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 Post subject: May 5th Thursday 2011 Emini TF ($TF_F) points +5.10
PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2011 5:36 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:06 pm
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Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Attachment:
050511-wrbtrader-PnL-Blotter-Profit-510.png
050511-wrbtrader-PnL-Blotter-Profit-510.png [ 26.95 KiB | Viewed 296 times ]

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

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=90&t=831.

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=138&t=1058

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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 - Stocks Tumble On Job Report Worries
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click on the above image to view today's price action of key markets

By Ben Rooney, staff reporter
May 5, 2011: 5:01 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A sell-off on Wall Street accelerated late Thursday as oil prices plunged and investors braced for the government's monthly jobs report.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 140 points, or 1.1%, to 12,584. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 12 points, or 0.9%, to 1,335. The Nasdaq (COMP) sank 13 points, or 0.5%, to 2,814.

The broad-based retreat was sparked by weakness in shares of energy companies as oil prices plunged 8%, falling below $100 a barrel. It was the largest one-day decline since April 2009.

"The selling has been concentrated in the energy sector, and that pulled the entire market down," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.

But the retreat accelerated into a full-blown sell-off late in the day as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday's report from the Labor Department on hiring and unemployment.

"People are not willing to take a stab on the long side ahead of the payrolls report," said Kalivas.

Friday's report is expected to show employers added 185,000 jobs in April, according to economists surveyed by CNNMoney. The unemployment rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 8.8%.

The government reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week. Labor Department officials said the increase was due to seasonal anomalies, but jobless claims have been on the rise recently.

Stocks ended in the red Wednesday, as disappointing reports on jobs and the service sector weighed on investors.
Wal-Mart rules the Fortune 500

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rallied 2% against the euro after dovish comments from the president of the European Central Bank.

The dollar gained 1.5% versus the Australian dollar and rose 0.7% on the pound. But it eased against the yen.

The stronger dollar weighed on prices for commodities that are priced in the U.S. currency.

Oil prices sank $9.44, or 8.6%, to $99.80 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery fell $26.30, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,489 an ounce.

Silver futures for July delivery extended their retreat, sliding $2.58, or 6.7%, to $36.80 an ounce. Just a week ago, silver prices were within spitting distance of breaching $50 an ounce.

Investors had been plowing money into commodities this year, based on expectations that the dollar would remain weak as interest rates rise in Europe but remain low in the United States.

"That whole trade is looking pretty bad now," said Dan Greenhaus, market strategist at Miller Taback & Co. "Things are getting worse as the commodity selloff accelerates."
Check the price of gas in your state

Companies: After the closing bell, Dow component Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500) reported first-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share and said it expects full-year earnings to be $2.20 per share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 47 cents for the first quarter, and $2.22 per share for 2011. Despite the weaker-than-expected results, shares of Kraft were up about 1% in extended trading.

Visa (V, Fortune 500) reported quarterly earnings of $1.23 per class A common share, versus an expected $1.20 per share profit. Shares fell 1.5% after the bell.

Retailers reported a surge in April sales, boosted by Easter purchases. Shares of Macy's (M, Fortune 500) rose more than 3% and Target's (TGT, Fortune 500) stock edged up 2%.

Automaker General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) reported a first-quarter net profit of $3.2 billion, its fifth consecutive profitable quarter. Shares fell 3%.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) reported mixed quarterly results but issued a sales outlook for the current quarter that topped analysts' forecasts. Shares of the networking equipment maker rose 5%.

Shares of Whole Foods (WFMI, Fortune 500) rose slightly one day after the company reported solid results after Wednesday's closing bell and raised its outlook.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury eased, pushing the yield up to 3.26% from 3.22% late Wednesday.

World markets: European markets closed lower. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 1% and France's CAC 40 sank 0.9%, while the DAX in Germany ended flat.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England both left their key interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.2%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 0.2%. Japan's market concluded three days of holidays.

Image

Image Yahoo! Finance - Market Update

4:30 pm : The stock market attempted to fight off early selling interest, but it ultimately rolled over to log another loss.

The mood among market participants continues to sour. As such, the stock market fell for the fourth time in as many sessions. Prior to that losing streak, the stock market had advanced in seven out of eight sessions.

The inclination to sell increased with news that initial jobless claims for the week ended April 30 spiked to 474,000, which is the highest level in the series since August 2010. The spike in initial claims proved much sharper than what had been expected, given that the Briefing.com consensus had called for an initial claims count closer to 400,000. Additionally, the underestimated increases in jobless claims during the past few weeks, coupled with a disappointing ADP Employment Change report for April, has caused some concern about what tomorrow morning's official jobs report might look like.

