每日市場點評 --- July 22, 2008

A late day surge in financials led the market significantly higher across the board. All three major indices finished the session higher by more than 1%, which was quite an achievement considering that futures were down as much as 1% this morning due to several poor earnings reports. From the lows of last week, the Dow has already rallied more than 800 points in just one week and much of the rally should be attributed to rising financial stocks and falling oil price. Indeed, another $3 plunge in crude price provided investors one more reason to buy shares today.

Financials and transportations were among the biggest winners for the session. The recent performance in financials was simply stunning. The Philadelphia Bank Index has gained over 40% from its lows reached early last week. On the losers’ list, we again saw names such as energies and basic materials. The CRB commodity index ended the session lower by 1.7%. From its top reached early in the month, the commodity index has already lost more than 10%. The US dollar was stronger against most major currencies while treasuries resumed its slump as money is fleeing away from previously safe heaven. The VIX index tumbled almost 2 points and closed at 21.18. Just one week ago, the index briefly broke the 30 level. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq with quite healthy volume.