TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)


click on the above image to view today's performance verification

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $2160.00 dollars or +21.60 points, EuroFX 6E futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks and Light Crude Oil CL (WTI) futures @ $510.00 dollars or +0.51 points. Total Profit @ $2670.00 dollars.

Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE
Light Crude Oil CL (WTI) Futures: 1 tick or 0.01 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
CME EuroFX 6E Futures: 1 tick or 0.0001 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures: 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup

In addition, all trades were posted real-time in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room. You can read today's ##TheStrategyLab trading chat room logs for details (e.g. time, price, contract size) about each one of my trades from entry to exit along with price action commentary as the trade traversed in comparison to what's shown in the above image...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=1456

Also, posted below are direct links to information about my price action 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). I'm primarily a day trader because it suits my personal lifestyle but I do occasionally swing trade and position trade.

Price Action Analysis via 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=119&t=718

Trade Signal Strategies via 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 price action trade strategies with support prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=205&t=1773

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Market Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/IMF actions or any important global economic events (e.g. Eurozone, MarketWatch.com) that had an impact on today's price action in many trading instruments I monitor during the trading day. Simply, I'm a strong believer that key market events causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility resulting in trade opportunities (swing points and strong continuation price actions) that reach profit targets. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events, intermarket analysis (e.g. Forex EurUsd, EuroFX 6E futures, Gold GC futures, Light Crude Oil (WTI) CL & Brent Oil futures, Eurex DAX futures, Euronext FTSE100 futures, Emini ES futures, Emini TF futures, Treasury ZB futures and U.S. Dollar Index futures) while using WRB Analysis from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context before the appearance of my technical analysis trade signals. Therefore, I maintain these archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past involving key market events to help better understand my trade decisions (day trading, swing trading, position trading)...something I can not get from my broker statements alone.

Stocks End 2nd Best Week Of 2013


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Stocks wrapped up one of the best weeks of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 closed higher for the sixth straight trading day and ended the week up more than 2%.

The Dow has closed at record highs for four consecutive days, and the S&P 500 is only about 1% below its all-time high. On Friday, the Dow gained 0.5%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also rose about 0.4%.

Friday's robust jobs report capped off a string of positive labor reports that have given investors reason to believe the economy is finally on firmer footing.

The U.S. government reported early Friday that 236,000 jobs were added to the economy in February, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%. The employment gains beat analysts' forecasts by a wide margin.

"The employment numbers offered some confirmation that the economy is getting better," said Giri Cherukuri, a portfolio manager at Oakbrook Investments. As long as economic data continue to show the recovery is gaining steam, Cherukuri bets that stocks will keep marching higher.

All three major indexes are already up between 7% and 10% so far this year.

Related: Betting on boring stocks pays off

The Dow's records come just ahead of the fourth anniversary of the market's bottom following the financial crisis.

Frank Davis, director of trading at LEK Securities, is "cautiously optimistic" that stocks will keep going up, but said he expects the pace of the gains to slow down.

In corporate news, online streaming firm Pandora Media (P) reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and announced that its CEO will be stepping down. Pandora's shares soared 18%.

Athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker (FL, Fortune 500) reported a significant increase in sales and profit for the fourth quarter. But its stock fell more than 7%.

Citigroup's (C, Fortune 500) shares gained nearly 4%, after the Fed released results from its stress tests. The Fed said Citi was the big bank best prepared to weather another recession.

Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sach (GS, Fortune 500)s also passed the stress tests, but shares of all three banks fell.

Shares of Skullcandy (SKUL) sank more than 20% after the headphone maker forecast a 30% drop in sales and said it expects to post a loss for the current quarter.

Herbalife (HLF) shares edged higher after activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the nutritional supplement company.

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) sank 3%, after the cruise operator revealed that more than 100 passengers fell ill during a Caribbean cruise.

Related: Fear & Greed Index is in extreme greed

European markets closed up between 0.6% and 1.6%, fueled by the U.S. jobs data.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% and the Hang Seng added 1.4%. Japan's Nikkei increased 2.6% after the yen extended losses, and revised data showed the country's economy has pulled out of a shallow recession.

