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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $400.00 dollars or +4.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $2500.00 dollars or +50.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Gold GC ($GC_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points and EuroFX 6E ($6E_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks. Total Profit @ $2900.00 dollars.

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
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

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=118&t=1526

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=212&t=1853

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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.

Stocks Fizzle After Friday's Rally


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
U.S. stocks ended little changed Monday as investors weighed the outlook for the economy and its implications for Federal Reserve policy.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both lost less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq added 0.1%.

After climbing steadily for the first part of the year, stocks have been choppy in recent weeks as investors attempt to gauge when the Fed will begin to slow the pace of its bond buying program.

Those concerns eased Friday after the Labor Department said hiring continued in May at a cautious pace, while the unemployment rate edged up. The Fed has said it could begin to withdraw monetary stimulus when it sees meaningful improvement in unemployment.

Investors welcomed Friday's report for two reasons, said Bernie Williams, chief investment officer of USAA Investment Solutions. "It was strong enough to support the thesis of a slow-growth economy that is improving, but not too strong to bring fears of an early taper to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program."

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.23% -- the highest level in over a year -- after Standard & Poor's raised the outlook for America's credit rating to stable from negative.

Apple finally unveils its radio service. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. In a widely anticipated move, Cook debuted the "iTunes Radio" streaming service, along with a an update to its iOS mobile operating system and other incremental changes. Apple shares were trading higher during the event but fell once it was over.

Shares of online radio company Pandora (P), which had been lower most of Monday, rose after Apple unveiled iTunes Radio. The stock has been hit hard in recent weeks though on speculation about Apple's plans.

After the market closed, lululemon athletica (LULU) said that its CEO Christine Day was stepping down. Shares plunged after hours on that news even though the company reported first quarter sales and earnings that beat forecasts. The company also said it set aside $17 million to cover the cost of recalled yoga pants, which lululemon recently brought back to market after making sure the pants were not see through.

Facebook (FB) shares rose nearly 5% after analysts at Stifel upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The analysts said the social network could be added to the S&P 500 next year.

Homebuilders were among the worst performers, with Lennar (LEN) and D.R. Horton (DHI) both fell more than 2%.

Shares of for-profit education companies gained as lawmakers prepare to vote on bills that would prevent interest rates on student loans from rising on July 1. Apollo Group (APOL), Corinthian Colleges (COCO) and ITT Educational Services (ESI) all rose.

Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH, Fortune 500) shares fell nearly 3% after an employee, Edward Snowden, admitted to disclosing classified information obtained while working for the National Security Agency.

Click here for data on commodities, currencies and bonds.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors (TSLA), whose shares have soared more than 150% in the last three months, fell after a report in Barron's suggested the run-up had left shares greatly overvalued.

Shares of McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) edged higher after the fast food chain said global sales rose 2.6% in May.

Japan bounces back. Asian markets ended higher as Japan's Nikkei added nearly 5% on a positive revision to first quarter GDP data.

The Hang Seng added 0.2% while markets in China and Australia were closed for a holiday. China's consumer price index rose 2.1% in May, down from 2.4% in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

European markets ended mixed. London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both rose but France's CAC 40 was narrowly weaker.

Turkey's index of leading shares shed 1.8% as anti-government protests stretched into a 10th day. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a defiant tone in weekend speeches, slamming the protesters and warning that "even patience has an end."




Market Update

4:20 pm : Unlike Friday, the stock market didn't provide a lot of trading excitement today. The major indices spent time on either side of the unchanged mark, but were never able to achieve a good deal of separation either way as buyers and sellers alike lacked conviction.

There was some initial excitement when it was announced before the open that Standard & Poor's raised its US outlook to Stable from Negative, citing a lessening of downside risks to its AA+ rating for US sovereign debt. That positive-sounding headline helped stocks get off to a decent start, yet buying efforts soon tapered off as a concurrent rise in long-term interest rates seemed to limit the stock market's enthusiasm for the outlook change.

