Thread: Market News

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.3. The futures market continues to improve heading into the opening bell, so much so that it now suggests the indices will open mixed. Nasdaq 100 futures are now trading slightly above fair value as the belief that three heavy days of selling is overdone implies a possible bounce. The tech-heavy Composite is down 2.8% this week while the Dow and S&P 500 are down 2.9% and 3.0%, respectively.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/..._ge/oil_prices

NEW YORK - Oil futures fell Friday on a wave of profit-taking that followed a surge in prices a day earlier. News that Cyclone Gonu had spared major oil installations in the Gulf of Oman also alleviated supply concerns.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell 62 cents to $66.31 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping as low as $65.55 early in the session.

Not exactly market news, but it sure is sweet!!!

Paris Hilton was taken from a courtroom screaming and crying Friday seconds after a judge ordered her returned to jail to serve out her entire 45-day sentence for a parole violation in a reckless driving case.
"It's not right!" shouted the weeping Hilton. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in the audience.

12:00 pm : Despite lacking significant evidence to support the sustainability of Friday's reflex rally, especially with interest rates back on the rise, stocks have recently found their way back into positive territory.
It is worth noting, though, that gains are modest in scope, market breadth is still bearish, and sector leadership is mixed, with Energy (+1.2&#37 at session highs as oil spikes to its best levels of the day. After posting its biggest one-day decline in about two months, crude for July delivery is rebounding to the tune of 1.4% and now near $65.70/bbl.
The rate-sensitive Financials sector's ability to shrug off another day of rising bond yields is also noteworthy. Among the sector's best performers are Wachovia (WB 53.67 +0.69), which is up 1.3% after being upgraded, and Lehman Brothers (LEH 75.23 +1.04), which is surging 1.4% in anticipation of a strong report tomorrow. Recent turnarounds in Technology, Health Care, and Industrials are also acting as sources of support even though their intraday gains remain minimal.
Meanwhile, today marking the first Monday in quite a while without a wave of notable deal-making news is preventing the bulls from more aggressively recouping some of last week's pullback. The market (e.g. Dow, Nasdaq) closed higher for the 12th straight Friday, in part due to Monday mornings typically seeing a spate of M&A activity.
Of the five sectors trading lower, Materials (-0.7%) leads the way amid weakness in one of the market's more momentum-driven areas -- Steel (-4.8%), which is still up 28% year to date. It is today's worst performing S&P industry group after ThyssenKrupp denied it is in talks to acquire U.S. Steel (X 117.56 -7.49)

Briefing.com
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.5. Early indications are pointing to a lower open for the cash market as yesterday's lackluster finish further underscores the recent change in sentiment and market's newfound tendency to sell into strength.
Another jump in interest rates is certainly not helping matters while Texas Instruments (TXN) merely tightening, not raising, its Q2 guidance last night is also contributing to the negative disposition.

Briefing.com
3:00 pm : Selling remains the name of the game headlining into the final stretch as rates continue to climb. The renewed sell-off across the Treasury complex leaves the yield on the 10-year note at 5.24%, which will be the highest closing yield since mid 2002.

Briefing.com
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.3. After languishing below fair value most of the morning, futures indications now suggest stocks will bounce back from yesterday's widespread sell-off. A rebound in Treasuries shaving four basis points off the 10-year yield has helped improve sentiment, even though real rates at 5.28% are still at five-year highs.
However, bargain hunters aren't exactly racing to get back into equities and view Tuesday's dip as the latest buying opportunity since this week's batch of economic data picks up in earnest at the bottom of the hour. After a decline in April, retail sales for May are expected to rebound; but stronger than expected readings may feed the overblown concerns about the potential for a Fed rate hike that have contributed to the spike in interest rates.

Briefing.com
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.5. As expected, retails sales rebounded in May, checking in with a strong 1.4% rise (consensus 0.6%). The more closely-watched sales, ex-autos, rose 1.3% (consensus 0.7%) to further suggest that consumer spending remains healthy. Import prices surged a larger than expected 0.9% in May, perhaps stirring inflation concerns.
With the market more sensitive to the potential of stronger than expected data diminishing the likelihood of a Fed rate cut anytime soon, the futures market has pulled back and now points to a flat open for equities. Bonds have also weakened as the 10-year note is now down three ticks to yield 5.30%.

Briefing.com
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +6.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.8. Upon further analysis of the surprisingly strong retail sales data, buyers of both stocks and bonds are coming back into the market. Evidently the yield on the 10-year note climbing as high as 5.32% earlier finally caught the attention of some income-oriented investors looking to take advantage of the Treasury market's oversold condition. With stocks following bonds nearly in lockstep of late, the turnaround in Treasuries and the belief a bottom has also formed in equities now signal a higher open for the major averages.

10-year yield... After gapping up following econ data, yield now sees aggressive move lower :

The pre-mkt high for the 10-year yield was 5.316%; it has now reversed down to 5.253%.

The Fed's Beige Book is due at 14:00 & Greenspan will talk at noon