News & Analysis » US

USA stock market daily report by Millenium Traders (May 1, 2009, Friday, 10.30 p.m. GMT)

Vehicle sales data for April were released today and as was expected, they were far from good. More details of car makers sales data are available lower in this commentary. Markets provided quite the whip today, bouncing in and out of negative territory throughout the trading session. At the closing bell, the major U.S. indices closed positive for the day. The swine flu continues to spread as the government tries to prevent the country from moving into a panic mode. Chrysler forced to shut down 4 plants as suppliers stop shipments.

General Motors reports 173,007 deliveries in April, all four core brands see sales increases compared with March; GM had seen 2Q North American Prod 555,000; GM Cuts 2Q North American production to 390,000 vehicles; GM April car sales down 41% to 71,775; 1Q production 171,000 vehicles, down 29%; would like to see 'continued actions by Government to stimulate sales'; April total vehicle sales 173,007 versus 260,922, down 33.7%; had 429,000 trucks in stock at end of April, including Crossovers; April Hummer sales down 62% to 913 from 2,380; inventory down 25,000 vehicles from March; April light truck sales down 27% to 100,375; April light vehicle sales 172,150 versus 257,638; April total truck sales down 28% to 101,232; 742,000 vehicles in stock at April's end, down about 10%; GM had 313,000 cars in inventory at end of April; GM April Chevrolet sales down 27% to 115,265; GM Certified Used Vehicles Saturn, Cadillac, Saab And HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned vehicles combined sold 34,079 vehicles in April; firming up of Fleet unit, improved Silverado, Sierra sales 'encouraging'; April Saturn sales down 56% to 7,367 from 16,888.

Ford Motor April Lincoln brand sales 5,973 versus 10,340; April Mercury brand sales 7,662 versus 12,910; April Volvo brand sales 4,503 versus 7,138; April Ford brand sales 116,263 versus 165,997; April light vehicle sales down 31.5%; April light trucks sales down 33%; April Ford trucks and vans sales 42,527; April Ford sport utility vehicle sales 5,178; April car sales 43,349; April light vehicle sales 133,979 versus 195,665; April light trucks sales 77,013 versus 114,873; April total vehicle sales 129,898 versus 189,247; April total truck sales 77,435 versus 115,593; April total Ford Motor Co sales 134,401; Ford, Lincoln And Mercury April sales totaled 129,898; gains retail shares as Fusion sets sales record; April combined sales of all hybrid models totaled 2,299;'encouraged by consumer response to new mid-size sedans'.

Chrysler customers eligible for cash discounts of up to $3,500 on 2009 models; April sales include a fleet reduction of 66% year-over-year; April Dodge brand sales down 48% To 43,138; retail sales, share were well above expectations; April Jeep brand sales down 42% to 19,670; brand total vehicle sales 13,874 versus 30,670, down 55%; April Truck sales down 44% to 61,119; April total car sales 15,563 versus 39,564, down 61%;  April U.S. total sales 76,682 versus 147,751, down 48%; inventory down 20 % compared with April 2008; finished April with 336,913 units; today reported April U.S. total sales of 76,682.

Toyota USA April passenger car sales 77,851 versus 134,863, down 42.3%; Total Toyota light truck sales 46,689 versus 82,837, down 41.2%; U.S. April TMS Hybrid sales 12,223; U.S. sales down 41.9%; April sales 112,345 units, down 42.2%; April Lexus light truck sales fell 26.9%; April Lexus passenger car sales fell 47.8%; April US Sales 126,540 versus 217,700; light truck sales 41,683 versus 73,253.

BMW U.S. April sales down 38%; April sales 19,362 vehicles versus 31,448.

Porsche U.S. April sales came in at 1853 versus 2863.

Nissan North America April total truck sales came in at 16,941 versus 26,865; April total car sales came in at 30,249 versus 48,990; April total vehicle sales came in at 47,190, down 37.8%; April sales came in at 47,190 versus 75,855.

Kia Motors April total sales 25,606 versus 30,066 down 14.8%.

Audi U.S. April sales 7,010 vehicles; U.S. April sales down 9.3%.

Economic data released today:

Consumer Sentiment from University of Michigan:
12-Month Inflation Forecast rose 2.8% compared to March 12-Month Inflation Forecast increase by 2.0%; 5-Year Inflation Forecast rose 2.8% compared to March 5-Year Inflation Forecast increase by 2.6%; Preliminary April Sentiment was 61.9; End-April expectations 63.1 compared to March expectations of 53.5; End-April Current index 68.3 compared to March Current index of 63.3; End-April Sentiment 65.1 compared to March Sentiment of 57.3.