The yield on the 10-year note moved up to 2.23%, or roughly six basis points higher than where it settled on Friday. The move was striking considering the switch by Standard & Poor's should have been construed as a good thing for the Treasury market. The ensuing weakness, though, seemed to fit with the sense that an improving economic outlook would lessen the safety premium in Treasuries and encourage a rotation into stocks. Nonetheless, not all participants are convinced that the economy will gain steam in coming months; hence, there were some underlying concerns that the jump in rates could retard the recovery as they interfere with the rebound in the housing market. To that end, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 30.26, -0.25) dropped 0.8% today.

The S&P Utilities sector, which is another rate-sensitive area, slipped 0.2% and was a relative laggard in the sector rankings. Indicative of today's lackluster trading action, there wasn't a single sector that moved up, or down, more than 1.0%. The big winner was telecom services, which gained 0.8%, while the energy, industrial, and consumer discretionary sectors all tied on the losing end of things with a 0.3% decline.

Apple (AAPL 438.89, -2.92) was the story stock of the day as attention turned to the company's Worldwide Developers Conference. Shares of AAPL traded higher for most of the session, but rolled over late as the announcement of iOS 7 and iRadio were greeted in a ho-hum manner.

Dow component McDonald's (MCD 99.51, +1.23) enjoyed a better fate, having started strong and remaining strong on news its global comparable-store sales increased a better-than-expected 2.6% in May. The gains in McDonald's, though, weren't enough to keep the Dow from incurring a small loss as a drop in higher-priced IBM (IBM 205.02, -1.33) and 3M (MMM 110.81, -0.30) were offsetting influences.

There wasn't any economic data out of the US today, but St. Louis Fed President Bullard did address economic conditions in a speech on the global economy. Mr. Bullard is a voting FOMC member and he walked the party line of providing a little something for everyone in the tapering debate. To wit, he suggested the low rate of inflation could be justification for the Fed to maintain its aggressive asset buying over a longer time frame and then added that an improved labor market could mean the Fed might slow the pace of its asset purchases.

The Wholesale Inventories report for April (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%; prior +0.4%) is the only piece of US data slated for release on Tuesday. It won't be a market mover, so the direction of currencies and interest rates could be dictating factors along with any new insight from Germany's Constitutional Court on the legality of the eurozone's crisis-management measures.

Today's volume was light with just 595 mln shares changing hands at the NYSE.DJ30 -9.53 NASDAQ +4.55 SP500 -0.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1593/1.5 bln/895 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1333/595 mln/1679

3:30 pm : July crude oil dipped to a session low of $95.19 per barrel in early morning action as initial strength in the dollar index weighed on prices. However, the energy component managed to erase some of the earlier losses once the dollar index began to pull back. It spent afternoon floor action chopping around just below the unchanged level and settled 0.3% lower at $95.80 per barrel. July natural gas rose to a session high of $3.87 per MMBtu in morning action but lost steam and fell into negative territory. It dipped to a session low of $3.78 per MMBtu and eventually settled with a 0.8% loss at $3.80 per MMBtu.

August gold slid into the red and to a session low of $1375.10 per ounce as the S&P revised its U.S. rating to 'Stable' from 'Negative'. However, the yellow metal quickly reversed and recovered into positive territory. It settled 0.2% higher at $1386.00 per ounce, or just below its session high of $1386.60 per ounce. July silver brushed a session low of $21.64 per ounce in early morning action but spent the remainder of floor trade trending higher in choppy fashion. It touched a session high of $21.99 and settled with a 1.0% gain at $21.92 per ounce. DJ30 -8.64 NASDAQ +2.26 SP500 -0.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1490/1.25 bln/967 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1293/396.7 mln/1710

3:00 pm : Moving into the final hour of trading and the major indices are little changed from where they began the day. That has been a common refrain as they have been confined to pretty narrow trading ranges.

Apple (AAPL) has been a story stock throughout the day and even more so this afternoon with its Worldwide Developers Conference under way. A short time ago, Apple unveiled iRadio, which is a radio service featuring over 200 stations. It is ad-supported and will be free for everyone.

