollars of the alphabet-soup intelligence agencies, and they fail RIGHT ON THEIR OWN DOORSTEP.

As I have said often and widely, the CIA missed (failed to forecast, and to the extent that it fell within their remit, failed to prevent or forestall) every single issue of geopolitical and strategic importance since its foundation:

• the Russian bomb,
• the Chinese bomb,
• the French bomb,
• the Indian bomb,
• the Pakistani bomb,
• the fall of the Berlin Wall,
• the reunification of Germany,
• the fall of the Soviet Union,
• the rise of the Taliban,
• the USS Cole,
• the Beirut bombing …

EVERY SINGLE ONE, right up to September 11th (and further – right up to the overthrow of US stooge Pharoah Hosni-hotep Mubarak). Find a single issue of geo-strategic significance that happened in the mid-to-late 20th century, and the CIA missed it.

And now we have some idea that it can't even assess the behaviour or control the e-mail account of its own leadership, and/or cannot figure out whether its leader is being subject to scrutiny by other intelligence-gathering mechanisms (domestic or foreign).

Good News, Everyone!

by Kratoklastes in Collected Wisdom, Stuff

OK. MentatSpace (aka RantSpace) is now repaired – all the internet kerjiggers are pointed at the right orifices, and your Beloved GT stands ready to bring the madness again.

Some bits of the algorithm are not playing nice just yet, so the full 'works and jerks' Grogans of Wisdom™ won't begin to be shat out until next week, prob'ly.

However while I've got you here, let's recap.

• Euro bullshit-artists continue to pretend that the Grecians are not up to their collective vord in debt-cancer;
• the Mulatto Metrosexual beat the man who believes in magic underpants for the role of Brown-Baby-Killer-in-Chief;
• everybody is becoming slowly more aware of the degeneracy of the political class (i.e., the non-mainstream media has started to genuinely dig into the international morass of kiddie-fiddlers in which Savile, Dutroux and others move and moved, with constant protection from politicians, police and the judiciary);
• 5'5", 150lb weakling and lifelong sycophant-to-power Dave "BetrayUs" got honeypotted, and the cover story the political class decided on was written by someone who got fired from "Days of Our Lives".

Nothing else of note, from memory: oh, wait. At one stage my "long EURAUD" call was up a thousand pips; my "Long gold at 1563" was up $200; my "Long EURUSD at 1.21-odd" was up about 900 pips; and we got the Buttered Carrot of Doom up the Vord on the "Short DAX from 6900" (that's still going to be fine, kiddies).

Also, The Lovely has had her first appearance as a Baby Barrister, and is finding her feet in the new milieu. (I've started using words like 'milieu' too – that's how fucking cosmopolitan I am).

Thinking back to the recent contest for US Chief Tax Parasite and Foreign Child-Killer, think of what that contest meant.

The incumbent was part of some whackjob church in Chicago for 20 years. It's a particularly nutty version of the Jeebus-got-nailed myth. He was a weekly attendee for 20 years, and married his (huge Adam's Apple-d) 'wife' there. (What's her name? Michael, I think. Huge delts).

So either he believes in that brand of nutjobbery, or he lies about it.

OK?

Either

Barack Obama believes in an Invisible Sky Wizard who

• loves foreskins, blood and burnt offal;
• led a bunch of peasants descended from an incestuous Iraqi nomad, on campaign of genocide, theft and murder in Judea in about the 9th century BCE;
• all but wiped out life on earth because he got a bit bored; and
• came to life as his own son in order to get killed horrifically as some ludicrous primitive blood sacrifice;

OR

Barack Obama is a big fat liar who only pretends to believe that whacked-out nutball shit simply because he thinks people are so stupid they could not bear a genuinely rational leader.

We know he's a big fat liar anyhow – because he's a professional parasite. He's also almost certainly a sociopath, because it is not possible to rise within a modern party machine without being a sociopath. But he lies about matters of faith, god dammit.

Magic Undies Mitt presents the same dilemma: either he's a big fat lying bullshitter, or he believes in magic undies and the laughable nonsense fairy story made up by Joseph Smith (which if you familiarise yourself with it, is only slightly less ludicrous than the Bible and slightly more ludicrous than Scientology – no, seriously: of the three, Scientology is the least fucktarded). [That said, I am an enemy of Scientology to my last cell]

So anyway – it will be the bullshitting half-Kenyan who will be leading the continued US depraved slaughter of innocents around the world, not the man who wear magic jocks.

The "Savile-and-a bunch of other 'elite' degenerates" kiddie-fucker stuff is going to get much much more airplay soon, dearest Readers.

Your Beloved GT is aware of a project that is in the throes of decrypting the second chunk of a 'liberated' dataset that was freed from the clutches of a small corner of the international paedo-network. If it is like the first section (and it is), it contains names, addresses, e-mail addresses, IP addresses and a whole buncha other stuff.

My suggestion – that the individuals be notified that their names will be suppressed from final release so long as they kill themselves – was rejected, sadly.

Once collated and checked, the decrypted repository will all be spread far and wide so that the political class, their media sycophants, their police goons, and their judicial cronies can't prevent it from seeing the light of day. And some real smart folks are making additional linkages as we speak.

Funniest thing: the data was encrypted using a mechanism which has been proved-decryptable since 2003 (MD5, for those who know about that sort of thing).

USRant for Wednesday, August 15th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Existing Home Sales m/m for July 2012 was released in Canada; the series posted a reading of 0.0% rising 1.3 from the prior reading of -1.3%
• DOE U.S. Gasoline Inventories for August 10 2012 was released in the US; the result was -2371K dropping 570 compared to the last data point (-1801K) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of -2000K.
• DOE U.S. Distillate Inventory for August 10 2012 was released in the US; the result was 677K advancing 1401 from the prior reading of -724K – above the consensus estimate of -275K.
• DOE U.S. Crude Oil Inventories for August 10 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -3699K gaining 30 from the prior reading of -3729K , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of -1500K.
• DOE Cushing OK Crude Inventory for August 10 2012 was released in the US; the result was 899K advancing 1701 from the prior reading of -802K
• Manufacturing for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.5% unchanged from the last data release for this series. , in line with the consensus estimate of 0.5%.
• Total Net TIC Flows for June 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was $16.7B unchanged from the last data release for this series.
• Net Long-term TIC Flows for June 2012 was released in the US; the result was $9.3B unchanged from the last data release for this series. , in line with the consensus estimate of $40.0B.
• Consumer Price Index n.s.a. for July 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 229.104 a decline of 0.37 compared to the last data point (229.478) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 229.505.
• Consumer Price Index Core Index s.a. for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 230.124 a gain of 0.21 from the prior reading of 229.916
• Co nsumer Price Index m/m for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 0.0% unchanged from the last data release for this series. , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 0.2%.
• Consumer Price Index Ex Food & Energy m/m for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.1% a drop of 0.1 compared to the last data point (0.2%) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 0.2%.
• Consumer Price Index Ex Food & Energy y/y for July 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 2.1% losing 0.1 compared to the last data point (2.2%) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 2.2%.
• MBA Mortgage Applications for August 10 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -4.5% dropping 2.7 compared to the last data point (-1.8%)
• Capacity Utilization for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 79.3% a gain of 0.4 from the prior reading o f 78.9% – above the consensus estimate of 79.2%.
• Industrial Production for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.6% rising 0.5 from the prior reading of 0.1% – above expectations of 0.5%.
• NAHB Housing Market Index for August 2012 was released in the US; the result was 37 an increase of 2 from the prior reading of 35 – above the consensus estimate of 35.
• Empire Manufacturing for August 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -5.85 falling 13.24 compared to the last data point (7.39) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 7.00.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,164.78 points, a change of -7.36 points (-0.06%) for the session.