The dollar rose against the euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen.

Oil prices dropped, while gold prices moved slightly higher.

The price on the 10-year Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 2.06% from 1.99% Thursday.





4:15 pm : The major averages ended the final session of the week with modest gains. The day started on an upbeat note after February nonfarm payrolls were reported well ahead of expectations.

However, the opening strength did not hold and the S&P 500 promptly slid back to yesterday's closing level. After returning to its flat line, the benchmark average staged a daylong climb, which ended at fresh session highs.

While stocks spent the majority of the session in an upward climb, the dollar held strong throughout the day.

Dollar strength manifested itself after today's jobs report revealed a 20 basis point drop in the unemployment rate. With the Federal Reserve indicating accommodative policy will remain in place until the unemployment rate nears 6.5%, a downtick brings the economy closer to that target.

The dollar index climbed to 82.90 shortly after the release of the jobs data. The index then retraced a part of its gains, but spiked higher once again after Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating to 'BBB+' from 'A-' and assigned a negative outlook.

As equity markets climbed off their morning lows, cyclical sectors paced the advance. The consumer discretionary space was the day's leader as retailers contributed to the outperformance. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 69.51, +0.65) advanced 0.9%.

Industrials and materials also drove the broader market towards session highs. The industrial sector was buoyed in part by the Dow Jones Transportation Average. The 20-stock complex gained 1.0% after displaying notable weakness over the course of the past two sessions. Today, airlines paced the advance and United Continental (UAL 31.35, +1.74) jumped 5.9%.

The financial sector was also in focus today after the Federal Reserve released the first round of results of its CCAR report, better known as the bank stress test. According to the test results, Ally Financial was the only bank which did not meet the required capital ratio under the adverse scenario. Meanwhile, major financials ended the day on a mixed note. Citigroup (C 46.68, +1.68) gained 3.7% while Goldman Sachs (GS 152.98, -3.64) fell 2.3%.

Looking back at the final sector performance, consumer discretionary (+1.1%), industrials (+0.9%), materials (+0.9%), and telecom (+0.7%) outperformed the broader market. On the downside, technology (+0.1%), consumer staples (+0.2%), utilities (+0.2%), and health care (+0.3%) lagged.

Trading volume was well below its 50-day average as 691 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Reviewing today's economic data, the employment situation improved in February as nonfarm payrolls added 236,000 to follow a downwardly revised 119,000 (from 157,000) in January. Today's reading was reported well above the Briefing.com consensus expectation of a 165,000 job gain.

The average weekly hours worked increased from 34.4 in January to 34.5 in February. Hourly earnings rose 0.2% after increasing only 0.1% in January. Impressively, the increase in hours, earnings, and payrolls caused aggregate wages to increase 0.7%.

That gain is more than enough to keep consumption growth steady and help replenish lost savings after the January tax increases.

Strangely, even though the labor sector has shown strong stability and gradual improvement over the past few months, the labor force fell by 130,000 and the participation rate declined from 63.6% in January to 63.5%.

If the labor force participation rate had remained at its previous level, the unemployment rate would have held steady at 7.9%.

Wholesale inventories increased 1.2% in January after rising an upwardly revised 0.1% (from -0.1%) in December. The Briefing.com consensus expected wholesale inventories to increase 0.2%. Unfortunately, most of the gain was the result of a sharp drop in wholesale sales which led to more goods being left on the shelves. Wholesale sales fell 0.8% after holding flat in December.

There is no economic news scheduled for a Monday release. On Tuesday, the United States Treasury will report its February budget at 14:00 ET.

