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 @ $2,250.00 dollars or +22.50 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $1,562.50 dollars or +31.25 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $80.00 dollars or +0.08 points, Gold GC ($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 @ $3,892.50 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 chat room. You can read today's 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=124&t=1674

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.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. Members and I use the chat room to post WRB Analysis commentary, real-time trades and to post anything else related to trading. The chat room helps me tremendously in my own trading because I use it to document (journal) my thought process from trade to trade so that I can easily review at a later date my thoughts as I interacted with the markets...info I can not get from my broker statements. Also, this is not a signal calling chat room where a head trader tells you when to buy or sell. If you join the chat room and then you do not ask any questions about WRB Analysis in your own trading...the chat room will not be useful to you. Chat room access instructions @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

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 (answering your questions) prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=226&t=2114

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Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/BOE/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.

Dow Jumps 130 Points


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Will they or won't they? With the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year wrapping up on Wednesday, investors are waiting to see if the central bank will begin to cut back, or taper, its massive stimulus program.

But they didn't seem too worried Monday. The Dow jumped about 130 points, or almost 1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose sharply.

The gains were broad-based, with 27 out of 30 Dow members ending higher, and more than 80% of the S&P 500 booking gains.

The Fed's bond buying has supported stock markets around the world, and more investors believe the Fed will move sooner rather than later as economic data continue to improve.

"[A] growing minority now believe that the Federal Reserve could start to taper at this week's meeting," said Kathleen Brooks, a research director at Forex.com, adding that only a few weeks ago, most on Wall Street were expecting the Fed to announce tapering in the early part of 2014. By that time, Janet Yellen will be leading the Fed, succeeding Ben Bernanke, whose term expires at the end of January.

The Fed has been pumping trillions into the economy since December 2008. It's been injecting $85 billion per month since September 2012 through its third round of bond purchases, a program known as quantitative easing.

* Markets are ready for the Fed

In corporate news, AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) rose after the insurer reached an agreement to sell its airline leasing business to AerCap Holdings (AER) for $5.4 billion. AerCap surged on the news as well.

Shares of Sprint (S, Fortune 500) fell 3% despite a report from The Wall Street Journal that it was working on a deal to acquire T-Mobile (TMUS). Shares of T-Mobile tumbled more than 4.5%. Both stocks surged in late trading Friday when the WSJ report first was published.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) agreed to buy Boston Dynamics, a builder of military robots.

Herbalife (HLF) shares spiked after the nutritional supplements company announced that the re-audit of its financial statements from 2010 through 2012 by PriceWaterhouseCoopers was completed without any major changes. Earlier this year, KPMG resigned as Herbalife's auditor after learning that one of its senior partners had leaked non-public information to a third party who had traded on the information.

Carl Icahn, who began investing in Herbalife a year ago shortly after rival activist investor Bill Ackman announced his big short position in the company, said he is happy about the results of the latest accounting review during a phone interview on CNBC. The billionaire investor also said he continues to think Herbalife is undervalued.

Social investing site StockTwits was abuzz with chatter about Twitter (TWTR), as shares declined 4% following two downgrades from Wall Street analysts. The slide brought out the bears on Twitter, which has been rallying for the past three weeks.

"$TWTR - like I said right after the IPO, I'll buy some at around $4," said ChuziChips. "That's the only price that makes sense. Bearish."

Plauze2001 predicted that Twitter will have a tough week: "Mid 40 by end of week. Bearish $TWTR."

But others defended Twitter, arguing that it's still a good long-term bet.

"$TWTR Yes just because its going down today does not mean it will not double in the future this is still long term stock to keep," said QuickCASH.

Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) and IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) were also popular topics among traders, as each stock climbed more than 2% and helped lead the gains on the Dow.

"Exxon is the new "it" stock," said TraceyRyniec. "Earnings expected to decline 8% this year but grow 7% next year. $XOM (I own it.)."

Another trader speculated that IBM may be on the rise as investors step into to buy it at its lows. IBM is the biggest loser in the Dow so far this year.

"$IBM up because funds buying on low PE, 52 week low and 2%+ div," said YamaYuki. "Nothing more nothing less."

Shares of Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) rose nearly 2% in extended trading after the aerospace giant announced a 50% dividend increase and $10 billion stock buyback program. Boeing, which got off to a rough start of the year due to concerns about fires with lithium-ion battery in its new 787 "Dreamliner" jets, has fully recovered from those problems and is now the best-performing Dow stock of 2013.

