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)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
questions@thestrategylab.com (24/7)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $1260.00 dollars or +12.60 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Gold GC ($GC_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, EuroFX 6E ($6E_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks and Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points. Total Profit @ $1260.00 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
Gold GC Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
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 of my trades were posted real-time in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room. You can read today's ##TheStrategyLab trading chat room logs for details about each one of my trades via price action trading from entry to exit (e.g. time, price, contract size) along with price action commentary as the trade traversed to its completion...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=1517

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. Simply, my trade method is applicable for position trading, swing trading and day trading.

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=209&t=1820

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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 for price action trading 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.

Wall Street Keeps The Rally Going


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Not much can stop this market.

Investors ignored a sharp sell-off in Japanese stocks and a string of so-so economic reports Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the day with gains between 0.2% to 0.7%.

All three indexes are already up between 16% to 18% so far this year.

Click here for more on bonds, stocks, currencies and commodities

U.S. stocks have been particularly volatile over the past week, as investors consider life after the Fed.

The Federal Reserve said it plans to continue its epic bond-buying program, but has hinted at factors that could lead the central bank to pull back.

Investors, particularly bond investors, fear the end of the Fed's intervention since it will likely result in higher rates. Just this week, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note hit its highest level in more than a year. (Bond s say Treasuries are still safe)

As investors looked for safety, gold spiked 1.6%, pushing the price back above $1,400 an ounce for the first time in two weeks.

Duo of lukewarm economic reports: The latest initial jobless claims report came in worse than economists had predicted.

Separate government figures showed the U.S. economy continues to grow at a sluggish pace.

World markets shrug off Japan: Japan has been on a wild ride since its prime minister Shinzo Abe promised a bold plan of bond buying to spur its long sagging economy.

Abenomics wasn't working Thursday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index plunged 5.2%. The index, down more than 10% from its peak, is technically in a correction, but it's still up by more than 30% this year.

The yen, which has been under pressure this year from Japan's aggressive policies, regained ground Thursday.

While Asian markets ended with losses across the board, European markets closed mixed.

Buffett pushing merger mania: Warren Buffett has complained about the dearth of big deals. He put Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA, Fortune 500) money where his mouth is late Wednesday when his firm acquired MidAmerican Energy. Shares of MidAmerican's parent company, NV Energy (NVE), surged on the news that Berkshire will pay a 23% premium for the company.

The battle for Sprint took another turn, after Dish Network (DISH, Fortune 500) raised its offer for Clearwire (CLWR) late Wednesday, topping the bid from Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500). Dish is locked in a takeover battle for Sprint with Japan's SoftBank.

Mixed retail bag: Discount retailer Costco (COST, Fortune 500) reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly earnings, although revenue came in just short of estimates.

Big Lots (BIG, Fortune 500) announced that profits and same store sales dropped in the first quarter.

Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) will triple its network of rapid charging stations to allow drivers to travel from Los Angeles to New York by year's end, CEO Elon Musk announced at the All Things Digital conference in California late Wednesday.

Late Wednesday, Moody's cut the credit rating of Dow component Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) to junk bond status.

Shares of information data storage equipment maker EMC (EMC, Fortune 500) got a lift after it announced its first quarterly dividend and increased the side of its share repurchase program.




Market Update

4:10 pm : The major averages settled with modest gains as late afternoon selling took hold following a headline from Nikkei news, indicating Japan plans to impose new foreign exchange margin trading rules. The news caused dollar/yen to slip into the red while also weighing on equities.

Six of ten sectors ended in the black as financials and technology paced the broad market gains.

Most major financials saw gains of at least 1.0% as Morgan Stanley (MS 25.82, +0.84) climbed 3.4% to outperform its peers. Meanwhile, the broader financial sector rose 1.1% to extend its May gain to 7.6%.

Elsewhere, technology shares received support from major components like Apple (AAPL 451.58, +6.63), and Microsoft (MSFT 35.03, +0.15), as well as high-beta chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index settled higher by 1.5%.

The relative strength of technology contributed to the outperformance of the Nasdaq, with additional support coming from biotech. The Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 183.23, +2.16) gained 1.2%.

Biotechnology also constitutes a good portion of the health care sector, which outperformed its defensively-oriented peers, adding 0.7%.

