TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Forum for price action traders that want to learn WRB Analysis basic tutorial chapters 1, 2 and 3 prior to purchasing our advance trade methods. Hashtags: #wrbanalysis #wrbzone #wrbhiddengap #priceaction #trading
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:56 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: March 3rd Thursday 2011 Emini TF ($TF_F) points +5.10
PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:48 pm 
Offline
Site Admin

Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:06 pm
Posts: 4335
Location: Canada
Image

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Attachment:
030311-wrbtrader-PnL-Blotter-Profit.png
030311-wrbtrader-PnL-Blotter-Profit.png [ 32.08 KiB | Viewed 297 times ]

click on the above image to view today's trading summary

Quote:
I'm not having a good start to the trading month via the fact I'm missing a lot of strong directional price movement. Many missed trades on Tuesday due to ISP connection problems and then on Wednesday there were many missed trade opportunities due to fear of a very unusual high volatility tight trading range price action and then today via having personal errands to do. However, to be fair, the best trade opportunity for today's trend day occurred prior to the open when I was home due to an early morning personal errand (I usually don't trade before 0930am est). If you have any questions about my trading, want more details about the trade signal behind a particular trade or want to reply about something stated in this message post...click here.

Trade Performance for Today: +5.10 points or $510.00 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures.
Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures - 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE.
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures - 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup.

In addition, today's #FuturesTrades trading chat room logs provides details about each trade from entry to exit along with commentary as the trade traversed...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=771.

Also, posted below are direct links to information about my trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand and volatility along with being able to exploit these changes via WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis).

Image WRB Analysis Tutorials @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm and there's a free study guide of the WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1, 2 and 3 @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=180.

Image Volatility Trading Report (VTR) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm and there's a free trade signal strategy @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=89 so that you can freely test drive one of our trade strategies with support prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Image Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=135&t=965

-----------------------------

Image Market Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED actions, global economics that had an impact on today's price action. Simply, I'm a strong believer that many variables causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility that's arguably just as important as my technical analysis.

Image CNNMoney.com - Dow Jumps 190 On Jobs Data, Lower Oil
Attachment:
030311-Key-Price-Action-Markets-1.png
030311-Key-Price-Action-Markets-1.png [ 397.91 KiB | Viewed 303 times ]

click on the above image to view today's price action of key markets

By Ken Sweet, contributing writer
March 3, 2011: 4:32 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks posted their best day in three months on Thursday as Wall Street rallied behind a strong unemployment claims report along with a modest drop in energy prices.

At the preliminary close, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 191 points, or 1.6%, to 12,258. The gains were the best for the blue-chip indicator in 2011 and the largest since Dec. 1.

The S&P 500 (SPX) added 22.5 points, or 1.7%, to 1331; and Nasdaq (COMP) composite climbed 51 points, or 1.9%, to 2799.

Thursday's rally was fairly broadbased and held steady the entire day. Twenty of the Dow's 30 members advanced more than 1%, while the worst-performing member of the Dow was AT&T (T, Fortune 500), falling a modest 0.1%.

Wall Street's bulls rallied behind a considerably better-than-expected weekly jobless claims report, which showed the number of people who filed for benefits dropping to its lowest level since May 2008, along with a modest cooling in energy prices.

"[The initial jobless claims data] is giving the market a lot of optimism going into tomorrow's non-farm payrolls report," said John Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co.

Oil fell 40 cents a barrel on news reports that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi mightagree to a peace negotiations mediated by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

"This has been a very headline-driven market in recent weeks, the oil market especially," Dickson said.

Economy: The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims totaled 368,000 in the week ended Feb. 26 -- the lowest weekly figure since May 31, 2008.

Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the number of people filing for unemployment benefits to rise to 400,000 from the revised tally of 388,000 the previous week.

The report came a day before the big labor report, the monthly employment figures from the government. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect that 192,000 jobs were created in February, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.1% from 9% in January.

"The economic data this week has just been exceptional, it's really created an optimistic mood going into Friday's jobs report" said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation with ING Investment Management.