Week in Review: Dow Jones Industrial Average Enters Uncharted Territory

On Monday, the S&P 500 settled with a gain of 0.5% despite spending the majority of the day in negative territory. The first session of the week began amid cautious trade resulting from news out of China where officials announced steps to curtail the rapid rise in the country's housing prices. The news contributed to a slightly lower open for the U.S. session, which lacked any notable economic data. Similarly, earnings reaction was rather muted with only a handful of names reporting their quarterly results. Apple (AAPL 431.72, +1.14) lost 2.4%, and its shares filled the gap which resulted from the company's January 2012 earnings report.

Tuesday began with all eyes turned to the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the blue chip index ended Monday's session just 37 points below its all-time closing high. However, the anticipation was promptly removed after the bell when equities jumped higher and the Dow marked its fresh all-time best at 14,286.37. Elsewhere, the Dow Jones Transportation Average marked an all-time high of its own. The bellwether complex settled higher by 1.5% thanks to outperformance from freight carriers and shipping services. Con-way (CNW 36.64, +1.03) and FedEx (FDX 107.80, +0.84) finished with respective gains of 3.9% and 2.0%.

Wednesday's session began on a positive note, but the initial strength was unable to hold throughout the day. The Dow managed to settle near its highs while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished near their lows. Consumer discretionary shares underperformed and Staples (SPLS 12.96, +0.20) fell 7.2% after its quarterly report beat on earnings and missed on revenue. Meanwhile, the broader SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 69.51, +0.65) slid 0.4%.

On Thursday, the major averages ended the session on a higher note after spending the day in a narrow range. The Nasdaq settled as the top performing index with a gain of 0.3%. Several networking-related names outperformed after Ciena (CIEN 17.15, -0.38) reported first quarter earnings well ahead of its Capital IQ consensus estimate. The Dow Jones Transportation Average extended its decline since marking fresh highs, and ended the session down nearly 2.0% from the all-time best notched at Wednesday's open.DJ30 +67.58 NASDAQ +12.28 SP500 +6.92 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1680/1.57 bln/793 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2017/690.5 mln/977

3:35 pm : Precious metals consolidated during the afternoon session and finished the day with modest gains. Apr gold finished $1.80 higher to $1575.10/oz, while May silver ended the day $0.16 higher at $28.97/oz.

The energy space was mostly higher with crude, nat gas and RBOB showing gains and heating oil showing a small loss. Apr crude oil rallied into the close, rising as high as $92.03 per barrel and ended the day up $0.35 at $91.88/barrel. Apr natural gas closed four cents higher at $3.63/MMBtu.DJ30 +69.77 NASDAQ +13.20 SP500 +8.00 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1699/1366.4 mln/782 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2037/491 mln/947

3:00 pm : Heading into the final hour of trade, the major averages have continued their steady climb higher. The S&P 500 is adding 0.4% with consumer discretionary stocks strengthening into the afternoon. The SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector ETF (XLY 52.59, +0.52) is rising 1.0%.

On the downside, the utilities space is the only sector which trades with a loss. The SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLU 37.87, -0.02) is down 0.1%.

Notably, the dollar displayed notable strength throughout the day. The dollar index rallied to session highs after the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%. With the Federal Reserve indicating accommodative policy will remain in place until the unemployment rate nears 6.5%, a downtick brings the economy closer to that target.

After surrendering a part of its gains, the dollar rallied back to session highs after Fitch downgraded Italy's debt rating to 'BBB+.'DJ30 +50.59 NASDAQ +10.80 SP500 +5.83 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1554/1.17 bln/882 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1940/418.9 mln/1008

2:35 pm : The major averages continue to trade near their recent levels with the S&P 500 higher by 0.3%.

Equities began the session on a higher note after the February nonfarm payrolls report came in well above expectations. However, upbeat data was met with a sell-the-news reaction which took the S&P 500 back to its flat line. The benchmark index was able to reclaim about half of its early gains before reports indicated Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy's debt rating to 'BBB+.'

The downgrade news is pressuring the MSCI iShares Italy Capped Index (EWI 12.59, -0.02), but the broader market has been able to recover from the stumble which followed the downgrade news.DJ30 +50.13 NASDAQ +8.78 SP500 +5.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1539/1.08 bln/888 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1888/389.3 mln/1057

2:00 pm : Recent trade has seen the S&P 500 climb back to levels seen prior to the announcement of the Italian sovereign downgrade by Fitch Ratings.

