One of the unique features of this site is that we follow smart money by checking government's COT report. The delayed report was released on Monday afternoon, I was busy yesterday and I feel the need to make a table and publish the results today. Here is the table:
| Index | Trader Group | 11/19/2007 | 11/26/2007 | Difference | Dow | Commercials | -69 | 292 | 361 | Nasdaq | Commercials | 10273 | 6569 | -3704 | S&P 500 | Commercials | 45139 | 33256 | -11883 | Russ | Commercials | 4776 | 4855 | 79 | VIX | Commercials | 4177 | 4051 | -126 | Oil | Commercials | -23136 | -28584 | -5448 |
These are the net positions of commercial traders (institutions and hedge funds) on various indexes on last Tuesday, they provide a rare opportunity for us to check into the sentiment of the institutional traders, commonly known as the "Smart Money".
Remember, even the smart money can be wrong sometimes and these are the numbers in the past, the market sentiment can change in any moment based on news, earning release and rumors.
Biotech stocks were very strong in Tuesday’s session and could be at a major turning point in the group’s two-month decline.
Chinese Market News Brief
Oil giants upset with Ecuador's tax rise:
President Rafael Correa of Ecuador shocked investors in October by raising the windfall tax from 50 percent to 99 percent, grabbing nearly all the extra oil revenues generated by foreign firms above a set contractual price.
This has had a huge impact on PetroChina, Sinopec and Sinochem; they all have investments in Ecuador. It's reported that PetroChina and Sinopec are preparing to seek help from international arbitration organizations. Sinochem has a US$200 million investment in Ecuador; the company is also preparing to renegotiate their contracts.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Correa arrived in Beijing on Monday for a week long state visit. Senior officials from PetroChina and Sinopec are expected to meet the Oil Minister of Ecuador to discuss the oil tax. However, insiders said that it is not likely that the Ecuadorian side will compromise.
Enjoy,
Market Swimmer