ISM Manufacturing Index:
April Manufacturing PMI came in at 40.1 versus March reading of 36.3; April Manufacturing PMI expected to come in at 38.3; April Prices Index 32.0 versus March reading of 31.0; April Employment Index 34.4 versus March reading of 28.1; April New Orders Index 47.2 versus March reading of 41.2; April Production Index 40.4 versus March reading of 36.4; April Inventories Index 33.6 versus March reading of 32.2.

Factory Orders:
U.S. Factory Orders fell 0.9% in March compared to consensus of a drop by 0.5%; March Factory Orders, Excluding Transportation fell 0.9%; March Factory Orders, Excluding Defense fell 0.9%; March Durable Goods Unrevised at a drop by 0.8%; February Factory Orders revised to an increase by 0.7% from increase by 1.8.

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) gain 44.29 points, EOD 8,212.41
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain 55.40 points, EOD 5,568.76
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) gain 1.90 points, EOD 1,719.20
S&P 500 (SPX) gain 4.71 points, EOD 877.52
BEL 20 (BEL20) unchanged, EOD 1,953.35
CAC 40 (CAC40) unchanged, EOD 3,159.85
FTSE100 (UKX100) loss 0.49 points, EOD 4,243.22
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) triple digit gain 149.11 points, EOD 8,977.37

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,701, declined stock prices 955, unchanged stock prices 507, stock prices hitting new highs 8 and stock prices hitting new lows 9. 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: HIG: shed 0.91 points, HOD $11.74, LOD $9.83, EOD $10.56; MTD: gain 13.98 points, HOD $75.90, LOD $69, EOD $75.61; MET: shed 2.30 points, HOD $28.94, LOD $27.01, EOD $27.45; CME: gain 1.94 points, HOD $226.89, LOD $219.22, EOD $223.29; SKF: gain 1.39 points, HOD $59.17, LOD $56, EOD $58.40; SPG: shed 4.14 points, HOD $51, LOD $47, EOD $47.46; ESI: shed 7.06 points, HOD $100.61, LOD $92.10, EOD $93.71; HES: gain 1.40 points, HOD $56.30, LOD $54.84, EOD $56.19; V: gain 0.05 points, HOD $66.30, LOD $62.64, EOD $65.01; MA: shed 10.55 points, HOD $176, LOD $163.64, EOD $172.90; BGC: gain 5.86 points, HOD $35.88, LOD $31.20, EOD $33.00; APA: gain 4.11 points, HOD $77.89, LOD $72.70, EOD $76.97.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,430, declined stock prices 1,351, unchanged stock prices 104, stock prices hitting new highs 18 and stock prices hitting new lows 11. 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: GMCR: gain 1.97 points, HOD $78.20, LOD $70.75, EOD $74.28; FSLR: shed 5.79 points, HOD $190, LOD $176.36, EOD $181.50; JRCC: gain 4.23 points, HOD $18.58, LOD $16.10, EOD $18.47; BIDU: gain 2.48 points, HOD $238.22, LOD $230.87, EOD $235.38; AMAG: gain 6.55 points, HOD $55, LOD $48.47, EOD $51.40.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 320, declined stock prices 191, unchanged stock prices 84, stock prices hitting new highs 6 and stock prices hitting new lows 3.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) June 09: EOD 876.50; Change 6.50
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) June 09: EOD 1,398.75; Change 5.25
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) June 09: EOD 8,184; Change 58
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) June 09: EOD 557.30; Change -2.70
Nikkei 225 (Yen) June 09; EOD 9,110; Change 250

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7539 to U.S. Dollars 1.3264
Japanese Yen 99.27 to U.S. Dollars 0.0101
British Pound 0.6705 to U.S. Dollars 1.4914
Canadian Dollar 1.1848 to U.S. Dollars 0.8440
Swiss Franc 1.1361 to U.S. Dollars 0.8802

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (June 09) gain $2.08, EOD $52.84 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (June 09) gain $0.01, EOD $1.39 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (June 09) gain $0.03, EOD $3.55 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (May 09) gain $0.05, EOD $1.52 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (June 09) shed $3.00, EOD $888.20 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (July 09) gain $0.18, EOD $12.50 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (July 09) shed $10.20, EOD $1,096.40 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (July 09) gain $0.05, EOD $2.10 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (June 09) gain 1.05, EOD 65.58
Pork Bellies (July 09) gain 3.00, EOD 78.13
Live Cattle (June 09) shed 0.40, EOD 82.10
Feeder Cattle (August 09) shed 1.18, EOD 98.45

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (July 09) gain 10.25, EOD 414
Soybeans (July 09) gain 36.00, EOD 1,091

BOND MARKET:

2 year EOD 99 29/32, change -1/32, Yield 0.90 Yield change 0
5 year EOD 99 10/32, change 0, Yield 2.01, Yield change 0
10 year EOD 96 18/32, change -10/32, Yield 3.26, Yield change 0.04
30 year EOD 90 1/32, change -21/32, Yield 4.08, Yield change 0.04