Little attention was paid to news that first quarter productivity increased by 1.6%, which is better than the 1.0% gain that had been broadly expected. That was helped by a a 1.0% decline in unit labor costs, which had been expected to increase by 0.8%.

Stocks started to fight back after a few hours of selling. Semiconductor issues and other assorted tech plays helped the Nasdaq find higher ground. Electronic Arts (ERTS 21.68, +1.76) actually hit a 52-week high after it posted an upside earnings surprise for the latest quarter.

The S&P 500 couldn't quite follow its tech-rich counterpart into positive territory, though. Its failure to attract enough buying interest to sustain a rally allowed sellers to redouble their efforts in afternoon action. Aggressive selling took the stock market down to its lowest level in two weeks.

Retailers helped the consumer discretionary sector limit its loss to only 0.2%. The group's performance followed a round of stronger-than-expected same-store sales reports for April. Hott Topic (HOTT 7.30, +0.78) surged 12% so that it is now narrowly below its 52-week high. Automaker General Motors (GM 32.02, -1.02) posted a better-than-expected earnings report, but its shares were shunned.

Energy stocks continued to feel the brunt of sellers' efforts. Today the sector dropped another 2.3%, which leaves it down almost 7% week to date. Transocean (RIG 68.77, +0.31) was one of the few energy issues that managed to put together a gain; its performance came in the wake of an upside earnings surprise.

Outsized losses among energy stocks have come amid considerable weakness in oil prices, which dove 8.6% to settle at $99.80 per barrel. That marked their first close below $100 per barrel since mid-March.

Silver suffered another dramatic drop. Its 7.9% dive to $36.30 per ounce has left the precious metal more than 20% below the near 31-year high that was recorded at the end of last week's trade. Silver's slide has been exacerbated by several margin increases.

General weakness among commodities dropped the CRB Commodity Index for a 4.9% loss.

Sudden buying in the greenback certainly didn't help the commodities complex. The dollar's 1.4% advance against a basket of major foreign currencies was owed to a combination of short covering and disappointment over comments from European Central Bank President Trichet regarding plans to watch prices for the next few periods before making any monetary policy changes.

Treasuries were spurred higher, too. Buying interest in the traditional safe haven took the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note down to a 2011 low at 3.15%.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-2.3%), Telecom (-1.3%), Materials (-1.2%), Financials (-1.1%), Consumer Staples (-0.8%), Utilities (-0.7%), Industrials (-0.6%), Tech (-0.5%), Health Care (-0.6%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.2%)DJ30 -139.41 NASDAQ -13.51 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -0.4% SP400 -0.4% SP500 -12.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 989/2.24 bln/1567 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1133/1.12 bln/1859

3:30 pm : It was a broad based sell off in commodities today as the dollar surged on the back of commentary from ECB head Jean Claude Trichet as well as short covering from its recent sell off.

The free fall in July silver conintued today, with prices shedding another 7.9% to settle at $36.30 per ounce. Also weighing on silver was news that the CME raised margins for the fourth and fifth time in eight days. The fourth became at the close of business today, while the fifth becomes effective at the close of business on Monday. June gold fell 2.2% to close at $1481.70 per ounce. Gold prices are now down over $95 from their recent all time highs, while silver has shed over $13.50 from its recent ~31 yr highs.

July crude oil fell 8.6% to close at $99.80 per barrel, settling below the $100 level for the first time since March 16. The resurgent dollar, coupled with demand concerns from this morning's worse than expected econ data, weighed on crude oil throughout the session. In afterhours trade, crude oil is extending its sell off, recently dropping to new lows at $98.39. July natural gas shed 7% to end at $4.25 per MMBtu. Broad based weakness in the commodities, coupled with this morning's bearish inventory data, push nat gas prices to their lowest levels since April 19. DJ30 -186.03 NASDAQ -18.70 SP500 -16.54 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 965/1.8 bln/1594 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 985/807.3 mln/1982

3:00 pm : Only an hour remains in today's trade. As things currently stand, the S&P 500 is on pace for its fourth consecutive loss. That has it headed for a weekly loss of about 1.6%. Notably, selling this week has come amid an increase in share volume.