Apple's gains have enabled the Nasdaq to maintain its position as a relative strength leader among the major averages.DJ30 +15.59 NASDAQ +6.81 SP500 +1.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1485/1.15 bln/970 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1337/363 mln/1669

2:30 pm : Buyers have backed off in the afternoon session, making it difficult for the major indices to extend earlier gains. The technology sector, which has been a leader for a good portion of today's session, is back to unchanged for the day in a general malaise that has seen Apple (AAPL 442.51, +0.70) give back a good portion of earlier gains.

Still, though, sellers haven't been able to establish much momentum as the buy-the-dip mentality continues to persist.

The 10-year note has seen some earlier selling interest abate, but it is still down 10 ticks on the day and it yield stands at 2.21%, which is up roughly 60 basis point from the low seen in early May.
DJ30 -9.79 NASDAQ +2.38 SP500 -0.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1436/1.05 bln/1011 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1255/332 mln/1727

2:00 pm : The S&P 500 is down less than a point today, so it is a bit of a stretch to say that it is struggling, especially since it rallied 21 points, or 1.3%, on Friday. With the latter in mind, one could argue the market is doing quite well today, holding up not only to profit-taking efforts but also to rising interest rates.

The mixed showing in the US is similar to what unfolded in Europe on Monday. The major bourses were mixed with moves to the downside and upside constrained to less than 1.0%.

The hesitation in Europe is understandable against the reasoning that the German Constitutional Court is going to consider tomorrow whether the approach for dealing with the crisis in the eurozone was legal. The outcome of that decision could be a source of volatility for European markets and world markets as well.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.56, +0.42) is up 2.8% today.
DJ30 -15.52 NASDAQ +4.61 SP500 -0.93 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1476/956 mln/961 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1255/299 mln/1726

1:30 pm : Nothing new to report in terms of the overall action as it is still an indecisive day with the major indices holding close to where they started the session.

Small-cap stocks are faring reasonably well today with the Russell 2000 up 0.3%. However, in keeping with today's mixed and indecisive trade, the mid-cap stocks are running into some profit taking. The S&P 400 Midcap Index is down 0.1%. DJ30 -2.31 NASDAQ +5.50 SP500 +0.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1438/886 mln/977 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1273/277 mln/1753

1:00 pm : By and large, it has been a pretty uneventful day of trading as the major indices have spent time on either side of the unchanged mark, lacking any strong flow of leadership. The technology sector (+0.2%) has been a pocket of relative strength along with telecom services (+0.8%) and basic materials (+0.3%), yet there isn't a single sector that is up or down at least 1.0%.

The market has been in a consolidation mode following Friday's rally, with the S&P 500 trading in a technically-defined range of 1638 at the low and 1649 at the high.

The major headline today is that Standard & Poor's has upgraded its US outlook to Stable from Negative, noting its belief that some of the downside risks to its AA+ rating have receded to the point that the likelihood of lowering that rating in the near term is less than one in three. That call came before the start of trading.

Although the market started the day on a higher note, a jump in interest rates mitigated some of the early enthusiasm. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note hit 2.23% and seemed to put the breaks on an opening advance. Stocks have spent more time in positive territory today than negative territory but they haven't been able to achieve much separation from the unchanged mark.

That wasn't the case in Japan where the Nikkei rallied 4.9% on Monday, bolstered by an upward revision to Japan's Q1 GDP report (to 1.0% from 0.9%) and the encouraging rally Friday on Wall Street.

The lackluster response to Japan's big move fits with the notion that US stocks are digesting recent gains that have seen the S&P 500 surge nearly 3.0% between its low last Wednesday and its high on Friday.

Relative laggards today include the energy (-0.3%), utilities (-0.3%), and industrials (-0.2%) sectors, all of which house companies that provide above-average dividend yields. Similarly, the rate-sensitive homebuilding group has had an underwhelming showing thus far with the jump in rates weighing on sentiment.

Within the Dow, McDonald's (MCD 99.69, +1.41) has been a relative strength leader all session after the company reported a better-than-expected 2.6% increase in comparable-store sales for May. Similarly, Apple (AAPL 446.92, +5.11) has been a leader in the tech sector, trading up as the company's Developers' Conference gets under way. DJ30 -8.99 NASDAQ +6.17 SP500 -0.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1453/686 mln/927 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1341/218 mln/1563

12:25 pm : Thus far, the stock market hasn't been in a hurry to get anywhere. It's just kind of hanging around with large-cap technology stocks holding the line as relative strength leaders.

