Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Stocks Close Higher as Commodity Prices Fall the Most in 14 Years

Indices
S&P 500 1,201.57 +.91%
DJIA 10,405.63 +1.12%
NASDAQ 2,069.89 +1.21%
Russell 2000 641.48 +2.10%
DJ Wilshire 5000 11,939.42 +.98%
S&P Barra Growth 574.50 +1.12%
S&P Barra Value 622.88 +.71%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 576.61 +1.23%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 721.94 +1.89%
Morgan Stanley Technology 476.70 +.68%
Transports 3,480.91 +2.51%
Utilities 385.95 +.98%
Put/Call .75 -21.05%
NYSE Arms .67 -47.59%
Volatility(VIX) 11.58 -7.51%
ISE Sentiment 176.00 +37.50%
US Dollar 88.99 +.61%
CRB 304.48 -2.21%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 58.30 +.17%
Unleaded Gasoline 162.60 +.07%
Natural Gas 7.07 +.03%
Heating Oil 162.50 +.28%
Gold 437.50 -.05%
Base Metals 123.51 -.64%
Copper 154.80 -.39%
10-year US Treasury Yield 3.96% +1.66%

Leading Sectors
Airlines +6.30%
Steel +3.05%
Defense +2.64%

Lagging Sectors
Gold & Silver -.62%
Energy -1.69%
Oil Service -2.10%

Evening Review
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Daily ETF Performance
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Economic Calendar
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GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Movers
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Outperform on PAYX and ADP.
- Reiterated Underperform on LEA.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- American International Group former CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg is reversing the transfer of 41 million shares of company stock to his wife.

Financial Times:
- China has pledged to improve accounting standards for its companies, bringing them closer to international practices, citing Wang Jun, assistant minister of finance.
- Richard Scrushy, the former chief executive of HealthSouth, was acquitted of directing a $2.7 billion accounting fraud that nearly bankrupted the company he built into the largest US operator of rehabilitation hospitals.
- Apple Computer cut prices on its iPod digital music players, added color screens to some models and began supporting downloadable radio programs to boost sales of the devices.
- Crude oil fell more than $2/bbl., the biggest drop in eight weeks, on speculation fuel supplies increased.
- Verizon Wireless will unveil a music-playing phone and online music service to compete with Apple Computer’s iTunes store and planned phone with Motorola.
- The dollar rallied against the euro for the first day in three as reports showed US consumer confidence at a three-year high while optimism dwindles in Germany and Italy.
- Commodity prices plunged by the most in 14 years, led by declines in crude oil, hog, corn and soybean futures.
- AIG, reporting its first results since a $3.9 billion earnings restatement, said quarterly profit rose 44% on Asian life insurance businesses and gains from derivatives.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished substantially higher on gains in my Homebuilding, Retail and Technology longs. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market was positive today as the advance/decline finished substantially higher, almost every sector rose and volume was below average. Measures of investor anxiety were lower into the close. Overall, today’s market action was positive. I would like to see better volume on a follow-through from today’s gains. I expect tomorrow's final revision to 1Q GDP to come in around expectations. I also expect to see a greater build in distillate inventories than expectations, which should lead to further declines in the price of crude.

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