Consumer discretionary stocks have strengthened their leadership with retailers contributing to the outperformance. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 69.34, +0.48) is adding 0.7%.

On the downside, the utilities sector is the only decliner. The SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLU 37.84, -0.05) is off by 0.1%.DJ30 +50.72 NASDAQ +8.03 SP500 +4.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1528/995.5 mln/877 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1876/360.1 mln/1071

1:30 pm : After notching afternoon lows in the 1546 area, the S&P 500 has resumed its upward drift. The early afternoon weakness took place after Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating to 'BBB+' due to the uncertainty stemming from inconclusive election results. The iShares MSCI Italy Capped Index (EWI 12.55, -0.06) fell to session lows following the downgrade, and now trades lower by 0.5%.

The downgrade news also weighed on the euro which slid back to its lows against the dollar. In turn, the dollar index climbed back to its session highs. The dollar index is now adding 0.8% to 82.75.DJ30 +38.35 NASDAQ +7.05 SP500 +3.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1539/930.2 mln/872 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1863/335.6 mln/1064

1:00 pm : Equities began the day on an upbeat note after February nonfarm payrolls were reported well ahead of the Briefing.com consensus. Despite the opening strength, the major averages sold off at the open before setting off on a steady climb, which stalled in recent trade.

The early afternoon rally was short-circuited after Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy's debt rating to 'BBB+' from 'A-.' The downgrade took place as Fitch believes the inconclusive results in the country's general election will delay the formation of new government. In turn, this delay would jeopardize the implementation of further reforms. The iShares MSCI Italy Capped Index (EWI 12.51, -0.10) trades lower by 0.8% in reaction to the downgrade.

The sovereign downgrade was also met with euro weakness as the common currency slid back near its session lows against the dollar. In response, the dollar index climbed back to its highs notched after today's jobs report indicated the unemployment rate slipped to 7.7% from 7.9%.

With the Federal Reserve indicating accommodative policy will remain in place until the unemployment rate nears 6.5%, a downtick brings the economy closer to that target.

Although the broader market continues to trade with modest gains, the action lacks defined sector leadership. Cyclical industrials and materials are outperforming, but growth oriented technology and financial stocks are trading lower.

Major financials are trailing behind the broader market after the Federal Reserve released the first round of results of its CCAR report, better known as the bank stress test. According to the test, Ally Financial was the only bank which did not meet the required capital ratio under the adverse scenario. Bank of America (BAC 12.07, -0.19) and Goldman Sachs (GS 152.69, -3.93) are the weakest performing majors with the SDPR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 18.19, 0.00) registering no change.

Also of note, the Dow Jones Transportation Average is outperforming the broader market. The bellwether complex trades higher by 0.8% amid group-wide strength. In addition, today's outperformance comes after transports lagged behind the broader market over the past two sessions.

Reviewing today's economic data, the employment situation improved in February as nonfarm payrolls added 236,000 to follow a downwardly revised 119,000 (from 157,000) in January. Today's reading was reported well above the Briefing.com consensus expectation of a 165,000 job gain.

The average weekly hours worked increased from 34.4 in January to 34.5 in February. Hourly earnings rose 0.2% after increasing only 0.1% in January. Impressively, the increase in hours, earnings, and payrolls caused aggregate wages to increase 0.7%.

That gain is more than enough to keep consumption growth steady and help replenish lost savings after the January tax increases.

Strangely, even though the labor sector has shown strong stability and gradual improvement over the past few months, the labor force fell by 130,000 and the participation rate declined from 63.6% in January to 63.5%.

If the labor force participation rate had remained at its previous level, the unemployment rate would have held steady at 7.9%.