Of course, when Apple (AAPL 447.63, +5.82) is included in the leadership mix these days, it has a way of keeping buyers interested in the broader market as it feeds into the buy-the-dip mentality.

On a related note, there isn't any rush to buy the dip in the Treasury market. It just moved to new lows for the day. The 10-year note is down 14 ticks and its yield is up to 2.23%.
DJ30 +29.57 NASDAQ +15.46 SP500 +4.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1453/686 mln/927 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1341/218 mln/1563

12:00 pm : The market is holding in a fairly tight trading range that has it much closer to its high for the session than its low.

A glimpse at the Dow shows a pretty mixed performance, yet with the Dow being a price-weighted average, a nice gain in McDonald's (MCD 99.69, +1.41) is helping to keep the Dow on positive ground. Currently, 16 Dow components are sporting a gain while the other 14 are showing a loss. The biggest loser today is Disney (DIS 64.10, -0.75). To be fair, though, it was one of the biggest gainers on Friday.

The US Dollar Index is up 0.3% at 81.88. The stronger dollar is working against some of the commodities, namely crude oil (95.75/bbl, -0.28) and copper (3.23/lb, -0.03). Those key commodities, though, are also feeeling some pinch from signs of slowing in China. DJ30 +13.44 NASDAQ +11.34 SP500 +2.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1433/669 mln/955 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1318/213 mln/1592

11:30 am : The major averages continue to maintain their head above water with the Nasdaq Composite faring better than the others in that respect. The tech-heavy composite is up 0.3%, bolstered by gains in some of its most influential components. Apple (AAPL 446.70, +4.89), Google (GOOG 887.84, +8.11), and Intel (INTC 25.06, +0.47) are all up at least 1.0%.

Overall, however, there still isn't a lot of conviction in today's market. Even so, bulls are likely feeling pretty good about things still considering the marjket is holding up to selling efforts following Friday's big gain and in the face of rising interest rates.

Selling in the Treasury market has tailed off some, but the benchmark 10-year note is still down for the day, off eight ticks with its yield at 2.21%.DJ30 +23.46 NASDAQ +11.14 SP500 +2.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1401/583 mln/951 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1299/186 mln/1586

11:00 am : The major averages are all back in positive territory with recent buying interest seemingly driven by the ability of the S&P 500 to hold technical support near the 1638 level. An inability to break through that mark prompted a rebound effort that now has the S&P 500 challenging resistance around 1646/1647.

The recognition that technical trading activity seems to be defining today's market is understandable considering there was a dearth of economic data in the US today and corporate news has been pretty stock-specific, like McDonald's (MCD) reporting better-than-expected comparable-store sales and Facebook (FB) benefiting from an analyst upgrade.

There isn't a lot of strong sector leadership on either the upside or the downside at this point. To that end, there isn't one sector that is up, or down, more than 1.0%. There are some pockets of notable industry weakness. The homebuilding group jumps out there as higher interest rates (and higher mortgage rates) appear to be acting as a headwind. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is down 1.3%. DJ30 +6.56 NASDAQ +8.05 SP500 +1.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1286/492 mln/1015 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1173/156 mln/1691

10:30 am : Commodities have been volatile this morning, including gold, silver, and natural gas.

Aug gold fell off its session high of $1385.80 and fell into negative territory as the S&P revised its U.S. rating to 'Stable' from 'Negative'. The yellow metal dipped to a session low of $1375.10 but reversed the loss in recent action. It is currently flat at $1382.60. July silver also dipped into the red and touched a session low of $21.64 in early morning pit action. However, prices pushed back into the black and recently touched a session high of $21.92. Silver is currently up 0.3% at $21.82.