The Institute for Supply Management's service industries index was also a positive force for the markets, rising to a stronger-than-expected reading of 59.7 for February. Economists had been looking for a reading of 59. Any reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.

Companies: Valero Energy (VLO, Fortune 500) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 on Thursday, jumping 7.7%, after the oil refining company said it expects to post adjusted earnings between 76 cents and 91 cents a share, well ahead of the 48 cents a share analysts had forecast.

Shares of Big Lots (BIG, Fortune 500) rose 4% after the company reported a 15% increase in earnings to $1.46 a share. Analysts were looking for $1.38 a share, according to Briefing.com.

World markets: European stocks closed broadly higher. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.4%, the DAX in Germany ticked up 0.5% and France's CAC 40 added 0.5%.
0:00 /00:54Retailers see more foot traffic

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged higher 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.9%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose versus the British pound, and made slight gains against the Japanese yen and the euro.

Oil for April delivery slipped 35 cents to $101.87 a barrel. The commodity had been down as much as 1.4% earlier in the day.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $21.30 to $1,416.40 an ounce. On Wednesday gold hit an intraday all-time high of $1,441 an ounce, before setting a settlement record of $1,437.70.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.52% from 3.46% late Wednesday.

Image

Image Yahoo! Finance - Market Update

4:30 pm : Stocks put together their best single-session performance in three months as participants responded positively to a drop in oil prices and some encouraging economic data.

Reports that Libya's Gaddafi accepted a peace plan put forth by Venezuela's Chavez failed to pacify protestors, but it was enough to put pressure on oil prices this morning. Oil prices never dipped below $100 per barrel, though, and eventually pared their losses to finish pit trade with a relatively tame 0.3% loss at $101.91 per barrel.

Although oil recouped part of its loss, stocks held steady to strong gains as data helped bolster buying interest.

Initial jobless claims for the week ended February 26 totaled 368,000, which is less than the 400,000 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. Given that the latest initial claims tally was less than 400,000 for the third time in four weeks and yesterday's ADP Employment Change proved better than expected, there is some optimism ahead of tomorrow's February nonfarm payrolls report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 36,000 in January, but the Briefing.com consensus calls for an addition of 185,000 in February.

The ISM Services Index for February also proved impressive. The consensus among economists polled by Briefing.come had called for a reading of 59.0, but it climbed to 59.7, which makes for the best reading since 2005. In contrast, China's PMI Non-Manufacturing Index fell to a two-year low of 44.1 in February and the eurozone PMI Services Index for February slipped to 56.8 from the prior reading.

Action overseas was generally upbeat, but France's CAC and Germany's DAX saw their gains halved. News that eurozone GDP increased by 0.3% in the fourth quarter didn't have any dramatic impact on trade, but buying interest dwindled after the European Central Bank (ECB) President Trichet issued hawkish comments despite the fact that the ECB left its target interest rate unchanged at 1.00%, as had been expected. Trichet's comments helped the euro ascend 0.7% so that it now trades at $1.396.

Corporate news played little part in today's trade. Retailers were out with their latest same-store sales results, but the numbers were really rather mixed. Still, the group was able to ride the broader market's climb to a 1.2% gain.

Stocks with the most sensitivity to oil prices staged the strongest gains. For example, airlines collectively advanced 2.4% while transportation stocks climbed 2.5%.

Telecom trailed, though. It mustered a mere 0.2% gain. Telecom remains the only major sector that is still in the red year to date -- it has lost 2.7% so far this year.

Advancing Sectors: Industrials (+2.4%), Financial (+2.2%), Materials (+2.0%), Health Care (+2.0%), Tech (+1.7%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.7%), Energy (+1.5%), Consumer Staples (+1.1%), Utilities (+1.0%), Telecom (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +191.40 NASDAQ +50.67 SP500 +22.53 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2027/2.00 bln/608 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2451/1.07 bln/547

3:30 pm : Another mixed session for commodities. Grains (+1.6%) led all gainers, while precious metals (-1.6%) led all decliners.