The session high was 13,192.89 points, while the low was down at 13,138.23 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 350.52m shares. Advancers and decliners were split evenly, 15 decliners to 15 advancers. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 195.11m shares to 155.4m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Intel (INTC) -0.21 (0.8%) to $26.27 on volume of 25.96m shares;
• Merck (MRK) -0.35 (0.8%) to $44.06 on volume of 6.74m shares;
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) -0.29 (0.4%) to $68.35 on volume of 8.45m shares;
• Boeing (BA) -0.3 (0.4%) to $73.07 on volume of 3.04m shares; and
• AT&T (T) -0.15 (0.4%) to $37.1 on volume of 19.74m shares.

The S&P500 Index added +1.60 points (0.11%) to 1405.53 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 1.88bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.8 to one, with 283 advancers to 159 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.13bn to 734.91m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) +2.9 (9%) to $35.23 on volume of 11.62m shares;
• JDS Unip hase Corp. (JDSU) +0.88 (8.2%) to $11.56 on volume of 19.25m shares;
• Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) +0.4 (8%) to $5.39 on volume of 136.3m shares;
• Unisys Corp. (UIS) +1.09 (5.6%) to $20.47 on volume of 0.67m shares; and
• Compuware Corp. (CPWR) +0.38 (4%) to $9.8 on volume of 2.82m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite rose +13.95 points (0.46%) to 3030.93 points. while the Nasdaq100 advanced +7.68 points (0.28%) to 2735.47 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 583.5m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.2 to one, with 68 advancers to 21 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 373.71m to 209.8m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) +0.34 (6.1%) to $5.93 on volume of 2.67m shares;
• Akamai Technologies (AKAM) +1.36 (3.8%) to $36.8 on volume of 5.07m shares;
• Starbucks (SBUX) +1.67 (3.6%) to $48.1 on volume of 14.67m sh ares;
• Symantec (SYMC) +0.49 (2.9%) to $17.67 on volume of 10.74m shares; and
• Sears Holdings (SHLD) +1.43 (2.6%) to $56.6 on volume of 1.35m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index fell 0.22 points (1.48%) to 14.63 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index lost 0.5 points (3.25%) to 14.90 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3171 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 2.53bn shares. A total of 1924 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.58bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1136 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.92bn shares. 105 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 14 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2584 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.49bn shares. A total of 1709 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.95bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 783 losers, and total declining volume was 0.53bn shares. 61 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 45 shares d ipped to new 1-year lows.

Major Market Statistics

Dow Jones Industrial Average      Close            Gain/Loss        %

S&P500 Index                     1405.53           +1.60         0.11%

Nasdaq Composite                 3030.93          +13.95         0.46%

Nasdaq100                        2735.47          +7.68         0.28%

CBOE Volatility Index                 14.63            -0.22        -1.48%

CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index     14.90             -0.50        -3.25%

Dow Darlings

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.09 (1.2%) to $7.87 on volume of 72.4m units
• American Express (AXP) +0.58 (1%) to $56.66 on volume of 2.9m units
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.745 (1%) to $77.99 on volume of 2.9m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.44 (0.6%) to $74.45 on volume of 7.7m units
• Home Depot (HD) +0.29 (0.5%) to $55 on volume of 9m units

Dow Duds:

• Intel (INTC) -0.21 (0.8%) to $26.27 on volume of 26m units
• Merck (MRK) -0.35 (0.8%) to $44.06 on volume of 6.7m units
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) -0.29 (0.4%) to $68.35 on volume of 8.5m units
• Boeing (BA) -0.3 (0.4%) to $73.07 on volume of 3m units
• AT&T (T) -0.15 (0.4%) to $37.1 on volume of 19.7m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.09 (1.2%) to $7.87 on volume of 72.4m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.02 (0.1%) to $20.96 on volume of 28.6m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.21 (0.8%) to $26.27 on volume of 26m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.07 (0.2%) to $30.2 on volume of 24.2m units
• AT&T (T)-0.15 (0.4%) to $37.1 on volume of 19.7m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows –

Precious Metals Futures

Commodity           Close  Gain (Loss)      %

Gold                  1606.6    4.2        0.26

Silver                  27.896   0.049        0.18

Palladium             578.05    -0.35       -0.06

Platinum              1396.2    -2.9        -0.21

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) advanced 0.63 points (0.41%) to 155.62 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 42.33m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 21.33m to 21m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Barrick Gold (ABX) +0.55 (1.6%) to $34.69 on volume of 5.07m shares;
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.11 (1.4%) to $8.13 on volume of 4.68m shares;
• Coeur d’Alene (CDE) +0.26 (1.3%) to $20.01 on volume of 0.97m shares;
• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.16 (1.3%) to $12.54 on volume of 0.41m shares; and
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +0.31 (1%) to $30.75 on volume of 1.93m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows –

Energy Futures

 Commodity                  Close            Gain (Loss)          %

Crude Oil                     94.62             0.88              0.94

Heating Oil                   3.0852            0.0506              1.67

Natural Gas                  2.981               -0.085            -2.77

Gasoline RBOB               3.084               0.0826             2.75

The Oil Services index (OSX) dipped 0.41 points (0.18%) to 225.13 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 45.17m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.4 to one, with 7 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 36.55m to 8.62m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Weatherford International (WFT) -0.31 (2.5%) to $12.15 on volume of 8.77m shares;
• Tidewater (TDW) -0.57 (1.2%) to $48.75 on volume of 0.35m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) -0.6 (0.8%) to $73.87 on volume of 4.48m shares;
• Halliburton (HAL) -0.27 (0.8%) to $34.58 on volume of 9.89m shares; and
• Noble Corp (NE) -0.23 (0.6%) to $37.8 on volume of 1.45m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows –

Currency Futures

Index                       Close              Gain(Loss)                    %

U. S. Dollar Index               82.725            0.198                       0.24

Euro FX                         1.2293           -0.0042                    -0-34

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.02 (0.1%) to $20.96 on volume of 28.57m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0.03 (0.1%) to $28.74 on volume of 16.54m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.44 (0.59%) to $74.45 on volume of 7.72m units.
• IBM (IBM) +0.11 (0.06%) to $198.40 on volume of 1.98m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.21 (0.79%) to $26.27 on volume of 25.96m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.18 (1.05%) to $17.35 on volume of 50.46m units.
• Google (GOOG) -1.12 (0.17%) to $667.54 on volume of 2.4m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) advanced 0.19 point s (0.41%) to 46.73 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 172.48m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4 to one, with 16 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 123.82m to 40.08m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.35 (1.9%) to $19.16 on volume of 1.8m shares;
• Comerica Inc (CMA) +0.36 (1.2%) to $31.03 on volume of 0.9m shares;
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.09 (1.2%) to $7.87 on volume of 72.29m shares;
• People’s United (PBCT) +0.135 (1.1%) to $12.04 on volume of 2.14m shares; and
• BB&T Corp (BBT) +0.33 (1%) to $31.88 on volume of 2.1m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) gained 2.36 points (0.59%) to 401.48 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 120.68m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4.3 to one, with 13 advancers to 3 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 60.63m to 60.05m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Sandisk (SNDK) +1.03 (2.5%) to $41.56 on volume of 5.31m shares;
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.07 (1.7%) to $4.19 on volume of 9.75m shares;
• Texas Instruments (TXN) +0.42 (1.4%) to $29.9 on volume of 7.83m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.16 (1.4%) to $11.94 on volume of 8.7m shares; and
• Teradyne (TER) +0.15 (1%) to $15.43 on volume of 1.08m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) rose 1.43 points (0.37%) to 385.3 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 42.66m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4.3 to one, with 13 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 38.35m to 4.31m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.55 (2.1%) to $26.29 on volume of 0.74m shares;
• Gencorp (GY) +0.11 (1.3%) to $8.8 on volume of 0.31m shares ;
• Esterline Tech (ESL) +0.6 (1.1%) to $54.6 on volume of 0.08m shares;
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.745 (1%) to $77.99 on volume of 2.94m shares; and
• General Dynamics (GD) +0.41 (0.6%) to $64.2 on volume of 1.44m shares.