July crude oil has been struggling in the red as a stronger dollar index puts pressure on prices. It touched a session low of $95.25 but has been inching slightly higher in recent action. It is currently down 0.4% at $95.65. July natural gas slid to a session low of $3.82 but quickly reversed back into the black. It is currently up 0.7% as it trades at its session high of $3.86. July copper is down 1.2% at $3.23.DJ30 -4.50 NASDAQ +4.41 SP500 -0.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1192/375.6 mln /1102 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1082/125.0 mln/1742

10:05 am : The major averages have stalled somewhat with buyers backing off from their initial efforts. Not sure if that is owed mostly to profit taking after Friday's big move up or a function of concern about rising interest rates.

If the stock market is comfortable thinking the economy is going to pick up steam in coming months, then it is apt to handle a jump interest rates better since that jump would likely be facilitated by a rotation out of bonds and into stocks. However, if interest rates continue to go up without concurrent proof the economy is gaining steam, then it would become more problematic for the stock market. More time and data are needed to see which way things break, yet it can be argued the former view certainly dominated on Friday when the S&P 500 surged 1.3% while long-term rates spiked.

St. Louis Fed President Bullard is speaking about the global economy. He is a voting FOMC member and he once again suggested the low rate of inflation could be justification for the Fed to maintain its aggressive asset buying over a longer time frame. He did say, too, that an improvement in the labor market could mean the Fed might slow the pace of its asset purchases. Pretty much party line for providing the balanced view, so his remarks have effected little change in today's action.

Relative strength is seen in the technology (+0.1%), materials (+0.3%), and telecom (+0.2%) sectors, but all other sectors are showing modest losses at this time.DJ30 -22.97 NASDAQ -0.94 SP500 -2.36 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1021/252 mln/1185 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 856/92 mln/1919

09:40 am : The cash market pretty much followed form with the futures market and opened the session modestly higher. Most sectors have registered slight gains, although it will be an interesting story today to see how the stock market responds to the continued backup in interest rates. The 10-year note is currently down 12 ticks and its yield has risen to 2.22%. It is little surprise then to see that the rate-sensitive utilities secor (flat) is an early laggard. DJ30 +27.34 NASDAQ +3.29 SP500 +1.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1182/126 mln/912 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1247/58 mln/1406

09:16 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.80. The S&P futures had been slowly fading from higher levels seen earlier this morning and the cash market was on track for a flattish start. Now, it looks like the cash market will start the day modestly higher as the futures got a small pop from the headline that Standard & Poor's has raised its US outlook to Stable from Negative. The ratings agency still has a AA+ rating on the US, but it noted that some of the downside risks to that rating have receded to the point that the likelihood of lowering that rating in the near term is less than one in three. Interestingly, Treasuries have backpedalled a bit after the headline. The 10-year note, which was little changed, is now down six ticks and its yield is challenging 2.20%. A further bump in rates could be a disruptor again for rate-sensitive sectors.

08:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.50.

The major Asian bourses ended mostly higher with Japan's Nikkei (+4.9%) leading the way. The Nikkei's strong gain was fueled by the better than expected Final GDP reading (1.0% QoQ actual v. 0.9% expected), as well as the current account surplus widening to JPY0.85 trln (JPY0.39 trln expected, JPY0.34 trln previous), and consumer confidence hitting is highest level since 2007. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite was closed for Dragon Boat Festival. However, the holiday did not prevent the weekend's Chinese data dump. CPI slowed to 2.1% YoY (2.5% YoY expected, 2.4% YoY previous), PPI fell 2.9% YoY (-2.5% YoY expected, -2.6% YoY previous), new loans climbed just CNY667 bln (CNY815 bln expected, CNY793 bln previous), industrial production rose 9.2% YoY (9.4% YoY expected), and fixed asset investment increased 20.4% YTDoY (20.6% YTDoY expected).

In Japan, the Nikkei closed +4.9% as shares posted their biggest advance in more than two years. Real estate and financial shares saw sizable gains as Mitsui Fudosan surged 6.8% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tallied a 5.4% advance. Elsewhere, exporters lagged even as the yen weakened. Nissan Motor added 2.3% and Canon edged up 0.5%. Click here to see a daily Nikkei chart.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng finished +0.2% as shares climbed off their worst level in almost two months. Internet gaming co Tencent Holdings was among the top performers, posting a 1.8% advance. Meanwhile, Air China fell 6.4% as shares were pressured after a tier 1 downgrade.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was closed for Dragon Boat Festival.