April gold shed 1.4% to close at $1417.50 per ounce, while May silver ended off 1.4% to $34.33 per ounce. Both metals sold off in overnight trade on reports that that the Arab League was considering a peace plan mediated by an ally of Muammar Gaddafi, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Weakness in the precious metals was further compounded by commentary from ECB Head Jean Paul Trichet, when he said that a change of rate in the next ECB meeting is possible.

Headlines surrounding events in Libya kept trade in April crude oil, which settled lower by 0.3% to $101.91 per barrel, somewhat volatile today. Skepticism over the substance of mediation offered by Chavez kept prices relatively close to the flat line throughout the session. Crude did sell off to lows, at $102.39, in early afternoon trade, but managed to retrace that selloff to finish with only modest losses. March natural gas closed lower by 1.1% to $3.77 per MMBtu, extending its selloff to a third consecutive session. Today's lows, at $3.76, mark natural gas' worst since mid-Nov of 2010. DJ30 +203.40 NASDAQ +51.69 SP500 +22.45 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2004/1.5 bln/621 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2412/702.8 mln/570

3:00 pm : Today's trade closes in an hour. As things currently stand, stocks are on pace for their best single-session percentage gain since a 2.2% spike on December 1. With that, the stock market is up 0.8% week to date.

While oil is still of broad market concern, participants are preparing for the official nonfarm payrolls report for February that is scheduled to be posted tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM ET. After nonfarm payrolls increased by 36,000 in January, economists polled by Briefing.com expect, on average, that the February report will show an addition of 185,000. DJ30 +214.50 NASDAQ +53.90 SP500 +23.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1994/1.42 bln/608 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2416/645 mln/558

2:30 pm : Both the Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index and the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index are up in excess of 2%. Global Defense Tech (GTEC 24.16, +8.08) is a leader among small-cap issues following news that Ares Management plans to acquire the company. Wendy's (WEN 5.11, +0.37) is a leader among mid-cap components following the company's confirmation of its fourth quarter results and fiscal 2011 outlook.DJ30 +196.02 NASDAQ +50.96 SP500 +21.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2026/1.31 bln/570 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2400/590 mln/576

2:00 pm : Valero (VLO 28.99, +2.09) is up almost 8% at the moment. That makes it the best performer in the S&P 500. Its surge comes as refiners benefit from a drop in oil prices. Caterpillar (CAT 103.96, +2.99) is the top percentage performer in the Dow as it sports a 3% gain, but Global Defense Technology (GTEC 24.15, +8.07) is up 50% following news that it will be acquired by Ares Management for $24.25 per share in cash.DJ30 +183.61 NASDAQ +49.21 SP500 +20.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1998/1.20 bln/590 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2344/547 mln/609

1:30 pm : Stocks are trading sideways along session highs. The steady strength stems largely from continued weakness in oil prices, which are presently down 1.2% to $101 per barrel.

The drop in oil prices has hampered several energy stocks, but broad market support continues to keep the overall energy sector up with a healthy 0.9% gain. With their advance today, energy stocks are now up more than 14% this year. This year's next best performing sector is represented by industrials, which are up 7%, or half of what energy has achieved. DJ30 +176.98 NASDAQ +48.30 SP500 +19.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2014/1.11 bln/560 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2355/505 mln/585

1:00 pm : The stock market is on pace for its best performance in a month as talk of peace in Libya sends oil prices lower. Strong economic data has also bolstered buying interest.

The tone of trade has been strong all session. For perspective, roughly 90% or more of the issues in the S&P 500 have been in higher ground since the open. The broad-based bid comes amid pullback in oil prices, which currently trade with a 1.8% loss at $100.40 per barrel following word that Gaddafi has accepted a peace plan put forth by Venezuela's Chavez. Although that proclamation has failed to pacify protestors, oil has reacted negatively to that headline while the market has reacted positively to it.

Shares of companies that are most sensitive to oil prices have seen the strongest buying interest. As such, the Amex Airline Index is up 2.9% and the Dow Jones Transports Index is up 2.7%. Telecom has lagged, though. The sector is up just 0.1% after it put on a relatively strong performance in the prior session.