USRant for Tuesday, August 14th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism for August 2012 was released in the US; the result was 45.6 a decline of 1.4 compared to the last data point (47) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 46.9.
• Retail Sales “Control Group” for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.9% rising 1.1 from the prior reading of -0.2% – above expectations of 0.5%.
• Retail Sales Less Autos for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.8% a gain of 1.6 from the prior reading of -0.8% – above the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
• Producer Price Index m/m for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 0.3% adding 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.1% – above the market’s pre-release guess of 0.2%.
• Producer Price Index Ex Food & Energy m/m for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.4% an increase of 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.2% – above expectations of 0.2%.
• Producer Price Index y/y for July 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 0.5% dropping 0.2 compared to the last data point (0.7%) , in line with expectations of 0.5%.
• Producer Price Index Ex Food & Energy y/y for July 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 2.5% a decline of 0.1 compared to the last data point (2.6%) – above the market’s pre-release guess of 2.3%.
• NFIB Small Business Optimism for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 91.2 declining 0.2 compared to the last data point (91.4) , which was lower than expectations of 91.6.
• Business Inventories for June 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.1% falling 0.2 compared to the last data point (0.3%) , which was lower than expectations of 0.2%.
• Retail Sales Ex Auto & Gas for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a readin g of 0.9% an increase of 1.3 from the prior reading of -0.4% – above the consensus estimate of 0.5%.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,172.14 points, a change of +2.71 points (0.02%) for the session.

The session high was 13,223.01 points, while the low was down at 13,142.10 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 433.3m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.1 to one, with 16 decliners to 14 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 240.35m shares to 192.95m. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Home Depot (HD) +1.89 (3.6%) to $54.71 on volume of 19.39m shares;
• AIG (AIG) +0.71 (2.1%) to $33.82 on volume of 22.79m shares;
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.26 (1.1%) to $23.98 on volume of 21.25m shares;
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.61 (0.8%) to $74.01 on volume of 6.6m shares; and
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.06 (0.8%) to $7.78 on volume of 1 00.25m shares.

The S&P500 Index fell 0.18 points (0.01%) to 1403.93 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 1.87bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.4 to one, with 257 decliners to 183 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 1.04bn to 796.41m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Electronic Data Systems (EDS) -0.32 (14.2%) to $1.93 on volume of 0.1m shares;
• Ciena Corp. (CIEN) -1.25 (7%) to $16.65 on volume of 11.22m shares;
• Juniper Networks (JNPR) -0.85 (4.5%) to $18.07 on volume of 12.26m shares;
• EMC Corp. (EMC) -1.03 (3.9%) to $25.71 on volume of 22.08m shares; and
• JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) -0.38 (3.4%) to $10.68 on volume of 10.29m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite slid 5.54 points (0.18%) to 3016.98 points. while the Nasdaq100 dropped 0.89 points (0.03%) to 2727.79 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 526.17m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2 to one, with 59 decliners to 30 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 332.02m to 194.15m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Research in Motion (RIMM) -0.51 (6.3%) to $7.56 on volume of 16.3m shares;
• Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) -2.77 (5.5%) to $47.94 on volume of 3.53m shares;
• Juniper Networks (JNPR) -0.85 (4.5%) to $18.07 on volume of 12.26m shares;
• Expedia (EXPE) -1.52 (2.8%) to $52.31 on volume of 3.25m shares; and
• Broadcom (BRCM) -0.7 (2%) to $34.41 on volume of 5.26m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index gained +1.10 points (8.03%) to 14.80 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index gained +0.90 points (6.22%) to 15.38 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3199 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 2.73bn shares. A total of 1512 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.26bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1571 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.41bn shares. 140 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 21 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2586 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.53bn shares. A total of 934 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.56bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1539 losers, and total declining volume was 0.96bn shares. 57 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 40 s hares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Major Market Statistics

 Index                              Close           Gain (Loss)              %

Dow Jones Industrial Average          0.00             N/A                  0%

S&P500 Index                       1403.93          -0.18               -0.01%

Nasdaq Composite                    3016.98        -5.54                -0.18%

Nasdaq100                          2727.79         -0.89                -0.03%

CBOE Volatility Index                   14.80           +1.10               8.03%

CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index         15.38           +0.90              6.22%

Dow Darlings

• Home Depot (HD) +1.89 (3.6%) to $54.71 on volume of 19.4m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.26 (1.1%) to $23.98 on volume of 21.3m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.61 (0.8%) to $74.01 on volume of 6.6m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.06 (0.8%) to $7.78 on volume of 100.3m units
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.31 (0.4%) to $77.78 on volume of 2.9m units

Dow Duds:

• Alcoa (AA) -0.14 (1.6%) to $8.69 on volume of 11m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.26 (1.3%) to $19.36 on volume of 16.1m units
• Caterpillar (CAT) -0.74 (0.8%) to $87.87 on volume of 5m units
• Intel (INTC) -0.21 (0.8%) to $26.48 on volume of 27.1m units
• Boeing (BA) -0.38 (0.5%) to $73.81 on volume of 2m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.06 (0.8%) to $7.78 on volume of 100.3m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.06 (0.2%) to $30.13 on volume of 34.3m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.05 (0.2%) to $20.94 on volume of 28.2m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.21 (0.8%) to $26.48 on volume of 27.1m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.26 (1.1%) to $23.98 on volume of 21.3m units

Precious Metals

Preci ous metals futures performed as follows –

Precious Metals Futures

Commodity             Close        Gain (Loss)                      %

Gold                    1602.4       -10.2                         -0.63

Silver                   27.847        -0.004                        -0.01

Palladium                578.4         3.7                          0.64

Platinum                 1399.1        6.3                          0.45

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) declined 1.06 points (0.68%) to 154.99 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 38.57m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 15 to one, with 15 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 37.61m to 0.96m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) -0.32 (2.5%) to $12.38 on volume of 0.5m shares;
• AngloGold Ashanti (AU) -0.82 (2.4%) to $33.91 on volume of 1.06m shares;
• Pan-American Silver (PAAS) -0.26 (1.7%) to $15.38 on volume of 0.88m shares;
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) -0.47 (1.3%) to $35.01 on volume of 8.7m shares; and
• Newmnt Mining (NEM) -0.58 (1.2%) to $46.34 on volume of 2.84m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows –

Energy Futures

Commodity          Close           Gain(Loss)      %

Crude Oil              93.74          0.71            0.76

Heating Oil            3.0346        0.0163            0.54

Natural Gas            3.066          0.078            2.61

Gasoline RBOB         3.0014          0.0107          0.36

The Oil Services index (OSX) fell 1.14 points (0.5%) to 225.54 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 46.96m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 5 to one, with 10 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 29.74m to 17.22m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Baker Hughes (BHI) -0.68 (1.4%) to $47.31 on volume of 2.77m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) -0.73 (1%) to $74.47 on volume of 4.99m shares;
• Noble Corp (NE) -0.36 (0.9%) to $38.03 on volume of 1.68m shares;
• Transocean Inc (RIG) -0.39 (0.8%) to $47.86 on volume of 1.67m shares; and
• Rowan Co (RDC) -0.24 (0.7%) to $35.16 on volume of 0.8m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows –

Currency Futures

Index               Close       Gain (Loss)    %

U.S. Dollar Index      82.56      0.074         0.09

Euro FX             1.2335      -0.0003      -0.02

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.05 (0.24%) to $20.94 on volume of 28.2m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0.01 (0.03%) to $28.77 on volume of 22.53m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.61 (0.83%) to $74.01 on volume of 6.6m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.72 (0.36%) to $198.29 on volume of 2.32m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.21 (0.79%) to $26.48 on volume of 27.11m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.17 (0.98%) to $17.17 on volume of 39.48m units.
• Google (GOOG) +8.65 (1.31%) to $668.66 on volume of 3.65m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) dropped 0.01 points (0.02%) to 46.54 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 219.81m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.5 to one, with 12 decliners to 8 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 145.02m shares to 63.53m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• State Street (STT) -0.57 (1.4%) to $41.22 on volume of 2.73m shares;
• Capital One Financial (COF) -0.46 (0.8%) to $55.13 on volume of 2.75m shares;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) -0.075 (0.5%) to $14.245 on volume of 6.7m shares;
• US Bancorp (USB) -0.16 (0.5%) to $33.02 on volume of 4.68m shares; and
• Comerica Inc (CMA) -0.13 (0.4%) to $30.67 on volume of 0.87m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) dipped 3.29 points (0.82%) to 399.12 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 123m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4.3 to one, with 13 decliners to 3 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancin g volume by 112.16m to 10.84m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.14 (3.3%) to $4.12 on volume of 12.58m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) -0.165 (2.5%) to $6.55 on volume of 27.31m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) -0.7 (2%) to $34.41 on volume of 5.26m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.21 (1.8%) to $11.78 on volume of 12.79m shares; and
• Altera (ALTR) -0.64 (1.7%) to $36.08 on volume of 2.93m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) dropped 0.47 points (0.12%) to 383.87 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 41.82m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2 to one, with 10 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 34.72m to 6.63m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Rockwell Collins (COL) -0.56 (1.1%) to $49.23 on volume of 0.76m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) -0.19 (0.9 %) to $20.54 on volume of 0.69m shares;
• Alliant Tech (ATK) -0.41 (0.8%) to $50.2 on volume of 0.29m shares;
• Boeing (BA) -0.38 (0.5%) to $73.81 on volume of 2.01m shares; and
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -0.31 (0.5%) to $68.36 on volume of 0.71m shares

USRant for Monday, August 13th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

There was no economic data of note released in the region today.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,169.43 points, a change of -38.52 points (-0.29%) for the session.

The session high was 13,205.01 points, while the low was down at 13,112.94 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 316.73m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 5 to one, with 25 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 284.97m to 31.76m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Alcoa (AA) -0.15 (1.7%) to $8.83 on volume of 10.17m shares;
• Pfizer (PFE) -0.22 (0.9%) to $23.72 on volume of 20.88m shares;
• Du Pont (DD) -0.42 (0.8%) to $50.23 on volume of 2.63m shares;
• Verizon (VZ) -0.33 (0.7%) to $44.27 on volume of 6.16m shares; and
• Intel (INTC) -0.19 (0.7%) to $26.69 on volume of 23.32m shares.

The S&P500 Index fell 1.76 points (0.13%) to 1404.11 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 1.56bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.9 to one, with 290 decliners to 149 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 1.01bn to 534.47m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) -0.31 (5.2%) to $5.63 on volume of 5.17m shares;
• Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) -0.51 (3.9%) to $12.47 on volume of 6.45m shares;
• Office Depot (ODP) -0.06 (3.7%) to $1.58 on volume of 5.33m shares;
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK) -0.62 (3.2%) to $19.06 on volume of 13.75m shares; and
• Penney (J.C.) (JCP) -0.73 (3.1%) to $22.67 on volume of 11.12m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite rose +1.66 points (0.05%) to 3022.52 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose +5.72 points (0.21%) to 2728.68 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 470.56m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.6 to one, with 63 decliners to 24 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 298.54m to 168.17m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Focus Media Holding (FMCN) +2.07 (8.9%) to $25.45 on volume of 15.07m shares;
• Sears Holdings (SHLD) +2.94 (5.7%) to $54.36 on volume of 1.62m shares;
• eBay (EBAY) +1.33 (3%) to $45.32 on volume of 16.19m shares;
• Google (GOOG) +18.01 (2.8%) to $660.01 on volume of 3.26m shares; and
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +9.73 (2%) to $508.31 on volume of 0.35m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 1.01 points (6.85%) to 13.73 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index fell 1.47 points (9.25%) to 14.42 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3183 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 2.34bn shares. A total of 1138 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 0.82bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1918 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.47bn shares. 89 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 26 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2557 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.32bn shares. A total of 1051 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.58bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1377 losers, and total declining volume was 0.72bn shares. 42 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 39 share s dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• American Express (AXP) +0.28 (0.5%) to $56.13 on volume of 3.3m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.21 (0.4%) to $49.86 on volume of 4.4m units
• 3M Co (MMM) +0.11 (0.1%) to $92.4 on volume of 1.8m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.02 (0.1%) to $36.99 on volume of 12.5m units

Dow Duds:

• Alcoa (AA) -0.15 (1.7%) to $8.83 on volume of 10.2m units
• Pfizer (PFE) -0.22 (0.9%) to $23.72 on volume of 20.9m units
• Du Pont (DD) -0.42 (0.8%) to $50.23 on volume of 2.6m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.33 (0.7%) to $44.27 on volume of 6.2m units
• Intel (INTC) -0.19 (0.7%) to $26.69 on volume of 23.3m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC)-0.02 (0.3%) to $7.72 on volume of 54m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.11 (0.5%) to $20.99 on volume of 25.5m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.19 (0.7%) to $26.69 on volume of 23.3m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.03 (0.1%) to $30.39 on volume of 22.2m units
• Pfizer (PFE)-0.22 (0.9%) to $23.72 on volume of 20.9m units

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) lost 2.32 points (1.46%) to 156.05 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 52.98m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4.3 to one, with 13 decliners to 3 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 47.4m to 5.59m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) -0.31 (2.4%) to $12.7 on volume of 0.6m shares;
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) -0.19 (2.3%) to $8.05 on volume of 8.04m shares;
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) -0.83 (2.3%) to $35.48 on volume of 14.32m shares;
• Yamana Gold (AUY) -0.28 (1.8%) to $15.08 on volume of 4.18m shares; and
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) -1.52 (1.5%) to $97.89 on volume of 0.34m shares.

The Oil Services index (OSX) declined 2.2 points (0.96%) to 226.68 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 37.03m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4.5 to one, with 9 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 26.16m to 9.88m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Weatherford International (WFT) -0.51 (3.9%) to $12.47 on volume of 6.45m shares;
• Tidewater (TDW) -0.77 (15%) to $49.43 on volume of 0.43m shares;
• Baker Hughes (BHI) -0.7 (1.4%) to $47.99 on volume of 2.27m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -0.89 (1.2%) to $76.47 on volume of 2.07m shares; and
• Rowan Co (RDC) -0.32 (0.9%) to $35.4 on volume of 0.66m shares.

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.11 (0.52%) to $20.99 on volume of 25.45m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0.12 (0.42%) to $28.78 on volume of 21.24m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.28 (0.38%) to $73.40 on volume of 5.71m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.28 (0.14%) to $199.01 on volume of 2.25m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.19 (0.71%) to $26.69 on volume of 23.32m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.2 (1.14%) to $17.34 on volume of 33.39m units.
• Google (GOOG) +18.01 (2.81%) to $660.01 on volume of 3.26m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) dropped 0.06 poi nts (0.13%) to 46.55 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 146.78m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.3 to one, with 12 decliners to 9 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 102.84m to 43.94m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Keycorp (KEY) -0.09 (1.1%) to $8.25 on volume of 5.8m shares;
• Capital One Financial (COF) -0.51 (0.9%) to $55.59 on volume of 2.24m shares;
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) -0.14 (0.7%) to $18.73 on volume of 1.64m shares;
• PNC Financial (PNC) -0.31 (0.5%) to $60.42 on volume of 1.1m shares; and
• Citigroup Inc (C) -0.12 (0.4%) to $28.78 on volume of 21.24m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) slid 3.55 points (0.87%) to 402.41 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 101.95m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 15 to one, with 15 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 100.71m to 1.24m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• ST Microelectronic (STM) -0.12 (2%) to $5.9 on volume of 1.09m shares;
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.08 (1.8%) to $4.26 on volume of 12.45m shares;
• National Semiconductor (NSM) -0.32 (1.2%) to $25.31 on volume of 0.66m shares;
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) -0.18 (1.2%) to $14.31 on volume of 7.96m shares; and
• Sandisk (SNDK) -0.5 (1.2%) to $40.9 on volume of 2.94m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) fell 0.25 points (0.07%) to 384.34 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 39.32m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.7 to one, with 10 decliners to 6 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 33.56m to 5.76m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) -0.41 (1.6%) to $25.7 on volume of 0.74m shares;
• L-3 Holdings (LLL) -1.1 (1.6%) to $69.29 on volume of 0.59m shares;
• FLIRr Systems (FLIR) -0.29 (1.4%) to $20.79 on volume of 1.01m shares;
• Esterline Tech (ESL) -0.47 (0.9%) to $54.11 on volume of 0.13m shares; and
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) -0.35 (0.5%) to $63.84 on volume of 0.09m shares.