Another defensively-minded group, utilities, was up as much as 2.0% in early action before surrendering the bulk of its gains to settle up 0.2%. The morning rally took place after NV Energy (NVE 23.62, +4.34) agreed to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican for $23.75 per share, representing a 23.2% premium to yesterday's closing price. Despite ending in the black, the utilities sector remains the weakest performer of the month, down 9.0%.

Only a handful of names reported their quarterly results this morning. Industrial component Joy Global (JOY 55.61, +0.53) added 1.0% after its above-consensus results overshadowed the machinery manufacturer's cautious full-year guidance.

In retail earnings, Express (EXPR 21.20, +2.41) surged 12.8% after its solid report was coupled with upbeat bottom-line guidance. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 77.79, +0.27) tacked on 0.4%.

Initial claims for the week ending May 25 jumped by 10,000 to 354,000. The Briefing.com consensus expected the claims level to be 340,000. That bumped up the four-week moving average by 6,750 to 347,250.

The second estimate of first quarter GDP produced a small downward revision to 2.4% from 2.5% (Briefing.com consensus +2.5%) while the GDP deflator slipped to 1.1% from 1.2% (Briefing.com consensus +1.2%).

The upshot of the revision was that personal consumption expenditures growth was revised higher to 3.4% from 3.2%. That was the highest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2010 and it boosted the PCE contribution to GDP growth to 2.4 percentage points from 2.2 percentage points at the first estimate.

Increases in private inventory investment, exports, and imports were less than previously estimated. The lower contribution from the change in private inventories and nonresidential structures were offsetting factors to the uptick in the PCE contribution.

Lastly, pending home sales for April rose 0.3%, which was worse than the 1.5% increase forecast by the Briefing.com consensus. Today's reading follows last month's rise of 1.5%.

Tomorrow, April personal income, personal spending, and core PCE prices will all be announced at 8:30 ET. This will be followed by the 9:45 ET release of the May Chicago PMI while the final Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey for May will cross the wires at 9:55 ET.DJ30 +21.73 NASDAQ +23.78 SP500 +6.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1727/1.72 bln/776 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1787/710.6 mln/1212

3:30 pm :

July crude oil began pit trade in negative territory but rose into the black following inventory data that showed crude oil inventories had a build of 3.0 mln barrels when a draw of 0.45 mln was anticipated, while gasoline inventories had a draw of 1.514 mln vs consensus ranging between a draw of 0.5 mln and a build of 0.1 mln. The energy component advanced to a session high of $93.99 per barrel despite trading as low as $91.65 per barrel in early morning action. It eventually settled at $93.66 per barrel, or 0.6% higher.
July natural gas, on the other hand, fell deeper into the red following inventory data that showed a build of 88 bcf vs expectations for a build of 85-90 bcf. It settled 3.8% lower at $4.02 per MMBtu, just above its session low of $4.01 per MMBtu.
Precious metals extended yesterday's gains as a weaker dollar following bearish U.S. economic data that included initial claims and Q1 GDP supported the move higher.
June gold came off its session low of $1398.00 per ounce and advanced as high as $1417.50 per ounce. It settled at $1411.80 per ounce, booking a gain of 1.5%.
July silver rose to a session high of $23.06 per ounce and settled with a 1.1% gain at $22.70 per ounce after pulling-back in afternoon action.

DJ30 +60.76 NASDAQ +30.52 SP500 +10.12 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1678/1446.2 mln/782 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1826/466 mln/1186

3:00 pm : The major averages hover near their highs as today's session enters its final hour.

In the foreign exchange market, the Dollar Index fell to its lows, near 83.00, in morning action, and held those levels throughout the day. Today's dollar weakness has boosted the euro and the Swiss franc.

The EURUSD pair is higher by 110 pips at 1.3050 as trade remains on track to close at a three-week best. Today's bid managed to run the single currency above both its 50- and 200-day moving averages with 1.3150 as the next area of focus.

Elsewhere, USDCHF is off by 85 pips at .9535 after a two-day slide has shaved roughly 250 pips off the pair, and has shifted attention to support near .9500. The bulk of today's franc strength came after Switzerland reported GDP growth of 0.6% against the expectations of an uptick of 0.2%.DJ30 +88.54 NASDAQ +35.31 SP500 +12.83 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1701/1.31 bln/767 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1907/419.2 mln/1083

2:30 pm : Quiet afternoon action continues with the key indices hovering near their session highs.