Telecom stocks represent the only major sector that has failed to amass any kind of year-to-date gain. Instead, the sector is lost 2.7% in 2011.

Data continues to suggest a strengthening economy. In particular, the ISM Services Index for February hit 59.7, which is not only better than what had been widely expected, but it also marked the best reading since 2005. In contrast, China posted late last night its lowest PMI Non-Manufacturing Index in two years.

Just a couple of days after Fed Chairman Bernanke acknowledged that unemployment remains stubbornly high, the latest initial weekly jobless claims tally came in below 400,000 for the third time in four weeks.

Following news that eurozone GDP increased by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced no change to its target interest rate of 1.0%. However, Trichet did issue hawkish comments that drove up the euro and stirred selling against the dollar. The dollar is currently down fractionally against a collection of competing currencies.

Monthly same-store sales results from retailers make up the bulk of today's corporate news. Their results were essentially mixed relative to what had been expected. Despite that, retailers have followed the broader market higher so that they sport a 1.1% gain. DJ30 +179.10 NASDAQ +50.85 SP500 +20.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2007/1.02 bln/557 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2355/465 mln/570

12:30 pm : Oil prices in the continuous contract have moved another leg lower so that they now trade at $100.80 per barrel with a 1.4% loss. That puts oil prices more than $2 below their highs.

Natural gas has also been hit by sellers in recent trade. The energy component had been as high as $3.87 per MMBtu, but it is now down to $3.79 per MMBtu, where it trades with a 0.7% loss. Precious metals are in rough shape, too.

With participants willing to take on more risk the price of gold has dropped to a 1.6% loss at $1415 per ounce while silver slumps to a 2.0% loss at $34.11 per ounce. DJ30 +172.86 NASDAQ +49.80 SP500 +19.13 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2000/935 mln/542 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2310/425 mln/591

12:00 pm : The stock market has worked its way out of its recent trading range to set a fresh session high. The move has been broad based, but the strongest gains continue to be sported by those with operations most sensitive to oil prices. As such, the Dow Jones Transportation Index is up 2.5% and the Amex Airline Index is up 2.4%.

Telecom stocks have fallen far behind the broader market. The sector is barely positive as Verizon (VZ 36.39, +0.05) muddles along with barely any kind of a gain and AT&T (T 28.08, -0.09) trades with a loss. DJ30 +175.81 NASDAQ +48.11 SP500 +19.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1973/828 mln/558 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2310/380 mln/579

11:30 am : Stocks are holding steady at session highs as oil prices trade near $101.40 per barrel with a 0.8% loss.

Treasuries have been backed down amid the stock market's strong bounce this session. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note is down about 23 ticks so that its yield is back up to 3.56%, which is its highest level in more than a week. The yield on the 30-year Bond is at a one-week high of 4.63% as its price drops more than a point.

The dollar has managed to trim its loss in recent trade. It had been down modestly earlier this morning, but it now trails a basket of major foreign currencies by less than 0.1%. DJ30 +170.17 NASDAQ +45.97 SP500 +18.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1982/729 mln/528 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2286/330 mln/578

11:00 am : Stocks are at session highs following some recent swings in oil prices. About 40 minutes ago oil had almost fully offset its morning loss, but it has since pulled back to trade with a 0.6% loss at $101.60 per barrel.

Although they are collectively 0.9% higher, energy stocks are lagging the overall market. The sector has been hampered a bit by oil and gas exploration plays, which are only fractionally higher at the moment. The drop in crude oil prices has helped refiners rip ahead to a 4.5% gain, though. As for individual plays, Chesapeake Energy (CHK 33.14, -0.75) is the energy sector's worst performer by percent lost, while Valero (VLO 28.36, +1.46) is the best performer by percent gained. DJ30 +175.77 NASDAQ +44.31 SP500 +17.78 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1971/589 mln/486 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2258/264 mln/559

10:30 am : The Dollar Index remains lower this morning after it pulled back sharply, falling into negative territory, ECB President Jean Claude Trichet signaled a potential rate hike. The CRB Commodity Index is split this morning as the leaders include cotton (+3.5%), soft commodities (cocoa +1.5%, coffee +1.3%), and copper +0.8%.