USRant for Friday, August 10th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Full Time Employment Change for July 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was 21.3K sliding 8 compared to the last data point (29.3K)
• Part Time Employment Change for July 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was -51.6K sliding 29.6 compared to the last data point (-22.0K)
• Unemployment Rate for July 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was 7.3% an increase of 0.1 from the prior reading of 7.2% – above the market’s pre-release guess of 7.2%.
• Participation Rate for July 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 66.5 losing 0.2 compared to the last data point (66.7) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 66.7.
• Monthly Budget Statement for July 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -$69.6B advancing 129.4 from the prior reading of -129.4B , in line with the market’s pre-release guess of -$93.0B.
• Import Price Index m/m for July 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -0.6% rising 2.1 from the prior reading of -2.7% , which was lower than expectations of 0.2%.
• Import Price Index y/y for July 2012 was released in the US; the result was -3.2% sliding 0.6 compared to the last data point (-2.6%) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of -2.5%.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,207.95 points, a change of +42.76 points (0.32%) for the session.

The session high was 13,208.22 points, while the low was down at 13,094.96 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 351.37m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.8 to one, with 22 advancers to 8 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 280.94m to 70.43m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.7 on volu me of 17.59m shares;
• Alcoa (AA) +0.12 (1.4%) to $8.98 on volume of 18.04m shares;
• McDonalds (MCD) +1.05 (1.2%) to $88.2 on volume of 5.59m shares;
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.86 (1.1%) to $77.89 on volume of 2.51m shares; and
• Du Pont (DD) +0.54 (1.1%) to $51.08 on volume of 4.34m shares.

The S&P500 Index rose +3.07 points (0.22%) to 1405.87 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 1.75bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.9 to one, with 289 advancers to 154 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.1bn to 642.27m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Janus Capital Group (JNS) +0.78 (10.1%) to $8.47 on volume of 20.34m shares;
• Harman Int’l Industries (HAR) +3.17 (7.5%) to $45.68 on volume of 1.9m shares;
• Penney (J.C.) (JCP) +1.3 (5.9%) to $23.4 on volume of 48m shares;
• GameStop Corp. (GME) +0.91 (5.4%) to $17.74 on volume of 4.54m shares; and
• MGIC Investment (MTG) +0.05 (4.6%) to $1.13 on volume of 6.13m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite added +2.22 points (0.07%) to 3020.86 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose +3.35 points (0.12%) to 2722.96 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 617.25m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 56 advancers to 33 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 372.99m to 244.26m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) +0.49 (9.9%) to $5.45 on volume of 4.77m shares;
• Level 3 Communications (LVLT) +1.76 (8.7%) to $21.94 on volume of 3.8m shares;
• Focus Media Holding (FMCN) +1.65 (7.6%) to $23.38 on volume of 3.45m shares;
• Research in Motion (RIMM) +0.49 (6.3%) to $8.29 on volume of 34.22m shares; and
• Liberty Media (LINTA) +0.8034 (4.8%) to $17.52 on volume of 9.31m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 0.52 points (3.4%) to 14.76 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index declined 0.47 points (2.86%) to 15.94 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3175 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 2.59bn shares. A total of 1652 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.59bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1402 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.97bn shares. 109 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 7 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2579 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.57bn shares. A total of 1090 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.78bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1378 losers, and total declining volume was 0.71bn shares. 48 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 38 sh ares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.7 on volume of 17.6m units
• Alcoa (AA) +0.12 (1.4%) to $8.98 on volume of 18m units
• McDonalds (MCD) +1.05 (1.2%) to $88.2 on volume of 5.6m units
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.86 (1.1%) to $77.89 on volume of 2.5m units
• Du Pont (DD) +0.54 (1.1%) to $51.08 on volume of 4.3m units

Dow Duds:

• American Express (AXP) -0.62 (1.1%) to $55.85 on volume of 6.1m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) -0.31 (0.6%) to $49.65 on volume of 6.6m units
• Coca-Cola (KO) -0.45 (0.6%) to $78.79 on volume of 9.9m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.08 (0.3%) to $30.42 on volume of 27.7m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.17 (0.2%) to $73.68 on volume of 5.2m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.02 (0.3%) to $7.74 on volume of 49.8m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.08 (0.3%) to $30.42 on volume of 27.7m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.18 (0.7%) to $26.88 on volume of 24.8m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.04 (0.2%) to $21.1 on volume of 23.5m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.07 (0.3%) to $23.94 on volume of 19.3m units

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) rose 0.93 points (0.59%) to 158.37 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 55.99m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4.3 to one, with 13 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 52.84m to 3.15m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Coeur d’Alene (CDE) +0.46 (2.4%) to $19.95 on volume of 1.9m shares;
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.18 (2.2%) to $8.24 on volume of 8.95m shares;
• AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +0.51 (1.5%) to $34.61 on volume of 1.05m shares;
• Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) +0.18 (1.3%) to $13.8 on volume of 2.36m shares; and
• Barrick Gold (ABX) +0.45 (1.3%) to $34.59 on volume of 7.37m shares.

The Oil Services index (OSX) gained 0.75 points (0.33%) to 228.88 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 40.9m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2 to one, with 8 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 23.21m to 17.68m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Schlumberger (SLB) +1.02 (1.4%) to $75.35 on volume of 6.62m shares;
• Tidewater (TDW) +0.37 (0.7%) to $50.2 on volume of 0.31m shares;
• Cameron International (CAM) +0.34 (0.7%) to $52.29 on volume of 1m shares;
• Baker Hughes (BHI) +0.26 (0.5%) to $48.69 on volume of 2.51m shares; and
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.38 (0.5%) to $77.36 on volume of 1.82m shares.

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.04 (0.19%) to $21.10 on volume of 23.54m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.04 (0.14%) to $28.90 on volume of 23.18m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.17 (0.23%) to $73.68 on volume of 5.19m units.
• IBM (IBM) +0.87 (0.44%) to $199.29 on volume of 2.36m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.18 (0.67%) to $26.88 on volume of 24.84m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.16 (0.9%) to $17.54 on volume of 38.2m units.
• Google (GOOG) -0.35 (0.05%) to $642.00 on volume of 1.43m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) gained 0.03 points ( 0.06%) to 46.61 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 150.36m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.6 to one, with 13 advancers to 8 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 131.95m to 18.41m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.045 (0.7%) to $6.445 on volume of 5.79m shares;
• Comerica Inc (CMA) +0.17 (0.6%) to $30.81 on volume of 0.91m shares;
• Suntrust Banks (STI) +0.13 (0.5%) to $24.83 on volume of 3.63m shares;
• Regions Financial (RF) +0.03 (0.4%) to $7 on volume of 8.33m shares; and
• Washington Mutual (WM) +0.15 (0.4%) to $35.05 on volume of 1.22m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) gained 1.98 points (0.49%) to 405.96 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 114.97m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3 to one, with 12 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 7 9.51m to 35.46m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Broadcom (BRCM) +1.02 (3%) to $35.35 on volume of 11.25m shares;
• National Semiconductor (NSM) +0.53 (2.1%) to $25.63 on volume of 0.51m shares;
• ST Microelectronic (STM) +0.09 (1.5%) to $6.02 on volume of 1.19m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.17 (1.4%) to $12.11 on volume of 7.99m shares; and
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) +0.15 (1%) to $14.48 on volume of 12.23m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) dipped 0.05 points (0.01%) to 384.59 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 37.24m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3 to one, with 12 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 33.15m to 4.08m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Alliant Tech (ATK) -1.78 (3.4%) to $50.16 on volume of 0.34m shares;
• Rockwell Collins (COL) -0.36 (0.7%) to $49.95 on volume of 0.78m shares;
• Boeing (BA) -0.07 (0.1%) to $74.21 on volume of 2.52m shares; and
• L-3 Holdings (LLL) -0.02 (0%) to $70.39 on volume of 0.44m shares.