Although the broader market has held its levels throughout the day, some sectors have been left out of the advance. The telecom space is the biggest laggard of the day while another defensive sector, consumer staples, trades with a slim loss.

The staples sector was one of the leaders of the broad market rally in the first four months of the year, but recent weakness has caused the group to surrender all of its May gains.DJ30 +91.80 NASDAQ +34.55 SP500 +12.77 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1680/1.21 bln/778 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1894/385.9 mln/1087

2:00 pm : The major averages have returned to their best levels of the day. Although the three indices hover at their highs, a notable divergence in gains is present. The Nasdaq leads with a gain of 1.0% amid broad strength in technology and biotech. The Nasdaq iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB 183.28, +2.21) trades higher by 1.2% while the tech sector adds 1.3%.

The S&P 500 sports a gain of 0.7% as the relative strength of financials, technology, and industrials overshadows the weakness in consumer staples, energy, and telecom.

Lastly, the price-weighted Dow trades up 0.6% as the weakness of Disney (DIS 65.47, -0.79), McDonald's (MCD 97.67, -0.61), and Wal-Mart (WMT 75.95, -0.28) keeps the index from catching up to the other two averages.DJ30 +86.14 NASDAQ +32.81 SP500 +12.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1646/1.11 bln/778 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1879/351.9 mln/1097

1:30 pm : Equities continue to hover near their best levels of the day with the S&P 500 higher by 0.6%.

Similar to equity indices, the Treasury market has been very quiet today until the recently completed 7-yr auction created some buying interest. The $29 billion auction drew a yield of 1.496% while the bid-to-cover ratio of 2.70x was slightly above average. Solid takedowns by indirect and direct bidders left primary dealers with 38.5% of the total supply.DJ30 +67.51 NASDAQ +28.13 SP500 +9.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1593/1.02 bln/803 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1787/323.1 mln/1168

1:00 pm : The first half of today's session has largely been a one-sided affair as equity indices reached their highs within the opening 30 minutes. Since then, action has been confined to a relatively narrow range near those highs.

The utilities sector rocketed out of the gate amid news NV Energy (NVE 23.62, +4.34) has agreed to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican for $23.75 per share. The defensively-oriented sector saw early gains near 2.0% before retracing a portion of that move.

Meanwhile, financials did not give up any of their early gains. Instead, the cyclical sector has made its way to the top of the leaderboard amid strength in most major components.

The recent rally of bank stocks has put the economically-sensitive sector in a prime position to finish May as the top-performing group. Today's 1.2% advance has extended the sector's month-to-date gain to 7.7%.

Technology stocks have also shown strength in recent days, and the sector follows closely behind financials today. Gains in large components like Apple (AAPL 450.24, +5.29) and IBM (IBM 210.55, +2.63) as well as the strength of high-beta chipmakers have provided ample support for the space.

Looking at notable earnings, Joy Global (JOY 56.15, +1.07) trades with a gain of 1.9% after its above-consensus results overshadowed the machinery manufacturer's cautious full-year guidance.

Initial claims for the week ending May 25 jumped by 10,000 to 354,000. The Briefing.com consensus expected the claims level to be 340,000. That bumped up the four-week moving average by 6,750 to 347,250.

The second estimate of first quarter GDP produced a small downward revision to 2.4% from 2.5% (Briefing.com consensus +2.5%) while the GDP deflator slipped to 1.1% from 1.2% (Briefing.com consensus +1.2%).

The upshot of the revision was that personal consumption expenditures growth was revised higher to 3.4% from 3.2%. That was the highest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2010 and it boosted the PCE contribution to GDP growth to 2.4 percentage points from 2.2 percentage points at the first estimate.

Increases in private inventory investment, exports, and imports were less than previously estimated. The lower contribution from the change in private inventories and nonresidential structures were offsetting factors to the uptick in the PCE contribution.

