Nymex Crude settled at $62.45 a barrel, setting a new record high for 2009. Thursday is the scheduled meeting in Vienna, Austria for OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi indicated that OPEC would "probably stay the course" regarding oil production although, al-Naimi anticipates the demand for oil to increase, possibly pushing prices up to $75 a barrel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy today said he wants oil-rich countries and the world's biggest powers to work together to help stabilize oil prices. Since February oil has moved higher by approximately 81% where it was trading at around $34 a barrel. Last July oil was trading at its record high of $147.27 a barrel.

Fed Discount Rate Minutes show that bankers are expressing concern about the economy and that the economy appears to be still contracting. Some bankers noted concerns about implications of the weakness in the labor market. Some bankers thought activity in some sectors could be showing signs of stabilizing however there are incipient signs that contraction could be slowing.

Worries continue over whether General Motors (GM) will in fact, file for bankruptcy protection sometime before the end of next week. Should GM proceed with filing for bankruptcy, any shareholders value, will be gone. GM continues to face resistance from bondholders who continue to refuse to accept any deal with the vote on a proposal expected tonight before midnight ET. News was out today that the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) Benefits decision comes in response to GM as it continues to struggle to stay afloat. UAW says the Treasury 'Insisted' on immediate benefit cuts.

Improved consumer confidence put investors and traders, into the buying mood today with the DOW ahead in the high triple digit figures into the afternoon trading session. However, trading action was extremely tight for the session as many traders took an extended vacation after the extended weekend holiday and stayed out of the markets for today. Apple (AAPL) provided quite a stir in action today after an upgrade gave a boost to share value.

Digital Sky Technologies from Russia pumped $200 million into Facebook. Previously Facebook had received a injection of $400 million from Microsoft (MSFT), Founders fund and Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. Value of what is considered the worst ad market for an Internet company, Facebook, is set at $10 billion.

Economic data released today:

S&P/CS Home Price Indices Composite - 20:
S&P Case-Shiller March 10-City Home Price Index down 18.6% year over year; S&P Case-Shiller March 20-City Home Price Index down 18.7% year over year; S&P Case-Shiller Mar 10-City Home Price Index down 2.1% month over month; S&P Case-Shiller March 20-City Home Price Index down 2.2% month over month; S&P Case-Shiller 1Q U.S. National Home Price Index down 19.1% year over year; S&P Case-Shiller 1Q U.S. National Home Price Index down 7.5% quarter over quarter.

Consumer Confidence:
U.S. Conference Board May Consumer Confidence came in at 54.9 versus April reading at 40.8; U.S. Conference Board May Present Situation Index came in at 28.9 versus April reading at 25.5; U.S. Conference Board May Expectations Index came in at 72.3 versus April reading at 51.0.

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) triple digit gain 196.17 points, EOD 8,473.49
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit gain 146.96 points, EOD 5,936.58
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) gain 58.42 points, EOD 1,750.43
S&P 500 (SPX) gain 23.33 points, EOD 910.33
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain 0.95 points, EOD 2,065.59
CAC 40 (CAC40) gain 42.12 points, EOD 3,270.09
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain 46.43 points, EOD 4,411.72
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain 54.35 points, EOD 9,344.64

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 2,545, declined stock prices 543, unchanged stock prices 74, stock prices hitting new highs 14 and stock prices hitting new lows 6. 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: SKF shed 3.51 points, HOD $47.20, LOD $42.62, EOD $42.81; RTP gain 2.95 points, HOD $177.53, LOD $169.25, EOD $176.79; DCI gain 1.66 points, HOD $33.39, LOD $31, EOD $33.27; CME gain 8.37 points, HOD $306.29, LOD $289.50, EOD $301.63; POT gain 2.95 points, HOD $117.54, LOD $112.10, EOD $117.45; ICE gain 2.58 points, HOD $102.69, LOD $98.17, EOD $102.08; DVN gain 1.67 points, HOD $61.49, LOD $58.06, EOD $61.42.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 2,125, declined stock prices 649, unchanged stock prices 107, stock prices hitting new highs 38 and stock prices hitting new lows 8. 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: BIDU gain 5.54 points, HOD $248.65, LOD $236.50, EOD $245.44; FSLR shed 12.47 points, HOD $185.75, LOD $176.26, EOD $179.25; AAPL gain 8.22 points, HOD $130.83, LOD $124.55, EOD $130.72.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 311, declined stock prices 224, unchanged stock prices 62, stock prices hitting new highs 6 and stock prices hitting new lows 2.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) June 09: EOD 909.25; Change 24.25
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) June 09: EOD 1,413.50; Change 52.75
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) June 09: EOD 8,468; Change 208
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) June 09: EOD 571; Change 22.80
Nikkei 225 (Yen) June 09; EOD 9,505; Change 285

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7153 to U.S. Dollars 1.3981
Japanese Yen 95.02 to U.S. Dollars 0.0105
British Pound 0.6279 to U.S. Dollars 1.5927
Canadian Dollar 1.1169 to U.S. Dollars 0.8953
Swiss Franc 1.0843 to U.S. Dollars 0.9223

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (July 09) gain $0.78, EOD $62.45 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (July 09) gain $0.01, EOD $1.56 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (July 09) gain $0.01, EOD $3.64 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (June 09) gain $0.01, EOD $1.85 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (June 09) loss $5.60, EOD $953.30 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (July 09) gain $0.10, EOD $14.60 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (July 09) gain $20.20, EOD $1,139.80 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (July 09) gain $0.04, EOD $2.14 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (June 09) loss 0.40, EOD 67.18
Pork Bellies (July 09) loss 0.78 EOD 72.43
Live Cattle (June 09) gain 0.05, EOD 83.83
Feeder Cattle (August 09) gain 0.65, EOD 102.58

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (July 09) loss 2.75, EOD 427.50
Soybeans (July 09) gain 19.50, EOD 1,186.50

BOND MARKET:

2 year EOD 99 29/32, change -2/32, Yield 0.92, Yield change 0.03
5 year EOD 98 7/32, change -8/32, Yield 2.25, Yield change 0.05
10 year EOD 96 14/32, change -26/32, Yield 3.55, Yield change 0.10
30 year EOD 96 1/32, change -1 20/32, Yield  4.49, change 0.10