USRant for Thursday, August 9th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Housing Starts for July 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 208.5K losing 13.6 compared to the last data point (222.1K) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 211.5K.
• New Housing Price Index y/y for June 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 2.3% losing 0.1 compared to the last data point (2.4%) , in line with the consensus estimate of 2.3%.
• International Merchandise Trade for June 2012 was released in Canada; the series posted a reading of -1.81B a drop of 0.86 compared to the last data point (-0.95B) , which was lower than expectations of -1.00B.
• New Housing Price Index m/m for June 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was 0.2% sliding 0.1 compared to the last data point (0.3%) , in line with expectations of 0.2%.
• Wholesale Inventories for June 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -0.2% sl iding 0.2 compared to the last data point (0.0%) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 0.3%.
• Trade Balance for June 2012 was released in the US; the result was -$42.9B unchanged from the last data release for this series. , in line with expectations of -$47.5B.
• Initial Jobless Claims for August 4 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 361K losing 6 compared to the last data point (367K) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 370K.
• Continuing Claims for July 28 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 3332K gaining 53 from the prior reading of 3279K – above expectations of 3275K.
• EIA Natural Gas Storage Change for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 24 a decline of 4 compared to the last data point (28) , which was lower than the market’s pre-release guess of 30.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,165.19 points, a change of -10.45 points (-0.08%) for the session.

The session high was 13,200.23 points, while the low was down at 13,125.09 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 360.44m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.3 to one, with 16 advancers to 12 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 240.62m to 85.84m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• American Express (AXP) -1.44 (2.5%) to $56.47 on volume of 5.81m shares;
• Disney Corp (DIS) -0.53 (1%) to $49.96 on volume of 10.11m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.24 (0.6%) to $36.92 on volume of 20.95m shares;
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.46 (0.6%) to $73.85 on volume of 4.92m shares; and
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.45 (0.6%) to $77.03 on volume of 2.26m shares.

The S&P500 Index gained +0.58 points (0.04%) to 1402.80 points..

Total volume traded in th e 500 components of the index was 1.97bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.2 to one, with 238 advancers to 199 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.27bn to 656.55m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• MBIA Inc. (MBI) +1.3 (14.8%) to $10.06 on volume of 8.53m shares;
• MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) +0.32 (14%) to $2.6 on volume of 10.58m shares;
• Electronic Data Systems (EDS) +0.18 (9%) to $2.18 on volume of 0.02m shares;
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) +0.55 (6.9%) to $8.57 on volume of 18.53m shares; and
• CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) +1.98 (6.4%) to $33.08 on volume of 5.76m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite rose +7.39 points (0.25%) to 3018.64 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose +5.59 points (0.21%) to 2719.61 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 578.3m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.2 to one, with 46 advancers to 40 decliners. Adv ancing volume exceeded declining volume by 321.43m to 250.75m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) +0.54 (12.2%) to $4.96 on volume of 6.83m shares;
• NII Holdings (NIHD) +0.49 (7.9%) to $6.66 on volume of 9.15m shares;
• Logitech International (LOGI) +0.35 (4.2%) to $8.76 on volume of 1.04m shares;
• NVIDIA (NVDA) +0.48 (3.4%) to $14.71 on volume of 19.05m shares; and
• Juniper Networks (JNPR) +0.63 (3.4%) to $19.4 on volume of 10.22m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 0.04 points (0.26%) to 15.28 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index declined 0.55 points (3.24%) to 16.42 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3193 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 2.94bn shares. A total of 1695 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.86bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1368 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1bn shares. 136 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 10 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2587 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.65bn shares. A total of 1355 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.98bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1110 losers, and total declining volume was 0.64bn shares. 62 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 40 sha res dipped to new 1-year lows.

ow Darlings

• Caterpillar (CAT) +1.18 (1.4%) to $88.4 on volume of 6.2m units
• Home Depot (HD) +0.36 (0.7%) to $53.15 on volume of 7.6m units
• Alcoa (AA) +0.06 (0.7%) to $8.86 on volume of 15.8m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.05 (0.7%) to $7.72 on volume of 53.9m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.17 (0.6%) to $30.5 on volume of 22.9m units

Dow Duds:

• American Express (AXP) -1.44 (2.5%) to $56.47 on volume of 5.8m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) -0.53 (1%) to $49.96 on volume of 10.1m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.24 (0.6%) to $36.92 on volume of 20.9m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.46 (0.6%) to $73.85 on volume of 4.9m units
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.45 (0.6%) to $77.03 on volume of 2.3m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.05 (0.7%) to $7.72 on volume of 53.9m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.05 (0.2%) to $21.06 on volume of 27.3m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.1 (0.4%) to $26.7 on volume of 26.1m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.17 (0.6%) to $30.5 on volume of 22.9m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.04 (0.2%) to $23.87 on volume of 22.6m units

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) gained 1.94 points (1.25%) to 157.44 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 54.57m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15 to one, with 15 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 53.67m to 0.89m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Coeur d’Alene (CDE) +0.73 (3.9%) to $19.49 on volume of 2.85m shares;
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) +3.56 (3.8%) to $98.28 on volume of 0.52m shares;
• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.39 (3%) to $13.47 on volume of 0.56m shares;
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.23 (2.9%) to $8.06 on volume of 10.64m shares; and
• Harmony Gold (HMY) +0.26 (2.6%) to $10.14 on volume of 0.85m shares.

The Oil Services index (OSX) rose 2.62 points (1.16%) to 228.13 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 53.33m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 5 to one, with 10 advancers to 2 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 52.24m to 1.09m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.42 (2.8%) to $15.63 on volume of 16.4m shares;
• Weatherford International (WFT) +0.34 (2.7%) to $13.07 on volume of 7.42m shares;
• Baker Hughes (BHI) +0.91 (1.9%) to $48.43 on volume of 4.11m shares;
• Halliburton (HAL) +0.43 (1.2%) to $35.05 on volume of 10.23m shares; and
• Noble Corp (NE) +0.43 (1.1%) to $38.22 on volume of 2.48m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows –

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.3%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.05 (0.24%) to $21.06 on volume of 27.28m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0 (0%) to $28.86 on volume of 15.37m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.46 (0.62%) to $73.85 on volume of 4.92m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.61 (0.31%) to $198.42 on volume of 1.9m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.10 (0.38%) to $26.70 on volume of 26.07m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.54 (3.15%) to $17.70 on volume of 60.6m units.
• Google (GOOG) +0.12 (0.02%) to $642.35 on volume of 1.05m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.05 points (0.11%) to 46.58 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 166m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.8 to one, with 14 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 102.2m to 37.58m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Suntrust Banks (STI) +0.32 (1.3%) to $24.7 on volume of 3.52m shares;
• State Street (STT) +0.43 (1%) to $41.81 on volume of 2.36m shares;
• Regions Financial (RF) +0.05 (0.7%) to $6.97 on volume of 14.47m shares;
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.05 (0.7%) to $7.72 on volume of 53.89m shares; and
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.03 (0.5%) to $6.4 on volume of 5.23m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) added 2.83 points (0.71%) to 403.98 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 127.06m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.8 to one, with 11 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 67.56m to 57. 18m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) +0.24 (1.7%) to $14.33 on volume of 8.48m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) +0.43 (1.3%) to $34.33 on volume of 7.69m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.14 (1.2%) to $11.94 on volume of 7.24m shares;
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) +0.55 (1%) to $53.06 on volume of 1.52m shares; and
• Altera (ALTR) +0.34 (0.9%) to $36.87 on volume of 2.98m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) added 1.65 points (0.43%) to 384.64 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 41.74m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.2 to one, with 7 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 32.55m to 7.6m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Alliant Tech (ATK) +3.46 (7.1%) to $51.94 on volume of 0.84m shares;
• L-3 Holdings (LLL) +0.65 (0.9%) to $70.41 on volume of 0.47m shares;
• Nor throp Grummanl (NOC) +0.55 (0.8%) to $68.4 on volume of 1.58m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) +0.14 (0.7%) to $20.69 on volume of 1.27m shares; and
• Raytheon (RTN) +0.21 (0.4%) to $55.96 on volume of 1.08m shares.