Wholesale inventories increased 1.2% in January after rising an upwardly revised 0.1% (from -0.1%) in December. The Briefing.com consensus expected wholesale inventories to increase 0.2%. Unfortunately, most of the gain was the result of a sharp drop in wholesale sales which led to more goods being left on the shelves. Wholesale sales fell 0.8% after holding flat in December.DJ30 +37.72 NASDAQ +5.45 SP500 +3.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1500/847.2 mln/909 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1804/311.4 mln/1100

12:30 pm : The major averages slipped off their recent levels after Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy to 'BBB+' with a negative outlook. The sovereign downgrade was also met with euro weakness as the common currency slid back near its session lows against the dollar.

The Italian downgrade took place as Fitch believes the inconclusive results in the country's general election will delay the formation of new government. In turn, this delay would jeopardize the implementation of further reforms. The iShares MSCI Italy Capped Index (12.52, -0.09) trades lower by 0.7% in reaction to the downgrade.DJ30 +27.88 NASDAQ +5.33 SP500 +2.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1496/773.2 mln/896 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1791/286.9 mln/1117

12:00 pm : The S&P 500 has continued to climb steadily off its session lows. The benchmark index is currently adding 0.3% with consumer discretionary, industrials, and materials in the lead.

Notably, the Dow Jones Transportation Average is outperforming the broader market. The bellwether complex trades higher by 0.9% amid group-wide strength. In addition, today's outperformance comes after transports lagged behind the broader market over the past two sessions.DJ30 +49.30 NASDAQ +8.60 SP500 +4.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1526/694.4 mln/829 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1834/261.6 mln/1060

11:30 am : Equities continue to register modest gains with the S&P 500 higher by 0.2%. With the broader market trading modestly higher, industrials and materials have provided some sector leadership. In addition, the consumer discretionary space is trading higher with relative strength among retailers. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 69.21, +0.35) is adding 0.5%.

On the downside, defensively-oriented consumer staples and utilities are underperforming. However, the cyclical financials space also trails behind the broader market. This comes after the Federal Reserve released the first round of results of its CCAR report, better known as the bank stress test. Bank of America (BAC 12.10, -0.16) and Goldman Sachs (GS 153.01, -3.61) are the weakest performing majors with the SDPR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 18.18, -0.01) registering fractional losses.DJ30 +41.32 NASDAQ +6.47 SP500 +3.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1463/611.2 mln/873 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1780/234.6 mln/1100

11:00 am : The major averages are registering modest gains after sliding off their opening highs. The S&P 500 is adding 0.1%.

Stocks began the day firmly higher after February nonfarm payrolls were reported at 236,000, well ahead of the Briefing.com consensus. Although the positive report contributed to an opening bid, the key indices began their retreat shortly thereafter.

Even though the broader market gave back its early gains, the dollar continues to hover near its highs. The dollar index spiked 1.0% to 82.90 in reaction to the unemployment rate dropping to 7.7%. With the Federal Reserve indicating accommodative policy will remain in place until the unemployment rate nears 6.5%, a downtick brings the economy closer to that target.DJ30 +28.59 NASDAQ +3.33 SP500 +2.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1355/504.1 mln/930 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1722/202.8 mln/1142

10:30 am : Commodities are mixed this morning, while the dollar index is at its session high and following those gains, the index is now at a 7-month high.

Earlier this morning, gold and silver dropped notably following the employment data. But in the most recent action, gold and silver both surged higher, rallied back into positive territory and pushed to new session highs. Apr gold is now +0.2% at $1578.10/oz, while May silver is +0.8% at $29.04/oz. May copper is currently -0.3% at $3.51/lb.

Crude oil futures have been in negative territory for most of the session today and fell just below the $91 level earlier this morning, falling as low as $90.91/barrel. In current activity, Apr crude is -0.3% at $91.30/barrel. Natural gas futures rallied higher shortly after floor trading began, pushing to the current session high of $3.62/MMBtu. Natural gas is now +0.8% at $3.61/MMBtu.DJ30 +32.93 NASDAQ +2.40 SP500 +1.62 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1320/383.2 mln/920 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1683/165 mln/1099

10:00 am : The major averages have surrendered the bulk of their gains and the S&P 500 is now flat.

