Bond yields and oil prices fell on Monday, which generally bring a rise in stock prices, but after the strong morning start the markets ended today on a loss. The strong start was fueled by the bond yields dropping by .05 percent to a yield of 5.08.
Oil prices were pushed lower after the general strike in Nigeria ended and Iran invited the United Nations Atomic Agency inspectors to help resolve the conflict in Tehran. The oil prices dropped below $70 a barrel for the first time in recent weeks to $69.15.
Most of the early morning gains seen by the drop in oil and bond yields were erased this afternoon after speculation that subprime mortgage losses will worsen. The sales of existing homes fell in May to the lowest level in four years. Actual numbers of 5.99 million home sales just missed expectations of 6.01 million. The median home price dropped for a record 10th consecutive month compared to last year.
All of the Russell and S&P small cap indices finished the day down, sparked from the losses seen in the large cap indices. Although the general downward trend in most stock prices today left most companies’ shares down, a few companies were able to rally and finish today on a positive note.
Ckrush Inc. (OTCBB: CKRH) announced today that acclaimed film director Spike Lee will executive produce Ckrush Entertainment’s groundbreaking film “LiveMansion: The Movie.” This news helped pushed Ckrush’s stock price up by 3 cents, or 30 percent, to 15 cents. This movement sparked a month long high in volume of 1.417 million.
Tubearoo Inc. (Pink Sheets: TUBR) made positive gains today moving 26 cents (10 percent) to $2.81 per share. Tubearoo had volume today of 3.02 million as the company announced in a press release that they are beginning the official beta test launch of its mobile video service. Tubearoo has been making consistent gains in stock price over the past two weeks. The price of its stock has risen almost a dollar over this time period going from $1.82 on the June 12th to today’s close of $2.81 or almost a 55 percent increase.
Gulf Ethonal Corporation (OTCBB: GFET) received positive news from congress that the new energy bill passed last week will increase the mandate for ethanol use in the U.S. The bill mandates that ethanol production be increased to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, which is a 700 percent increase. Gulf Ethanol increased its share price to $2.62, a 7 percent increase. The share price rose 18 cents on volume 323 thousand. The share price has risen 75 cents since June 14th when the congress passed the bill, but now it will go through the house as they consider the bill this week.