USRant for Wednesday, August 8th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Non-Farm Productivity for December P 2012 was released in the US; the result was 1.6% advancing 2.1 from the prior reading of -0.5% – above expectations of 1.4%.
• Unit Labor Costs for December P 2012 was released in the US; the result was 1.7% a drop of 3.9 compared to the last data point (5.6%) – above the market’s pre-release guess of 0.5%.
• MBA Mortgage Applications for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -1.8% a decline of 2 compared to the last data point (0.2%)
• DOE U.S. Crude Oil Inventories for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the result was -3729K a gain of 2793 from the prior reading of -6522K , which was lower than expectations of -1550K.
• DOE Cushing OK Crude Inventory for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the result was -802K gaining 583 from the prior reading of -1385K
• DOE U.S. Distillate Inventory for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the result was -724K advancing 250 from the prior reading of -974K , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 250K.
• DOE U.S. Gasoline Inventories for August 3 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -1801K gaining 373 from the prior reading of -2174K , which was lower than expectations of -1750K.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,175.64 points, a change of +7.04 points (0.05%) for the session.

The session high was 13,202.65 points, while the low was down at 13,115.24 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 434.69m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.5 to one, with 17 advancers to 11 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 247.39m to 111.37m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.45 (2.4 %) to $19.41 on volume of 43.83m shares;
• Alcoa (AA) +0.2 (2.3%) to $8.8 on volume of 20.46m shares;
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.68 (1.4%) to $50.49 on volume of 14.14m shares;
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.7175 (1%) to $74.31 on volume of 6.15m shares; and
• Procter & Gamble (PG) +0.5 (0.8%) to $66.72 on volume of 8.99m shares.

The S&P500 Index added +0.87 points (0.06%) to 1402.22 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.03bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.4 to one, with 254 advancers to 185 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.35bn to 590.3m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Dean Foods (DF) +5.04 (40.6%) to $17.46 on volume of 30.07m shares;
• Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) +4.01 (15.7%) to $29.53 on volume of 7.36m shares;
• MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) +0.22 (10.7%) to $2.28 on volume of 31.19m shares;
• International Flav/Frag (IFF) +5.49 (9.7%) to $62.01 on volume of 1.88m shares; and
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.38 (9.5%) to $4.4 on volume of 43.25m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 4.61 points (0.15%) to 3011.25 points. while the Nasdaq100 dipped 3.14 points (0.12%) to 2714.02 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 766m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.1 to one, with 47 advancers to 42 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 599.55m to 164.89m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Expedia (EXPE) -2.73 (4.6%) to $56.14 on volume of 7.81m shares;
• Liberty Media (LINTA) -0.31 (1.6%) to $19.25 on volume of 8.02m shares;
• Monster Worldwide (MNST) -1.09 (1.6%) to $67.77 on volume of 2.65m shares;
• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) -0.07 (1.6%) to $4.42 on volume of 3.97m shares; and
• Fastenal (FAST) -0.66 (1.5%) to $42.88 on volume of 1m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index lost 0.68 points (4.25%) to 15.31 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index fell 0.38 points (2.18%) to 17.03 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3159 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 3.03bn shares. A total of 1539 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.83bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1504 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.09bn shares. 135 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 14 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2609 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.83bn shares. A total of 1085 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.1bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1393 losers, and total declining volume was 0.68bn shares. 68 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 37 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.45 (2.4%) to $19.41 on volume of 43.8m units
• Alcoa (AA) +0.2 (2.3%) to $8.8 on volume of 20.5m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.68 (1.4%) to $50.49 on volume of 14.1m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.7175 (1%) to $74.31 on volume of 6.2m units
• Procter & Gamble (PG) +0.5 (0.8%) to $66.72 on volume of 9m units

Dow Duds:

• McDonalds (MCD) -1.48 (1.7%) to $87.53 on volume of 13.7m units
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.64 (0.8%) to $77.48 on volume of 2.9m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.29 (0.7%) to $44.18 on volume of 9.9m units
• General Electric (GE) -0.11 (0.5%) to $21.01 on volume of 28.9m units
• Coca-Cola (KO) -0.21 (0.3%) to $79.56 on volume of 3.9m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) unchanged at $7.67 on volume of 70.3m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.45 (2.4%) to $19.41 on volume of 43.8m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.11 (0.5%) to $21.01 on volume of 28.9m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.09 (0.4%) to $23.83 on volume of 28.6m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.1 (0.4%) to $26.6 on volume of 26.5m units

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) fell 0.65 points (0.42%) to 155.5 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 65.32m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.2 to one, with 11 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 34.15m to 31.17m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• AngloGold Ashanti (AU) -0.8 (2.3%) to $33.8 on volume of 1.44m shares;
• Harmony Gold (HMY) -0.11 (1.1%) to $9.88 on volume of 1.4m shares;
• Barrick Gold (ABX) -0.25 (0.7%) to $33.78 on volume of 6.76m shares;
• GoldCorp (GG) -0.24 (0.6%) to $36.89 on volume of 4.03m shares; and
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) -0.58 (0.6%) to $94.72 on volume of 0.38m shares.

The Oil Services index (OSX) dropped 0.06 points (0.03%) to 225.51 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 49.6m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.4 to one, with 7 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 36.92m to 12.69m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

• Baker Hughes (BHI) -0.69 (1.4%) to $47.52 on volume of 3.6m shares;
• Transocean Inc (RIG) -0.68 (1.4%) to $48.32 on volume of 2.54m shares;
• Noble Corp (NE) -0.52 (1.4%) to $37.79 on volume of 2.08m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -0.41 (0.5%) to $76.34 on volume of 2.48m shares; and
• Cameron International (CAM) -0.2 (0.4%) to $51.89 on volume of 1.98m shares.

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.11 (0.52%) to $21.01 on volume of 28.95m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0.03 (0.1%) to $28.86 on volume of 19.82m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.7175 (0.97%) to $74.31 on volume of 6.15m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.05 (0.03%) to $199.03 on volume of 1.88m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.10 (0.38%) to $26.60 on volume of 26.48m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.02 (0.12%) to $17.16 on volume of 24.53m units.
• Google (GOOG) +1.69 (0.26%) to $642.23 on volume of 1.27m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) gained 0.05 poi nts (0.11%) to 46.53 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 186.11m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.9 to one, with 13 advancers to 7 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 71.41m to 44.43m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) +0.27 (1.2%) to $22.57 on volume of 6.96m shares;
• Keycorp (KEY) +0.09 (1.1%) to $8.34 on volume of 8.06m shares;
• People’s United (PBCT) +0.08 (0.7%) to $11.94 on volume of 2.87m shares;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.07 (0.5%) to $14.3 on volume of 7.48m shares; and
• PNC Financial (PNC) +0.27 (0.4%) to $61.04 on volume of 2m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) added 1.09 points (0.27%) to 401.15 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 157.32m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.5 to one, with 9 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 130.51m to 25.41m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.38 (9.5%) to $4.4 on volume of 43.25m shares;
• National Semiconductor (NSM) +0.64 (2.6%) to $24.97 on volume of 0.51m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.12 (1%) to $11.8 on volume of 7.97m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) +0.07 (1%) to $6.89 on volume of 31.81m shares; and
• Texas Instruments (TXN) +0.13 (0.4%) to $29.36 on volume of 7.84m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) added 0.47 points (0.12%) to 382.99 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 45.05m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.3 to one, with 9 advancers to 7 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 35.09m to 9.96m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Esterline Tech (ESL) +0.83 (1.5%) to $54.92 on volume of 0.23m shares;
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) +0.65 ( 1%) to $67.85 on volume of 1.65m shares;
• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.18 (0.7%) to $25.91 on volume of 0.66m shares;
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) +0.57 (0.6%) to $90.89 on volume of 0.95m shares; and
• L-3 Holdings (LLL) +0.38 (0.5%) to $69.76 on volume of 0.61m shares.