Lastly, pending home sales for April rose 0.3%, which was worse than the 1.5% increase forecast by the Briefing.com consensus. Today's reading follows last month's rise of 1.5%.DJ30 +70.72 NASDAQ +27.27 SP500 +9.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1593/950.1 mln/799 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1802/302.1 mln/1163

12:30 pm : The S&P 500 hovers at its best level of the day as the financial sector continues building on its strength. Most major banks trade with gains of at least 1.0% while the broader sector adds 1.2%. The recent outperformance of bank shares has put the sector on pace to be the best performer of the month. Including today's advance, financials have gained 7.7% in May.

With equities hovering near their highs, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.59, -0.24) is at its lowest level of the day as investors adjust their near-term volatility expectations.DJ30 +68.92 NASDAQ +26.76 SP500 +9.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1609/878.9 mln/770 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1819/280.1 mln/1131

12:00 pm : Equities continue to hover near their highs with the S&P 500 up 0.6%. Recent action saw little change in the major averages while the energy sector has been able to climb out of the red as crude oil reversed its earlier losses. The energy component now trades higher by 0.5% at $93.60 per barrel.

Elsewhere, the Treasury market has been very quiet today with some recent light selling pushing the 10-yr yield higher by one basis point to 2.133%.DJ30 +71.70 NASDAQ +26.72 SP500 +10.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1581/772.7 mln/779 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1830/247.4 mln/1107

11:30 am : The S&P 500 has taken a step back from its recent levels, but the index continues to hold a gain of 0.4% as financials remain in the lead.

While the cyclical financial sector has been able to outperform in the early going, other economically-sensitive groups have not followed its lead. The energy sector trades lower by 0.4% despite a slim gain in the price of crude.

Elsewhere, the relative weakness of homebuilders has weighed on the discretionary space. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 31.14, -0.06) trades with a loss of 0.2%.

Meanwhile, tech shares have shown broad strength among major components like Apple (AAPL 447.26, +2.31) as well as high-beta chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is higher by 1.5%.DJ30 +57.35 NASDAQ +24.23 SP500 +8.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1519/676.6 mln/817 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1761/220.1 mln/1145

11:00 am : The major averages hover just below their best levels of the day. The S&P 500 sports a gain of 0.6% as eight of ten sectors trade higher while energy and telecom services lag.

The recent strength of financials has vaulted the growth-sensitive group to the top of this month's leaderboard. The sector trades higher by 1.1% today, which extends its month-to-date gain to 7.5%.

Elsewhere, May weakness has caused the utilities space to surrender about half of its year-to-date gains. However, the sector has shown some strength today, trading higher by 0.8% after being up nearly 2.0% in early action.DJ30 +72.10 NASDAQ +23.89 SP500 +9.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1532/551.5 mln/766 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1840/183.1 mln/1038

10:35 am : ommodities are mixed with metals higher and energy low this morning, while the dollar index is in the red and near its LoD. Weekly inventory for natural gas and crude oil is out today. Crude oil fell below the $92 level earlier this morning, but has since recovered a portion of its losses.

Natural gas fell following inventory data and is now -1.9% at $4.10/MMBtu. Both nat gas and crude oil have been in the red all morning. July crude oil sold off earlier, but has since recovered some of its losses. In current trade, July crude is -1.0% at $92.19/barrel.

Precious metals are showing strength this morning and both are just under session highs. June gold is now +1.6% at $1413.30/oz, while July silver is +2.0% at $22.91/oz.DJ30 +63.18 NASDAQ +22.58 SP500 +8.36 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1501/472.8 mln/755 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1848/160 mln/1002

10:00 am : The major averages saw little change in reaction to the latest housing data. The S&P 500 trades higher by 0.6%.

Pending home sales for April rose 0.3%, which was worse than the 1.5% increase forecast by the Briefing.com consensus. Today's reading follows last month's rise of 1.5%.DJ30 +78.66 NASDAQ +24.15 SP500 +10.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1572/280.9 mln/562 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1909/100.7 mln/873

09:45 am : The major averages trade modestly higher with the S&P 500 up 0.3%.

Nine of ten sectors have registered gains in early action and the weakest group of the month, utilities, has shown the most notable strength. The defensive sector trades with a gain of 1.4% after NV Energy (NVE 23.64, +4.36) agreed to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B 113.65, +0.62) MidAmerican for $23.75 per share, representing a 23.2% premium to yesterday's closing price.

On the downside, the energy sector trades with a loss of 0.5% as the 1.0% decline in crude oil weighs. The energy component currently trades near $92.20 per barrel.