Share volume has been especially robust in the silver ETF iShares Silver Trust (SLV 34.54, -3.73), which has droped almost 10% to a new monthly low today. The ETF's volume today is already near 240 million shares, which is about eight times the amount of its average daily volume. What's more, today's volume in the SLV is double that of the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY 134.47, -0.36). The action in SLV comes amid another dramatic drop by silver prices, which closed pit trade today at $36.30 per ounce, or about 25% below the near 31-year high that it set last week. DJ30 -100.81 NASDAQ -2.94 SP500 -8.46 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1318/1.63 bln/1247 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1378/696 mln/1560

2:30 pm : The consumer discretionary sector has managed to advance to a 0.6% gain. The sector's strength comes in response to a series of stronger-than-expected same-store sales reports for April. Hott Topic (HOTT 7.20, +0.68), Macy's (M 26.77, +1.37), and Target (TGT 50.77, +1.54) are sporting the biggest gains in the group.DJ30 -52.30 NASDAQ +10.61 SP500 -3.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1485/1.47 bln/1050 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1522/628 mln/1407

2:00 pm : The Dow Jones Transportation Index is up 1.5% today. The outsized gain comes after Con-way (CNW 39.81, +2.21) posted for its latest quarter earnings that bested the consensus earnings per share estimate by $0.20. A sharp drop in oil prices has also provided a positive backdrop to transportation plays; oil was last quoted with a 7.5% loss at $101.05 per barrel after it had started the week above $114 per barrel.DJ30 -61.27 NASDAQ +9.05 SP500 -3.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1429/1.37 bln/1087 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1485/581 mln/1448

1:30 pm : The Dollar Index has ascended to a 1.3% gain, which puts it at a fresh session high. Most of the greenback's strength has come against the euro, which was last quoted with a 1.8% loss at $1.456.

Meanwhile, the market continues to chop along in mixed fashion. Actual leadership remains lacking. DJ30 -40.38 NASDAQ +9.67 SP500 -2.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1451/1.28 bln/1072 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1505/535 mln/1431

1:00 pm : Early selling pressure took the stock market to its lowest level in more than a week, but some late morning buying has left stocks mixed at midday.

The mood among market participants was weakened by renewed selling interest in Europe and news that initial weekly jobless claims spiked unexpectedly to 474,000. The multi-month high initial claims count has caused some concern about the official monthly jobs report, which is due tomorrow morning. The latest ADP Change, released yesterday, already suggested that private payrolls increased by less than expected during April.

Consistent with recent sessions, the overall market has displayed little regard for generally positive earnings surprises. Stronger-than-expected same-store sales results from retailers have also been shrugged off by the broader market.

Although pressure against stocks has eased since this morning, commodities continue to wrestle with aggressive selling. Precipitous drops in both energy and precious metals prices have taken the CRB Commodity Index to a 4% loss, which puts it at its lowest level since mid-March.

Recent weakness among stocks and commodities has caused many investors to reposition their money in Treasuries. That has the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note down to a new monthly low, which is actually only a few basis points above the 2011 low of 3.15% that was set in the days that followed the earthquakes and radiation warnings of Japan.

The greenback has also garnered support today. Its 1.2% bounce comes after it had probed a two-year low in the prior session. The dollar's surge has been helped by some short covering, which was initially spurred by a negative reaction to comments from European Central Bank President regarding plans to watch prices for the next few periods before making any monetary policy changes. DJ30 -42.23 NASDAQ +6.39 SP500 -2.20 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1401/1.21 bln/1097 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1414/498 mln/1494

12:30 pm : The S&P 500 recently came in contact with the neutral line, but resistance there has caused it to remain in negative territory.

Energy stocks remain a heavy drag; they are down 1.2%, as a group. However, financials have also weighed on action. The sector's 0.5% loss stems largely from weakness among insurance plays, even though both MetLife (MET 45.10, -1.05) and Prudential (PRU 62.73, +0.30) exceeded what Wall Street had expected for their earnings. DJ30 -34.29 NASDAQ +11.79 SP500 -1.12 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1441/1.10 bln/1048 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1519/460 mln/1392

12:00 pm : Stocks have benefited from a recent flurry of buying interest. The bid has taken the Dow and S&P 500 up from session lows so that their losses are now only modest. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is at session high with a solid gain.