January wholesale inventories increased 1.2%, which was higher than the increase of 0.2% expected by the Briefing.com consensus.DJ30 +10.02 NASDAQ -0.13 SP500 +0.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1317/248.5 mln/868 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1718/123.7 mln/1017

09:50 am : The major averages opened the session on a positive note, but have slipped off their initial highs. The S&P 500 is adding 0.2%.

The upbeat start to the session followed the release of February nonfarm payrolls. The report pointed to an addition of 236,000 jobs while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 165,000. In addition, the unemployment rate slid to 7.7%, but a decline in the participation rate was also a contributing factor.

Notably, the dollar index surged higher and now trades up 0.9%. The greenback strength comes as a decline in the unemployment rate brings the market closer to the Federal Reserve's stimulus exit target of 6.5% unemployment.

January wholesale inventories will be reported at 10:00 ET.DJ30 +39.25 NASDAQ +6.31 SP500 +2.47 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1412/160.2 mln/733 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1789/94.1 mln/915

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +8.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.70. Heading into the open, equity future are signaling a higher start to the session. The S&P 500 futures are adding 0.5% in the wake of the February nonfarm payrolls report, which handily beat expectations. February nonfarm payrolls rose 236,000 to follow January's revised total of 119,000. In addition, the unemployment rate slid to 7.7% from 7.9%. However, the drop was partially owed to a downtick in the participation rate, which slipped from 63.6% to 63.5%.

Notably, the jobs report was met with a selloff in the 10-yr note with its yield climbing to 2.07%.

Elsewhere, the dollar strengthened as the decline in the unemployment rate signals the Federal Reserve may be closer to withdrawing its stimulus. The dollar index is now adding 1.0% to $82.90.

Today's economic data will be topped off with a 10:00 ET release of January wholesale inventories.

09:01 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.00.

U.S. equity futures are hovering near their pre-market highs with the S&P 500 futures up 0.4%.

It was a sea of green across Asia as all of the major bourses, aside from China's Shanghai Composite (-0.2%) and Singapore's Straits Times (-0.2%), ended in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei (+2.6%) continued its outperformance, fueled by the weaker yen and better than expected data. USDJPY hit its highest level since August 2009 while both Japan's current account surplus (JPY0.36 trillion actual versus JPY0.11 trillion expected) and Final GDP (0.0% quarter-over-quarter actual versus -0.1% expected) saw better than expected results. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite (-0.2%) was a laggard despite its surprise trade surplus ($15.3 billion actual versus -$8.8 billion expected) that saw exports jump 22% year-over-year and imports fall 15%. However, it should be noted the number may be an abnormality because of the Lunar New Year.

In Japan, the Nikkei advanced 2.6% to finish at its best level in four and a half years. Exporters were once again strong with Honda Motor adding 2.7% and Toshiba jumping 3.9%. Elsewhere, real estate names continued to see gains as Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsubishi Estate rallied 4.5% and 5.2% respectively.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished higher by 1.4% as economically sensitive names led the way after the surprise Chinese trade surplus. Coal-based energy company China Shenhua Energy jumped 3.9% to finish as one of the top performers. Elsewhere, heavyweight HSBC tacked on almost 2.0%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2% amid a quiet session as traders await tonight's data dump. Financials remained under pressure as Ping An gave up 3.7% after earnings disappointed. Meanwhile, hopes of stronger than expected sales catapulted Great Wall Motor to a 3.1% gain.

European markets are trading higher with Italy's MIB and Spain's IBEX in the lead. The two indices trade with respective gains of 1.7% and 2.1%. Looking at economic data, Spain's January industrial production declined 5.0% year-over-year while the consensus expected a fall of 5.2%. Elsewhere, German industrial production was unchanged month-over-month while expectations called for an uptick of 0.5%. In news, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the country will need to find EUR5.0 billion in 2014 budget savings. The Prime Minister also acknowledged this will be achieved through spending cuts.