European markets closed sharply higher, with Germany's benchmark Dax index up almost 2%. Asian markets ended with losses. Japan's Nikkei slumped by 1.6% as the yen strengthened, hitting companies that depend on exports.





4:15 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 settled higher by 0.6%, snapping its four-day losing streak. Despite today's gain, the benchmark index remains lower by 1.1% in December.

The bulk of today's advance occurred shortly after the open as the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 notched their highs during the initial 30 minutes. Small-caps were a notable exception as the Russell 2000 (+1.2%) climbed throughout the day, trimming its month-to-date loss to 2.0%.

Nine of ten sectors registered gains with cyclical groups maintaining their lead throughout the session. The energy sector (+1.0%) displayed strength from the open after its largest component, Exxon Mobil (XOM 97.22, +1.91), was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Goldman Sachs. Crude oil, which added 0.9% to $97.47/bbl, also played a part in the sector's strength.

Elsewhere, the industrial sector (+1.0%) assumed the lead in afternoon trade as defense contractors and transports rallied. The PHLX Defense Index settled higher by 1.2% while the Dow Jones Transportation Average climbed 0.9%.

Although heavily-weighted financials (+0.6%) and health care (+0.2%) were a bit tentative in today's advance, the largest S&P 500 sector, technology (+1.0%) picked up the slack. The sector received support from chipmakers after Avago (AVGO 50.10, +4.45) agreed to acquire LSI Logic (LSI 10.96, +3.05) for $11.15 per share. The broader PHLX Semiconductor Index ended higher by 1.3%.

Even though equities registered solid gains, all ten sectors remain in the red for the month. Countercyclical consumer staples, health care, telecom services, and utilities are down between 1.0% and 2.7% in December while losses among cyclical groups are limited to no more than 1.2% (consumer discretionary and financials).

Despite today's advance, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 16.06, +0.30) climbed for the fourth session in a row, ending at a two-month high.

Treasuries registered modest losses as the 10-yr yield ticked up one basis point to 2.88%.

Today's participation was on the light side as only 669 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

On the economic front, revised productivity data for the third quarter showed an increase of 3.0%, which was above the 2.7% increase that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Unit labor costs for the third quarter were revised lower to reflect a decrease of 1.4% (from -0.6%). The consensus expected the reading to reflect a decrease of 1.3%.

Separately, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for December registered a reading of 1.0, which was up from the prior month's reading of -2.2. However, the reading came in below the 5.0 expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

November industrial production increased 1.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an uptick of 0.4%. Meanwhile, capacity utilization hit 79.0%, which was better than the 78.4% expected by the consensus.

Lastly, the October net long-term TIC flows report reflected an inflow of $25.5 billion into U.S. denominated assets. This followed the prior month's $25.5 billion inflow.

Tomorrow, November CPI, core CPI, and the third quarter current account balance will all be reported at 8:30 ET. Separately, the NAHB Housing Market Index for December will be released at 10:00 ET.

Nasdaq +33.5% YTD
Russell 2000 +31.9% YTD
S&P 500 +25.3% YTD
DJIA +21.2% YTD

3:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Commodities ended the mostly higher with metals higher, excluding platinum futures, energy mixed (WTI crude oil, RBOB and heating oil higher, while Brent crude oil and U.S. nat gas declined) and ag mixed (grains mostly higher, softs mostly lower).

Crude oil futures are higher this morning, which follows an upbeat euro zone PMI report and unrest in Libya. Libya so far refuses to reopen the oil ports in the east of Libya, creating smaller exports to the market. Jan crude oil finished pit trading +$0.94 higher at $97.47/barrel.

Natural gas futures sold off today as more moderate weather conditions in the U.S. weighed on prices. At the end of today's session, Jan nat gas lost 10 cents at $4.26/MMBtu.

Gold and silver rallying this morning, but began to trend lower off those highs for the day. Feb gold erased about $10 of gains and ended up $9.20 at $1244.30/oz, while silver erased about half of its gains and finished $0.49 higher at $20.09/oz.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] With one hour remaining in today's session, equity indices continue to hold solid gains. While the S&P 500 made the bulk of its advance during the opening hour, small-caps saw an additional afternoon push that sent the Russell 2000 to fresh highs. The Russell 2000 sports a solid gain of 1.1%, but remains down 2.0% so far in December.

Despite its December underperformance, the Russell remains on track to end 2013 with an impressive 31.8% gain versus a 25.4% advance in the S&P 500. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has had an even better showing. The index is higher by 33.5% with just over two weeks left in 2013.

2:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades higher by 0.8% after climbing off its afternoon low.

Investors received several economic data points today, and the schedule for the remainder of the week will be equally busy.

