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Today's Market Update with...

Ron Romaine, Value Line's Senior Industry Analyst

May 09, 2008 - 12:31 AM ET

Stocks and interest rates fall as oil hits another record.

At noon today, after a bad day in Europe where all but one national market declined, there was red across the Street. The Dow Jones Industrials had lost 118 points, to 12,748; the S&P 500 was down 11, to 1387; the NASDAQ Composite had given up 21, to 2439; the Russell 2000 small cap index was off 2 and change, to 717; and the equally weighted Value Line arithmetic index had fallen 9 points, to 2155. Leading the Dow's decline were American International (AIG), General Motors (GM), United Technologies (UTX), and DuPont (DD), retreating 2% to 7.8%. No Dow 30 stock was up a percent or more. NASDAQ losers featured Steel Dynamics (STLD), Hansen Natural (HANS), Focus Media (FMCN), and Level 3 (LVLT), slipping 3.4% to 5.6%. Leap Wireless (LEAP), Activision (ATVI), Nvidia (NVDA), and Liberty International (LINTA) advanced 4.1% to 8.6%.

After touching a record $126 a barrel, the near-month crude oil contract was at $124.92 a barrel, up a percent, and the current natural gas contract was up a percent, to $11.40 per thousand cubic feet, the highest quote in over two years. Gold eased $5, to $887.10 an ounce.

Finally smelling recession, bonds, ever contrarian, rose, pushing rates down 6 basis points, to 3.75% for the 10-year Treasury note and 4.51% for the 30-year bond.

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