USRant for Tuesday, August 7th 2012

by Kratoklastes in Markets, US

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Building Permits m/m for June 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was -2.5% a drop of 9.6 compared to the last data point (7.1%) – above the consensus estimate of -3.9%.
• Ivey Purchasing Managers Index s.a. for July 2012 was released in Canada; the series posted a reading of 62.8 advancing 13.8 from the prior reading of 49.0 – above the market’s pre-release guess of 52.0.
• Consumer Credit for June 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of $6.459B unchanged from the last data release for this series. , in line with the market’s pre-release guess of $10.250B.
• JOLTs Job Openings for June 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 3762 adding 105 from the prior reading of 3657 – above expectations of 3717.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,168.60 points, a cha nge of +51.09 points (0.39%) for the session.

The session high was 13,215.97 points, while the low was down at 13,118.42 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 526.46m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.8 to one, with 22 advancers to 8 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 402.47m to 123.99m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• General Motors (GM) +0.57 (2.9%) to $20.42 on volume of 9.27m shares;
• Boeing (BA) +1.57 (2.2%) to $74.46 on volume of 4.33m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.71 (2%) to $37.01 on volume of 35.74m shares;
• United Technologies (UTX) +1.47 (1.9%) to $78.12 on volume of 4.56m shares; and
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.27 (1.4%) to $18.96 on volume of 18.22m shares.

The S&P500 Index added +7.12 points (0.51%) to 1401.35 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.25bn shares. Advancers out paced decliners by 3.1 to one, with 334 advancers to 107 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.73bn to 505.49m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +1.67 (9.4%) to $19.37 on volume of 41.3m shares;
• Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) +0.42 (9%) to $5.08 on volume of 10.19m shares;
• MGIC Investment (MTG) +0.075 (7.5%) to $1.07 on volume of 13.33m shares;
• Terex Corp.” (TEX) +1.29 (6.5%) to $21.2 on volume of 5.35m shares; and
• Applied Materials (AMAT) +0.59 (5.2%) to $11.87 on volume of 20.01m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced +25.95 points (0.87%) to 3015.86 points. while the Nasdaq100 added +23.07 points (0.86%) to 2717.16 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 690.04m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.5 to one, with 69 advancers to 20 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 589.18m to 97.25m sha res. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Flextronics International (FLEX) +0.4 (6.3%) to $6.74 on volume of 11.08m shares;
• Applied Materials (AMAT) +0.59 (5.2%) to $11.87 on volume of 20.01m shares;
• Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) +0.56 (5%) to $11.68 on volume of 12.54m shares;
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) +4.84 (4.9%) to $102.64 on volume of 3.43m shares; and
• Sears Holdings (SHLD) +2.3 (4.6%) to $52.68 on volume of 0.6m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index added +0.03 points (0.19%) to 15.98 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index dipped 0.17 points (0.97%) to 17.40 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3184 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 3.49bn shares. A total of 1989 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 2.42bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1080 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.03bn shares. 191 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 12 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2606 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.86bn shares. A total of 1604 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.47bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 884 losers, and total declining volume was 0.37bn shares. 87 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 35 sha res dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Boeing (BA) +1.57 (2.2%) to $74.46 on volume of 4.3m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.71 (2%) to $37.01 on volume of 35.7m units
• United Technologies (UTX) +1.47 (1.9%) to $78.12 on volume of 4.6m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.27 (1.4%) to $18.96 on volume of 18.2m units
• Alcoa (AA) +0.1 (1.2%) to $8.6 on volume of 13.6m units

Dow Duds:

• Pfizer (PFE) -0.52 (2.1%) to $23.74 on volume of 54.5m units
• Merck (MRK) -0.49 (1.1%) to $44 on volume of 9.7m units
• Coca-Cola (KO) -0.87 (1.1%) to $79.77 on volume of 6m units
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) -0.55 (0.8%) to $68.29 on volume of 10.8m units
• McDonalds (MCD) -0.68 (0.8%) to $89.01 on volume of 5m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.03 (0.4%) to $7.67 on volume of 117.4m units
• Pfizer (PFE)-0.52 (2.1%) to $23.74 on volume of 54.5m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.71 (2%) to $37.01 on volume of 35.7m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.15 (0.7%) to $21.12 on volume of 28.2m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.31 (1%) to $30.26 on volume of 27.9m units

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) advanced 2.05 points (1.33%) to 156.15 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 55.71m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 6.5 to one, with 13 advancers to 2 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 48.88m to 5.13m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Coeur d’Alene (CDE) +0.96 (5.5%) to $18.39 on volume of 2.25m shares;
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) +0.93 (2.7%) to $35.27 on volume of 14.99m shares;
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) +2.27 (2.4%) to $95.3 on volume of 0.39m shares;
• GoldCorp (GG) +0.83 (2.3%) to $37.15 on volume of 3.48m shares; and
• Barrick Gold (ABX) +0.67 (2%) to $34.03 on volume of 7.12m shares.

The Oil Services index (OSX) rose 2.7 points (1.21%) to 225.57 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 58.23m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 12 of the 15 index components rose, with total upside volume of 58.23mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Weatherford International (WFT) +0.4 (3.3%) to $12.66 on volume of 9.26m shares;
• Baker Hughes (BHI) +1.04 (2.2%) to $48.21 on volume of 4.26m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.28 (1.9%) to $14.73 on volume of 9.46m shares;
• Halliburton (HAL) +0.58 (1.7%) to $34.4 on volume of 13.52m shares; and
• Schlumberger (SLB) +1.21 (1.7%) to $73.61 on volume of 6.95m shares.

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.6%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.15 (0.72%) to $21.12 on volume of 28.17m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.33 (1.16%) to $28.89 on volume of 37.12m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.29 (0.39%) to $73.99 on volume of 7.56m units.
• IBM (IBM) +1.17 (0.59%) to $199.93 on volume of 2.99m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.19 (0.72%) to $26.50 on volume of 26.96m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.45 (2.7%) to $17.14 on volume of 41.46m units.
• Google (GOOG) -2.28 (0.35%) to $640.54 on volume of 1.98m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) advanced 0.36 poi nts (0.78%) to 46.48 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 287.96m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 6 to one, with 18 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 253.93m to 34.03m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) +0.58 (2.7%) to $22.3 on volume of 6.62m shares;
• State Street (STT) +0.82 (2%) to $41.31 on volume of 3.73m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.71 (2%) to $37.01 on volume of 35.74m shares;
• People’s United (PBCT) +0.21 (1.8%) to $11.86 on volume of 4.27m shares; and
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.25 (1.8%) to $14.23 on volume of 9.81m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) added 7.98 points (2.04%) to 400.06 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 172.23m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15 to one, with 15 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 16 1.57m to 10.67m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Applied Materials (AMAT) +0.59 (5.2%) to $11.87 on volume of 20.01m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.56 (5%) to $11.68 on volume of 12.54m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) +0.25 (3.8%) to $6.82 on volume of 42.85m shares;
• Altera (ALTR) +1.27 (3.6%) to $36.73 on volume of 5.92m shares; and
• Texas Instruments (TXN) +0.99 (3.5%) to $29.23 on volume of 14.46m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) rose 4.11 points (1.09%) to 382.52 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 47.98m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15 to one, with 15 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 47.44m to 0.54m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.72 (2.9%) to $25.73 on volume of 0.95m shares;
• Alliant Tech (ATK) +1.34 (2.8%) to $48.58 on volume of 0.22m shares;
• Gencorp (GY) +0.18 (2.3%) to $8.15 on volume of 0.27m shares;
• Boeing (BA) +1.57 (2.2%) to $74.46 on volume of 4.33m shares; and
• United Technologies (UTX) +1.47 (1.9%) to $78.12 on volume of 4.56m shares.