Pending home sales for April will be announced at 10:00 ET.DJ30 +23.83 NASDAQ +15.14 SP500 +5.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1463/172.5 mln/577 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1767/70.1 mln/930

09:17 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +1.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.00. The S&P 500 futures trade little changed after surrendering their pre-market gains in the wake of today's economic data, which included the second estimate of first quarter GDP as well as weekly initial claims. The GDP report saw a downward revision to reflect growth of 2.4% versus the 2.5% reported in the initial estimate. Meanwhile, initial claims rose to 354,000 from 344,000, which increased the four-week moving average to 347,250.

The final economic report of the day will come in the form of April pending home sales with the release set to cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Looking at notable earnings, Joy Global (JOY 55.17, +0.09) adds 0.2% after beating on earnings and revenue. Although the company's results surprised to the upside, its guidance fell short of analyst expectations.

Elsewhere, Costco (COST 114.00, +1.05) trades with a gain of 0.9% following its bottom-line beat on below-consensus revenue.

08:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.70.

U.S. equity futures continue to trade higher with the S&P 500 futures up 0.2%.

It was a sea of red across Asia as all of the major bourses, aside from India's Sensex (+0.3%), ended with losses. Japan's Nikkei (-5.2%) saw significant selling pressure, and is down almost 15% since the May 22 close. The weakness in Japanese equities sparked a bid in Japanese Government Bonds, pushing yields down as much as 7 basis points in the belly of the curve. The Japanese 10-yr yield ended the day lower by 5 basis points at 0.891%. A Reuters report provided some calm this morning as it suggested Japan's public pension fund is considering a shift into domestic equities from JGBs. Data out overnight showed Australian building permits rose 9.1% month-over-month (4.1% expected) while private capital expenditures posted a 4.7% quarter-over-quarter decline (+0.7% expected). Elsewhere, the Philippines' GDP surged 7.8% year-over-year (6.1% expected) as South Korea's industrial production added 1.8% year-over-year, and Hong Kong retail sales jumped 19.4% year-over-year (11.3% expected).

In Japan, the Nikkei fell 5.2% as trade slipped below the 50-day moving average for the first time since mid-November. Real estate shares were battered as Sumitomo Realty & Development plunged 6.7% and Mitsui Fudosan gave up 5.7%. Meanwhile, exporters outperformed with Toyota Motor and Cannon shedding 1.9% and 2.3% respectively.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.3% to end at its worst level in a month. Airline stocks were pressured on reports Beijing will allow independent airlines to begin flight. China Southern and Air China both lost more than 3.0%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite settled lower by 0.3% as shares slipped off a two-month high. Property developers lagged with Gemdale slipping 1.1% on some profit taking.

European indices trade with modest gains following the release of several economic data points. Eurozone Business and Consumer Survey rose to 89.4 from 88.6 (89.0 expected) while the Business Climate Index ticked up to -0.8 from -1.0 (-0.9 forecast). Also of note, consumer confidence rose to -22.0 from -22.3 (-22.0 expected) while industrial sentiment climbed to -13.0 from -13.8 (-13.0 consensus). Lastly, retail PMI increased to 46.8 from 44.2. Italian PPI declined 0.4% month-over-month (-0.1% forecast, 0.0% previous) while the year-over-year reading fell 1.0% (-0.7% consensus, -0.1% prior). Spanish first quarter GDP declined 0.5% quarter-over-quarter (-0.5% forecast, -0.8% previous). Swiss first quarter GDP rose 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (0.2% expected, 0.3% prior).

Italy auctioned 5- and 10-yr debt with both issues seeing higher average yield than at previous auctions. The 10-yr cleared the market at 4.14% (3.94% previous) while the 5-yr sold with a yield of 3.01% (2.84% previous).

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE trades higher by 0.2% as miners display strength. Fresnillo and Randgold Resources trade with respective gains of 5.5% and 3.2%. On the downside, food retailers Tate & Lyle and Tesco are both down near 2.0%.
Germany's DAX adds 0.5% as financials register gains. Allianz, Commerzbank, and Deutsche Bank are all up between 0.9% and 2.7%. Chemical producer Linde is off by 2.4% following a Citigroup downgrade.
In France, the CAC is higher by 1.0% as cyclical stocks lead the way. Bouygues and STMicroelectronics are both up near 3.0%. Gemalto and Vallourec are the only notable declines as the two hold losses close to 1.5%.