Natural gas futures are remained lower ahead of this morning's inventory data. Following the data, which showed a draw down of 85 bcf versus consensus of a draw down of 85 bcf, natural gas popped back into positive territory and new session highs of $3.85 per MMBtu, but is now 0.5% higher at $3.84 per MMBtu.

April crude oil has been in negative territory during today's session, putting in session lows of $100.37 per barrel in the early part of overnight trade. In recent action, crude pushed higher near the unchanged line and is now just below that level at $102.13 per barrel.

Precious metals remain lower with April gold currently down 1% at $1422.50 per ounce and May silver down 1.1% at $34.46 per ounce.

Cotton futures rose the exchange limit a short while ago, gaining 7 cents (or 3.5%) to $2.076/lb. on further supply issues.DJ30 +159.80 NASDAQ +40.15 SP500 +15.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1920/380.2 mln/458 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2267/179.2 mln/479

10:00 am : The ISM Services Index for February was just released. It came in at 59.7, which is better than the 59.0 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The latest Index reading is the highest since 2005.

Stocks continue to trade at session highs in the wake of the report. More than 90% of the issues in the S&P 500 are in higher ground. Of the 30 Dow components, Wal-Mart (WMT 51.85, -0.12) is the only name that has failed to put together any kind of a gain.

Advancing Sectors: Industrials (+1.8%), Financial (+1.5%), Tech (+1.4%), Materials (+1.3%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.3%), Energy (+0.8%), Energy (+0.7%), Consumer Staples (+0.6%), Utilities (+0.6%), Telecom (+0.5%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +161.05 NASDAQ +41.71 SP500 +16.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1941/211 bln/338 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2322/110 mln/376

09:45 am : The major equity averages are up with heady gains. Strength is broad based, but industrial stocks are in the best shape as they sport a 2.0% gain. Industrial conglomerates like General Electric (GE 20.89, +0.57) are leaders in the group.

Airline shares are also up nicely in the early going. Their 2.5% gain stems from broad market support and a pullback in oil prices, which currently trade with a 0.4% loss at $101.80 per barrel.

Volatility is down in response to this morning's strong bid. As such, the Volatility Index, often euphemistically dubbed the Fear Gauge, is down about 9%. DJ30 +155.49 NASDAQ +35.61 SP500 +16.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1846/57 mln/277 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1700/35 mln/290

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +11.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.80. Stock futures continue to point to a strong start to trade as they rest slightly off of their morning highs. The positive tone among premarket participants is underpinned by a 1.0% pullback in oil prices. Oil continues to trade near $101 per barrel, however. Robust gains by Europe's major bourses have also helped perpetuate an upbeat tone, although Germany's DAX, France's CAC, and Britain's FTSE have all started to slip off of their session highs in the minutes following comments from European Central Bank President Trichet, who recently remarked that risks to the price outlook are to the upside. That comment helped drive the euro higher against the greenback, which now trails a collection of competing currencies by 0.3% after it had been up with a healthy gain following news of another initial weekly jobless claims tally below 400,000. Less attention has been paid to the latest round of monthly same-store sales results, which has been rather mixed. Still on today's calendar is the February ISM Services Index, which is due at 10:00 AM ET. Recent PMI Service data out of the United Kingdom, the broader eurozone, and China all turned lower from their prior reports. China's was actually its worst in two years.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +12.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +18.50. Europe's major bourses are all up in excess of 1% amid a heavy stream of headlines. Among the more noteworthy items, the European Central Bank left its target interest rate unchanged at 1.00%, as had been expected, but ECB President Trichet stated that the price outlook carries risks to the upside. According to a preliminary reading, eurozone fourth quarter GDP increased by 0.3%, just as it did in the third quarter. The eurozone PMI Services Index for February came in at 56.8, down from 57.2 in the prior reading. As for specific market action, Germany's DAX is currently up 1.1% amid broad-based buying. Of its 30 members, K+S AG is the only name that has failed to find higher ground. Health care plays are generally in the best shape as they sport a collective gain of 2.0%. Bayer AG is among the best individual performers. Germany reported this morning that retail sales in the country during January increased 1.4% after a 0.3% increase in December. France's CAC has climbed to a 1.1% gain. Total (TOT) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) have been primary leaders in the move. France Telecom has lagged, however. Britain's FTSE is up 1.3% as more than 90% of its names trade higher. Vodafone (VOD) has been an individual leader, but materials stocks, up 2.5%, make up the best performing sector. Tech stocks are lagging, though; they currently trade flat, collectively. The United Kingdom's PMI Services Index for February came in at 52.6, which is down from 54.5 in January.

