Hope Fades in Late-Day Selling

There really was no good reason for stocks to start the day higher, but they did, probably in response to initial unemployment claims falling below 400,000 for the first time in three months.

The actual figure was 398,000, and was probably significantly fudged and will almost certainly be revised higher next week, but in a market this tense, anything that even hints of being good news is taken and such, so off went the speculators and day-traders, looking for quick, easy, short-term profits.

Some were undeniably successful, as a good number of stocks made significant gains and the NASDAQ rebounded nicely, up more than 30 points, after Wednesday's debacle.

Highs of the day were right around noon, and form there it was all downhill, with an especially sharp decline at the 2:00 hour. With the exception of the NASDAQ, which finished with a gain of just over one point, all of the major indices finished in the red for the fourth straight session.

Dow 12,240.11, -62.44 (0.51%)
NASDAQ 2,766.25, +1.46 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,300.67, -4.22 (0.32%)
NYSE Composite 8,124.03, -29.18 (0.36%)

Once again, declining issues led advancers, 3744-2735. NASDAQ new highs numbered a mere 18, with 83 new lows. On the NYSE, new highs were outnumbered by new lows, 25-107. This puts the combined total at 43 new highs and 190 new lows, screaming for continued selling. Volume was healthy for a change, though most of it was on the downside.

NASDAQ Volume 2,105,143,250
NYSE Volume 4,957,269,500

Commodities hugged the flat line for the most part. Crude oil was up just 4 cents, to $97.44. Gold slipped $1.70, to $1,613.40. Silver still is being suppressed by the likes of JP Morgan and HSBC, falling another 77 cents, to $39.79.

Kitco's Live 24-hour spot silver chart clearly shows that once silver is traded in the Hong Kong market, prices are relatively stable, but wild swings - mostly to the negative - occur with regularity during the NY GLOBEX and NYMEX daily sessions. The big banks have their shorts in place and have been waging a losing battle for the past three years. Despite their mendacious efforts at keeping the price of silver down, they have already failed miserably and it is only a matter of time before the entire global silver market comes unglued and price soars past $50, $60, even $70 per ounce.

Silver has been a top performer the past five years or so, and should continue to do well as the fiat currency regime comes crashing down. Price is quite high at the present, but eventually, holders will be rewarded.

It appears that there will be no debt ceiling solution before the weekend, leaving the fools in Washington with nothing else to do but pass a stand-alone debt ceiling raise, which is what should have been happening all along. The Republicans in the House have perverted and conjoined the debt ceiling with the budget and long-term finances, and they will look like the fools of the foolish when all is said and done come Tuesday.