Market Reflections 9/24/2009

Jobless claims showed solid improvement but were overshadowed by disappointment in existing home sales which ended a streak of gains. The dip in existing home sales played into defensiveness ahead of the G20 meeting. Calls from Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi to limit market speculation made for big declines across commodities including oil which lost $2-1/2 to $66.00 and gold which lost nearly $20 to $995. The move to safety was a big plus for the dollar index which rose 0.6 percent to 76.90. The S&P fell 1 percent to 1,050. Treasury yields edged lower with demand at the 7-year auction especially strong. The 7-year yield ended at 2.99 percent, 1-1/2 basis points lower than the auction's stop-out rate.