Closing Market Commentary

August 27, 2008

Stocks closed higher in light trading, bolstered by news of a 1.3% jump in July durable goods orders. NYSE breadth 24-7 positive. NASDAQ breadth 18-10 positive. The durable goods orders report preceded data due Thursday on Q2 GDP, which S&P sees revised to up 2.4% from 1.9%; and Initial Jobless Claims, which S&P sees at 435,000. FRE and FNM rallied for a third day. Oil stocks rallied with oil futures, as Tropical Storm Gustav headed for the Gulf of Mexico's oil rigs. The DOE reported little change in inventories. Gold rose as the dollar index fell. Bonds were little changed./B.Egli

Closing Market Data

Provided by Standard and Poor’s