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE is adding 0.5%. Steelmaker Evraz is leading the index, trading with a gain of 3.4%.
Germany's DAX trades higher by 0.7%. Merck is rising 2.0% after the drug maker received a broker upgrade. Elsewhere, Infineon Technologies is up 3.7% after peer Texas Instruments (TXN 35.20, 0.00) said it expects its earnings to come in at the top range of its guidance.
In France, the CAC is rising 1.1% with Carrefour in the lead. The food retailer is higher by 3.7%. Elsewhere, France Telecom is advancing 3.5% after European regulators terminated their collusion probe against several European telecom companies.
Italy's MIB is up 1.7% amid broad strength. Construction name Finmeccanica is jumping 5.3%.
In Spain, the IBEX is rallying 2.1% with all 35 components advancing. Fomento de Construcciones is surging 5.4%.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.00. U.S. equity futures have ticked slightly higher in immediate reaction to February jobs data. The S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.4%.

February nonfarm payrolls came in at 236K versus the 165K expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The prior reading was revised down to 119K from 157K. Nonfarm private payrolls added 246K against the 178K consensus. The unemployment rate was reported at 7.7%, better than the Briefing.com consensus which expected the rate to remain unchanged at 7.9%.

Hourly earnings rose 0.2%, in-line with expectations. Lastly, average workweek was reported at 34.5, which was slightly ahead of the 34.4 expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

08:02 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.00.

U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market highs amid upbeat overseas trade. The S&P 500 futures are adding 0.3% ahead of the 8:30 ET release of February nonfarm payrolls. The Briefing.com consensus expects the reading to come in at 165,000 to follow January's 157,000.

Looking at overseas developments:

Asian markets ended on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.2% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.4% and Japan's Nikkei advanced 2.6%.
In regional economic data:
Japan's fourth quarter GDP was revised up to reflect a no growth. This comes after the preliminary reading pointed to a contraction of 0.1%. The GDP price index slipped 0.7% year-over-year, slightly worse than the 0.6% decline expected by the general consensus. Meanwhile, the country's adjusted current account indicated a surplus of JPY0.36 trillion, ahead of the JPY0.11 trillion expected by the market.
China's trade surplus was reported at $15.3 billion while a deficit of $8.8 billion was forecast by the consensus.
Looking at news:
People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the country's high ratio of M2 money to GDP highlights the risks present in the banking system.
North Korea has terminated its ceasefire agreement with the South. This comes after the United Nations levied new sanctions against the isolated country.

European markets are firmly higher at midsession. The United Kingdom's FTSE is adding 0.3%, Germany's DAX is higher by 0.6%, and France's CAC is rising 0.9%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB is adding 1.2% and Spain's IBEX is higher by 1.7%.
Looking at economic data:
Spain's January industrial production declined 5.0% year-over-year while the consensus expected a fall of 5.2%.
German industrial production was unchanged month-over-month while expectations called for an uptick of 0.5%.
In news:
In France, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the country will need to find EUR5.0 billion in 2014 budget savings. The Prime Minister also acknowledged this will be achieved through spending cuts.

In U.S. corporate news:

Gardner Denver (GDI 74.75, +0.90) is adding 1.4% after the company agreed to be acquired by KKR (KKR 19.10, +0.30) for $76.00 per share, representing a 2.9% premium to Gardner Denver's Thursday close.
Dean Foods (DF 17.69, +0.42) is adding 2.4% after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Hold' with a $21 price target.

As mentioned earlier, February nonfarm payrolls will be reported at 8:30 ET. Also at 8:30 ET, nonfarm private payrolls, unemployment rate, hourly earnings, and the average workweek will all be released. Lastly, January wholesale inventories will be announced at 10:00 ET.

07:00 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.50.

07:00 am : Nikkei...12283.62...+315.50...+2.60%. Hang Seng...23091.95...+320.50...+1.40%.

07:00 am : FTSE...6495.96...+26.90...+0.40%. DAX...7990.35...+50.60...+0.60%.

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

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader @ http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader

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