Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Stocks Finish at Session Highs ahead of Fed Announcement

Indices
S&P 500 1,246.00 +.55%
DJIA 10,973.56 +.45%
NASDAQ 2,111.84 +.55%
Russell 2000 688.04 +.16%
Wilshire 5000 12,518.20 +.47%
S&P Barra Growth 576.40 +.49%
S&P Barra Value 667.92 +.60%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 599.92 +.10%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 802.08 +.41%
Morgan Stanley Technology 481.19 +.58%
Transports 4,730.60 +.56%
Utilities 408.63 +.51%
Put/Call .83 -15.31%
NYSE Arms .75 -50.36%
Volatility(VIX) 15.79 -3.72%
ISE Sentiment 140.00 -2.78%
US Dollar 86.67 +.23%
CRB 338.19 +.33%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 72.34 +.21%
Unleaded Gasoline 220.59 +.34%
Natural Gas 5.88 -3.60%
Heating Oil 194.60 +.44%
Gold 581.20 +.03%
Base Metals 205.08 +1.37%
Copper 315.05 -1.15%
10-year US Treasury Yield 5.24% +.83%

Leading Sectors
Energy +1.82%
Gaming +1.62%
Steel +1.44%

Lagging Sectors
Alternative Energy -.94%
Airlines -.99%
Restaurants -1.15%

Evening Review
Detailed Market Summary
Market Gauges
Daily ETF Performance
Style Performance
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
S&P 500 Gallery View
Economic Calendar
Timely Economic Charts
GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Movers
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
CSFB:
- Rated (FRX) and (BRL) Outperform.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- A tsunami alert system for nations bordering the Indian Ocean is up and running, 18 months after deadly waves triggered by an earthquake slammed into 12 nations across the region and killed an estimated 220,000 people.
- BP Plc(BP) manipulated the price of propane used to heat homes and businesses in the northeastern US in February 2004 and tried to do the same in April 2003, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.
- Walt Disney(DIS) named former Procter & Gamble CEO John E. Pepper as its non-executive chairman, succeeding former US Senator George Mitchell.
- Henry Paulson, confirmed today by the US Senate to become Treasury Secretary, said faster global economic growth will help reduce lopsided global trade and investment flows.

AP:
- Sunni insurgents offered to stop attacks on US-led military forces in Iraq if the Iraqi government and President Bush set a two-year deadline for withdrawing all foreign troops.

Financial Times Deutschland:
- Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) aims to win Dell Inc.(DELL) as a customer for its personal computer chips after agreeing to equip Dell servers, citing AMD strategist Margaret Lewis.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly higher today on gains in my Internet longs, Retail longs and Biotech longs. I covered some of my (EEM), (IWM) and (QQQQ) shorts earlier in the day, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market was modestly positive today as the advance/decline line finished slightly higher, sector performance was mixed and volume was below average. Measures of investor anxiety were lower into the close. Overall, today's market performance was mildly bullish. A number of market leading stocks posted outsized gains. As well, bears were unable to capitalize on yesterday's weakness. The 4-basis-point rise in the 10-year yield likely capped an otherwise more vigorous rally. I suspect long-term rates may fall on tomorrow's Fed rate hike. Natural gas is trading at new cycle lows, falling another 4%. I continue to expect stocks to finish the last two days strongly.

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