Daily Market Commentary for May 18, 2010

Wal-Mart Stores

Wal-Mart stores saw record first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ expectations. (Read more at Millennium-Traders.Com)

Economic data released today:

Building Permits:
Building Permits fell 11.5% to 606K Rate in April.

PPI (MoM):
U.S. March PPI Unrevised at +0.7%; U.S. April Passenger Car Prices rose 0.6%; U.S. April PPI Energy Prices fell 0.8%; U.S. April PPI Crude Goods fell 1.2%; Core rose4.0%; U.S. April PPI Intermediate Goods rose 0.8%; Core rose 1.1%; U.S. April PPI Ex-Food & Energy rose 0.2%; Compared to Consensus of an increase by 0.1%; U.S. April Producer Prices fell 0.1%; Compared to Consensus rose 0.1%.

Housing Starts:
March Housing Starts Revised to an increase by 5.0% from an increase by 1.6%; U.S. April Housing Starts rose 5.8% to 672K; Compared to Consensus of an increase by 3.8%.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) shed 114.88 points, EOD 10,510.95
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) shed 104.74, EOD 6,959.09
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) shed 36.59 points, EOD 2,317.64
S&P 500 (SPX) shed 16.29 points, EOD 1,120.65
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain 46.17 points, EOD 2,485.24
CAC 40 (CAC40) gain 73.77 points, EOD 3,617.32
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain 44.8 points, EOD 5,307.34
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain 6.88, EOD 10,242.64

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 727, declined stock prices 2,399, unchanged stock prices 72, stock prices hitting new highs 44 and stock prices hitting new lows 16. NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: FAS shed 2.46, HOD 28.89, LOD 25.00, EOD 25.54; GS shed 5.13, HOD 143.75, LOD 136.60, EOD 137.51; DKS shed 0.98, HOD 30.00, LOD 26.65, EOD 27.50; MA shed 8.00, HOD 214.62, LOD 195.58, EOD 202.81; V shed 4.62, HOD 76.01, LOD 68.29, EOD 70.09; HD shed 0.86, HOD 36.30, LOD 34.23, EOD 34.73; TJX shed 1.57, HOD 44.60, LOD 43.21, EOD 43.68.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 716, declined stock prices 2,041, unchanged stock prices 101, stock prices hitting new highs 59 and stock prices hitting new lows 42. NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: AAPL shed 1.86, HOD 258.55, LOD 250.26, EOD 252.36; SPRD gain 1.28, HOD 10.00, LOD 8.92, EOD 9.46; PCLN shed 7.29, HOD 206.77, LOD 192.60, EOD 192.86; BIDU shed 1.61, HOD 75.25,LOD 71.42, EOD 71.57; DNDN shed 0.04, HOD 44.88,LOD 43.05, EOD 43.36; KIRK shed 0.27, HOD 23.88,LOD 22.04, EOD 22.76.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 183, declined stock prices 304, unchanged stock prices 50, stock prices hitting new highs 8 and stock prices hitting new lows 9.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Mar 10: EOD 1119.25; Change -15.25
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Mar 10: EOD 1,885.75; Change -27.75
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Mar 10: EOD 10,492; Change -107
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Mar 10: EOD 777.90; Change -10.80
Nikkei 225 (Yen) Mar 10: EOD 10,165; Change -125

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.8191 to U.S. Dollars 1.2200
Japanese Yen 92.3650 to U.S. Dollars 0.0108
British Pound 0.6972 to U.S. Dollars 1.4300
Canadian Dollar 1.0373 to U.S. Dollars 0.9639
Swiss Franc 1.1472 to U.S. Dollars 0.8716

COMMODITY MARKETS:
Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (June 10) shed $0.67, EOD $69.41 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (June 10) shed $0.02, EOD $1.96 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (June 10) gain $0.05, EOD $4.34 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (June 10) unchanged, EOD $2.04 gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (May 10) shed $13.30, EOD $1,227.70 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (May 10) gain $0.02, EOD $18.86 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (May 10) gain $27.30, EOD $1,688.50 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (May 10) gain $0.09, EOD $3.02 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (May 10) shed $0.20, EOD $81.30
Pork Bellies (May 10) unchanged, EOD $102.25
Live Cattle (June 10) gain $0.25, EOD $92.75
Feeder Cattle (May 10) gain $0.10, EOD $109.75

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (May 10) gain $3.75, EOD $359.75
Soybeans (May 10) shed $1.50, EOD $939.50

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