Commodities remain under steady pressure, though. In fact, the CRB Commodity Index is down 3.7% to its lowest level in about seven weeks. Oil has been a considerably heavy drag on the CRB, given its 5.8% drop to $102.85 per barrel. Oil prices were just above $101 per barrel at session lows. DJ30 -22.67 NASDAQ +16.28 SP500 +0.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1450/980 mln/1025 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1532/410 mln/1366

11:30 am : Persistent pressure against the broad market this week has helped Treasuries stage a steady climb. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is at a new one-month low, but it is still above the 2011 low of about 3.15%, which was set in the weeks that followed the earthquake and nuclear radiation threats in Japan.

The dollar is also advancing today. It has rallied to a 1.0% gain against a basket of major foreign currencies after it had probed two-year lows only yesterday. The sharp rebound has been helped by some short covering among those who had wagered that the dollar's doldrums would extend its decline. Interest in the greenback picked up this morning following comments from European Central Bank President regarding plans to watch prices for several periods before making any changes to its monetary policy. DJ30 -97.14 NASDAQ -2.76 SP500 -8.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1067/835 mln/1373 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1058/350 mln/1806

11:00 am : The Dow and S&P 500 continue to chop along in negative territory, but the Nasdaq has actually made its way to the neutral line. The Nasdaq also made an effort to reverse its loss in the prior session, but was rebuffed at the flat line.

The tech-rich Nasdaq is currently led by Akamai Tech (AKAM 35.67, +1.32), which has rallied 9% from the 52-week low that it set only yesterday. Cisco (CSCO 17.54, +0.07) has offered more modest support after it announced changes to its structure and operations. Meanwhile, heavyweights like Apple (AAPL 349.25, -0.32), Google (GOOG 535.17, -0.62), and Microsoft (MSFT 25.89, -0.17) are trading as laggards. DJ30 -80.31 NASDAQ -0.28 SP500 -6.95 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1074/670 mln/1332 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1064/285 mln/1759

10:30 am : Commodities continue to either slide lower or remain notably lower. The very few that are in positive territory include aluminum, lumber and lean hogs.

Natural gas has been in the red all session. Since overnight trade, nat gas has trended lower along with crude in the same fashion. Natural gas hit new session lows at $4.56/MMBtu a half an hour ago and remained near that level ahead of the weekly inventory data. Following the data, which showed a build of 72 versus consensus of a build of 65bcf, natural gas fell sharply to new session lows and is now down 3.5% at $4.48/MMBtu.

Gold is only showing modest losses relative to most commodities that are sharply lower. Earlier this morning, gold fell below the $1500/oz. level, but is currently down 0.9% at $1501.80/oz.

Silver futures just made new session lows a few minutes ago at $36.76/oz and is currently down 6.3% at $36.92.

Crude oil moved into positive territory for only a brief moment during the overnight session. However, the energy component has since been on a rather steady downtrend. It just recently hit new session lows of $104.95/barrel and is currently trading just above that level at $104.94/barrel, down 4%.DJ30 -75.91 NASDAQ -5.53 SP500 -7.13 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 891/491.2 mln/1463 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 871/220.3 mln/1913

10:00 am : Energy stocks and materials stocks have traded in close correlation during recent sessions, but today the materials sector is actually up 0.1% while the energy sector is down 1.2%. Strength in the materials sector comes amid leadership from CF Industries (CF 132.10, +1.79) and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 89.45, +1.90).

Advancing Sectors: Materials (+0.1%)
Unchanged: Industrials, Tech
Declining Sectors: Energy (-1.2%), Financials (-0.9%), Telecom (-0.6%), Consumer Staples (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.4%), Health Care (-0.3%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%)DJ30 -54.04 NASDAQ -4.35 SP500 -6.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 768/298 mln/1458 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 791/142 mln/1923

09:45 am : The gap down at the open has the stock market positioned for its fourth straight loss after advancing in seven of the eight previous trading days.

Energy stocks have been a heavy burden all week. The sector is down almost 7% week to date. Of course, that has come amid a 7% week-to-date drop in oil prices, which were recently quoted at $105.75 per barrel for a 3.2% loss today.