Major European bourses trade mixed in with Britain's FTSE (+1.0%) leading the way. In regional economic data, eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence climbed to -11.6 (-10.0 expected, -15.6 prior). Meanwhile, French industrial production posted a 2.2% month-over-month gain (0.3% forecast, -0.6% prior) while Italian industrial production slipped 0.3% month-over-month (+0.1% expected, -0.9% previous).

Britain's FTSE is higher by 1.0% as financials are among the leaders. Royal Bank of Scotland leads the group with a 1.6% gain, but Barclays is holding its own with a 1.0% advance. Miners are lagging as Anglo American and Lonmin are both down at least 3.0%.
France's CAC is flat as transports lead and financials lag. Safran S.A. is the top perfromer, up 2.6%, while automaker Renault holds a 1.5% gain. Meanwhile, Societe Generale weighs with a loss of 0.7%.
Germany's DAX is up 1.0% as the majority of names trade in positive territory. Deutsche Post and Deutsche Lufthansa lead as both trade higher by close to 2.0%. Steel names are weak with ThyssenKrupp down 0.5% and Salzgitter lower by 1.1%.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +0.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.50. The S&P futures have faded from their best levels of the morning and are now pointing to a relatively flat start for the broader market. Following the sizable gains on Friday, when each of the major averages gained at least 1.3%, buyers are cooling their jets at the moment. There isn't a lot of corporate news to move the dial, although Dow component McDonald's (MCD) is expected to be an early standout after reporting a better-than-expected 2.6% increase in global comparable-store sales for May. The utilities sector will also be another area to keep an eye on. Barron's made some positive remarks about the group in this week's issue that could lend some relative strength, assuming interest rates don't continue to spike. Currently, the 10-year note is little changed with its yield at 2.18%.

08:02 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.50.

The S&P futures have a positive bias this morning in a carryover move from Friday's broad-based rally that was driven by the May employment report.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended mostly higher... Japan's Nikkei +4.9%, China's Shanghai Composite CLOSED, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.2%
In regional economic data:
China's CPI rose 2.1% year-over-year (2.5% consensus, prior 2.4%) while PPI increased decreased 2.9%. Also of note, fixed asset investment increased 20.4% (20.5% consensus, 20.6% prior), industrial production jumped 9.2% (9.3% expected, 9.3% prior), and retail sales rose 12.9% (12.9% expected, 12.8% previous).
Japan's first quarter GDP was revised up to 1.0% (0.9% expected, 0.9% prior) while household confidence ticked up to 45.7 from 44.5.
Looking at news:
Markets in China are closed through Wednesday for the Dragon Boat Festival
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to hold high-level talks, starting Wednesday, in an effort to diffuse their latest standoff
European indices are mixed. The United Kingdom's FTSE is flat, Germany's DAX +0.9%, France's CAC -0.2%.
Economic data was limited:
Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence was -11.6 (-10.0 expected, -15.6 prior).
French industrial production +2.2% month-over-month (0.3% forecast, -0.6% prior).
Italian industrial production -0.3% month-over-month (0.1% expected, -0.9% previous).
In news:
German Chancellor Merkel said EU countries should continue to push for structural reform
Turkey's ruling AK Party said it will not hold early elections in the face of rising protests
In U.S. corporate news:
Tesla (TSLA) is trading 3.9% lower in premarket action following a bearish cover Story on this week's Barron's
AstraZeneca (AZN) is buying Pearl Therapeutics for a total acquisition cost of up to $1.15 bln
AMR (AAMRQ) reported a record May load factor of 84.0%

06:46 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.00.

06:46 am : Nikkei...13514.20...+636.70...+4.90%. Hang Seng...21615.09...+39.80...+0.20%.

06:46 am : FTSE...6410.05...-1.90...0.00. DAX...8326.35...+71.70...+0.90%.

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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