08:34 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.50. U.S. equity futures saw little change in reaction to the latest set of economic data. The S&P 500 futures trade higher by 0.4%.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 354,000, which was higher than the 340,000 that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The tally was above the revised prior week count of 344,000. As for continuing claims, they rose to 2.986 million from 2.923 million.

The second estimate of first quarter GDP indicated growth of 2.4%, down from the 2.5% increase observed in the preliminary reading. The downwardly revised increase is lower than the 2.5% increase that economists polled by Briefing.com had expected. The first quarter GDP Deflator was revised down to 1.1% from 1.2%.

08:01 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.50.

U.S. equity futures hover near their pre-market highs with the S&P 500 futures up 0.3%.

Looking at overseas developments:

Asian markets registered losses as Japan's Nikkei fell 5.2% while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng each shed 0.3%.
In regional economic data:
South Korea's manufacturing BSI Index rose to 78.0 from 75.0 while service sector output increased 0.2% (-0.8% previous). Also of note, industrial production increased 0.8% month-over-month (1.0% consensus, -2.4% prior).
Australia's building approvals climbed 9.1% (4.0% forecast, -5.5% previous) while building capital expenditure declined 5.5% month-over-month (+0.5% consensus, -1.3% prior). Also of note, plant/machinery capital expenditures fell 3.3% quarter-over-quarter (-2.0% expected, -3.3% previous) while private new capital expenditure decreased 4.7% quarter-over-quarter (+0.8% forecast, -2.1% previous).
New Zealand's building consents jumped 18.5% (7.7% consensus, -8.3% prior).
Japan saw its second week of net foreign bond selling (JPY1.1 trillion) after four consecutive weeks of buying interest.
Looking at news:
The 5.2% plunge in Japan's Nikkei erased all of its May gains and widened its decline from the May 22 high to 14.8%. Meanwhile, the USDJPY pair dipped as low as 100.47 (3-week low) before climbing to its current level near 101.60.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank's easing is sufficient to end deflation and the BoJ will not ignore bond market volatility.

European indices trade with modest gains. The United Kingdom's FTSE is higher by 0.4%, Germany's DAX is adding 0.7%, and France's CAC trades up 1.1%.
Looking at economic data:
Eurozone Business and Consumer Survey rose to 89.4 from 88.6 (89.0 expected) while the Business Climate Index ticked up to -0.8 from -1.0 (-0.9 forecast). Also of note, consumer confidence rose to -22.0 from -22.3 (-22.0 expected) while industrial sentiment climbed to -13.0 from -13.8 (-13.0 consensus). Lastly, retail PMI increased to 46.8 from 44.2.
Italian PPI declined 0.4% month-over-month (-0.1% forecast, 0.0% previous) while the year-over-year reading fell 1.0% (-0.7% consensus, -0.1% prior).
Spanish first quarter GDP declined 0.5% quarter-over-quarter (-0.5% forecast, -0.8% previous).
Swiss first quarter GDP rose 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (0.2% expected, 0.3% prior).
In news:
Italy auctioned 5- and 10-yr debt with both issues seeing higher average yield than at previous auctions. The 10-yr cleared the market at 4.14% (3.94% previous) while the 5-yr sold with a yield of 3.01% (2.84% previous).

In U.S. corporate news:

Costco (COST 113.70, +0.75) trades with a gain of 0.7% following its bottom-line beat on below-consensus revenue.
Express (EXPR 20.00, +1.21) is higher by 6.4% after beating on earnings and revenue.
NV Energy (NVE 23.74, +4.46) is soaring 23.1% after the company agreed to be acquired by MidAmerican for $23.75 per share, representing a 23.2% premium to yesterday's closing price.

Weekly initial claims and the second estimate of first quarter GDP will be reported at 8:30 ET while April pending home sales will be announced at 10:00 ET.

07:18 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +7.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.00.

07:18 am : Nikkei...13589.03...-737.40...-5.20%. Hang Seng...22484.31...-70.60...-0.30%.

07:18 am : FTSE...6640.27...+13.40...+0.20%. DAX...8388.21...+51.60...+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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