As for action in Asia, Japan's Nikkei posted a 0.9% gain in its latest round of trade. Softbank, Fanuc Corp, and NTT Data were leaders. Canon (CAJ) was a primary laggard. Overall trade in Hong Kong and China was relatively lackluster, but a few banking issues put on strong performances. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.3% amid strength in tech plays, which collectively climbed 0.9%, and banking issues like China Construction Bank, HSBC (HBC), and Industrial & Commercial Bank. Consumer discretionary plays slumped to a 1.3% loss as the likes of Esprit Holdings lagged. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite fell to a 0.4% loss as declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 3-to-1. Health care had the worst showing; it dropped 2.9%. Telecom showed strength with a 1.3% gain, though. PetroChina (PTR) was an outperformer, as were banking plays China Merchant Bank and Bank of China. China Shenhua was atop the list of declining issues. According to data, China's Non-Manufacturing PMI Index for February fell to 44.1 from 56.4 in January. That was its worst reading in two years.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +13.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +17.80. Stock futures are at their best levels of the morning. The latest leg higher comes amid news that initial jobless claims for the week ended February 26 totaled 368,000, which is less than the 400,000 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. This is the third week in four that initial claims have been below 400,000. As for continuing claims, they came down to 3.77 million from 3.83 million in the prior week. Unrevised from the prior reading, nonfarm productivity for the fourth quarter increased by 2.6%. Unit labor costs fell 0.6% for the fourth quarter. They were also unrevised. Recent data aided a bounce by the dollar, but the greenback has since pulled back as the euro moves higher in response to comments from European Central Bank President Trichet that risks to the price outlook are to the upside. The dollar is now up 0.2% against a collection of competing currencies, but the euro is up 0.6% against the greenback to trade at $1.395.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +11.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.50. Stock futures are up sharply this morning. Their strength comes amid a pullback in oil prices, which trade with a 1.1% loss at $101.10 per barrel ahead of pit trade. The drop in oil prices follows word that Libya has entered peace talks. Europe's major bourses have all swung to gains of more than 1%, which has provided additional support to premarket trade. Strength there comes even though both the United Kingdom saw its February PMI Services Index slip from the prior month and the broader eurozone's February PMI Services Index slip from its preliminary reading. China's Non-Manufacturing PMI for February also fell from the prior month. The latest U.S. ISM Services Index is due later this morning at 10:00 AM ET. Before that, though, weekly initial jobless claims and final nonfarm productivity figures for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 AM ET. Corporate news has been rather slow, but monthly same-store sales numbers are starting to stream across newswires. Early results appear rather mixed.

06:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +12.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.50.

06:59 am : Nikkei...10586.02...+93.60...+0.90%. Hang Seng...23122.42...+73.80...+0.30%.

06:59 am : FTSE...5987.10...+72.20...+1.20%. DAX...7277.68...+96.70...+1.40%.

Special thanks to Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. gm

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Image@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader and http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader

Phone: +1.708.572.4885
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
Skype Messenger: kebec2002
questions@thestrategylab.com
Go Back To TheStrategyLab.com Homepage


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Translated by Xaphos © 2007, 2008, 2009 phpBB.fr