Transocean (RIG 67.36, -1.10), Murphy Oil (MUR 69.99, -3.25), Pride International (PDE 41.63, +0.05), and Frontier Oil (FTO 25.05, -0.07) are among the latest energy plays to post quarterly results. Pride International is the only company in the group that offered up results which came short of the consensus earnings estimate. DJ30 -56.99 NASDAQ -5.89 SP500 -6.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 751/202 mln/1461 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 752/90 mln/1950

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -10.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.25. Stock futures suggest a markedly lower start to the session is in store. Earnings and monthly same-store sales, though generally stronger-than-expected, remain of little broad market concern. Data for today featured a surprising spike in initial jobless claims to 474,000, which is the highest tally in the series since August 2010. Weakness also comes amid a rather concerted selling effort in Europe, where investors have shown a negative reaction to comments from European Central Bank President Trichet about monitoring prices for the next few periods before making any policy changes. The Bank of England's latest policy decision remained consistent with those of the past several months in that its target rate was unchanged at 0.5% and its bond purchase plan remained at 200 billion pounds. The dollar is up in the wake of those headlines, however. That has put added pressure on commodities, which are collectively down another 1.9% this morning, as measured by the CRB Commodity Index.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -9.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.70. Renewed selling pressure has the taken the EuroStoxx 50 down 0.7%. Comments from European Central Bank President Trichet about remaining vigilant and monitoring price stability over the next few periods before making any policy adjustments hasn't helped the tone there. The comments have put pressure on the euro, which is down 0.8% against the dollar so that it trades at $1.470. Though not as weak, Britain's pound is down 0.2% to $1.645 following the decision by the Bank of England to leave its benchmark interest rate at 0.5% and keep in place its 200 billion pound asset purchase plan. Weakness among stocks in Britain has the FTSE down 1.0%. Shares of Loyds Group (LYG) are leading the way lower after the company posted for the first quarter a statutory loss of about 3.5 billion pounds before taxes. United Kingdom data featured a PMI Services Index for April that came in at 54.3, which is down from 57.1 in the prior month. In France, the CAC is off by 1.3%. Weakness is widespread with Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Pernod Ricard making the only advances in the 40-member Index. Societe Generale is a primary source of weakness; it is down 6% following news of a better-than-expected bottom line. As for the German DAX, it is down 0.7%.

Overnight trade in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite close with a 0.2% gain after suffering sharp losses in recent sessions. China's HSBC Services PMI reading for April came in at 51.6, which is barely changed from the 51.7 that was reported for the prior month. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2% to book its seventh consecutive loss. Property plays remained a source of weakness, but energy giants CNOOC (CEO) and PetroChina (PTR) were particularly burdensome to broad trade. Their retreat came amid continued downward pressure against oil prices. Japan will re-open tomorrow after staying closed in the past few days for holiday observance.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -8.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.00. Premarket selling has picked up in the minutes that have followed the latest weekly jobless claims tally. Initial jobless claims for the week ended April 30 totaled 474,000, which is far greater than the 400,000 initial jobless claims that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The latest count represents an increase of 43,000 from the prior week. Continuing claims climbed to 3.73 million from 3.65 million in the prior week. Productivity for the first quarter was also posted minutes ago; it showed a 1.6% increase when a more moderate 1.0% gain had been expected. Fourth quarter productivity was revised upward to reflect a 2.9% increase. Unit labor costs for the first quarter increased by 1.0%, which is greater than the 0.8% increase that had been widely anticipated. Fourth quarter unit labor costs were revised downward to reflect a 1.0% drop.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -6.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.20. Stocks attempted an afternoon advance yesterday, but wavered into the close. The uninspiring finish has combined with renewed weakness among Europe's major bourses to pull down broad market stock futures so that a slightly lower start to today's trade appears to be in order. News flow has been robust. Approximately 200 quarterly reports have been posted since the prior session's close, and retailers are out with monthly same-store sales results. Earnings generally continue to exceed consensus expectations. General Motors (GM), Transocean (RIG), Pride International (PDE), Whole Foods (WFMI), Prudential (PRU), and CIGNA (CI) all posted upside earnings surprises. News Corp (NWSA) is one of the few that came short of Wall Street's consensus forecast. Meanwhile, Macy's (M), Costco (COST), Hott Topic (HOTT), Limited (LTD), Buckle (BKE), and Gap (GPS) all announced stronger-than-expected same-store sales for April. Sales for Target (TGT) were a bit light relative to what had been expected, though. The bottom of the hour brings the latest weekly jobless claims count. First quarter productivity data will be posted at the same time. Fed Chairman Bernanke is scheduled to speek at a conference at 9:30 AM ET.

06:50 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.20.

06:50 am : Nikkei...Holiday......... Hang Seng...23261.61...-53.60...-0.20%.

06:50 am : FTSE...5935.74...-48.30...-0.80%. DAX...7338.24...-35.70...-0.50%.

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

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