Tomorrow, November CPI (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%), core CPI (expected +0.1%), and the third quarter current account balance (expected -$101.00 billion) will all be reported at 8:30 ET while the NAHB Housing Market Index for December will be released at 10:00 ET (consensus 55).

On Wednesday, participants will receive Housing Starts reports for September (Briefing.com consensus 915K), October (consensus 920K), and November (950K). However, all eyes will be turned to the Federal Reserve with the latest policy directive scheduled to be released at 14:00 ET.

2:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Not much has changed since our last update as the Russell 2000 (+0.9%) remains near its best level of the session. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has trimmed its gain to 0.7% as the steady retreat continues.

The technology sector (+1.1%) remains ahead of the other nine groups while other cyclical sectors trade in mixed fashion with respect to the S&P 500. Energy (+1.1%) and industrials (+1.1%) outperform notably while consumer discretionary (+0.6%), financials (+0.6%), and materials (+0.5%) trail.

Elsewhere, Treasuries hover near their lows after spending the past three hours in a steady slide from highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by one basis point at 2.88%.

1:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have faded from their best levels, which were established shortly after the opening bell, but continue to hold decent-sized gains.

Strikingly, the Russell 2000 (+0.8%), which is the domain of small-cap stocks, is outperforming the S&P 500 (+0.5%) today. There isn't a specific news basis for that disposition, yet traders are undoubtedly cognizant of the observation in the Stock Trader's Almanac that small-cap stocks have a history of outperforming their large-cap counterparts beginning in mid-December on the presumption that they will draw added interest in the new year from bonus money being put to work and turnaround interest for some that may have been flattened by tax-loss selling activity.

If there is ultimately a taper tantrum in the stock market this week, small-cap stocks could get hit hard, but for now they are exhibiting relative strength.

The same can be said for the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.99, +0.23), which is up 1.5%. It is an interesting showing considering the stock market is up nicely today. While there hasn't been a move to lock in gains today by selling stocks, the outperformance of the VIX is likely a case of money managers aiming to protect those gains by purchasing some relatively cheap downside protection.

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hold solid midday gains with the Russell 2000 (+0.9%) providing leadership. The broader S&P 500 trades higher by 0.7% as nine of ten sectors register gains.

Stocks jumped out of the gate and reached their highs during the first 30 minutes of action. The early strength coincided with gains across European indices, which rebounded from last week's selling. Although the Russell 2000 has returned to its early high, the S&P 500 has spent the past three hours drifting away from its best level of the day.

Cyclical sectors have made a significant contribution to the opening rally, and energy (+1.1%) remains in the lead at this juncture. The sector has been boosted by its largest component, Exxon Mobil (XOM 98.02, +2.71), which trades higher by 2.8% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.' In addition, crude oil, which trades higher by 0.9% at $97.49/bbl, has also played a part in the sector's strength.

Outside of energy, the technology space (+1.1%) is the only group sporting an advance in excess of 1.0%. Chipmakers trade broadly higher after Avago (AVGO 49.80, +4.15) agreed to acquire LSI Logic (LSI 10.96, +3.05) for $11.15 per share, representing a 41.0% premium to Friday's closing price. The broader PHLX Semiconductor Index trades up 1.5%.

On the countercyclical side, all four sectors trail the broader market. The consumer staples sector hovers just below its flat line while health care (+0.2%), telecom services (+0.5%), and utilities (+0.4%) display modest gains.

Strikingly, despite today's broad gains, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.87, +0.11) is on track to register its fourth advance in a row. The near-term volatility measure has spent the past three sessions trading near a two-month high.

Treasuries are little changed with the benchmark 10-yr yield sitting at 2.87%.

On the economic front, revised productivity data for the third quarter showed an increase of 3.0%, which was above the 2.7% increase that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Unit labor costs for the third quarter were revised lower to reflect a decrease of 1.4% (from -0.6%). The consensus expected the reading to reflect a decrease of 1.3%.

Separately, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for December registered a reading of 1.0, which was up from the prior month's reading of -2.2. However, the reading came in below the 5.0 expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

November industrial production increased 1.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an uptick of 0.4%. Meanwhile, capacity utilization hit 79.0%, which was better than the 78.4% expected by the consensus.

Lastly, the October net long-term TIC flows report reflected an inflow of $25.5 billion into U.S. denominated assets. This followed the prior month's $25.5 billion inflow.

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the Russell 2000 (+1.0%) overtake the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8%) for the lead. The performance of the small-cap Russell bears watching since the index has been setting the pace for the broader market so far this month.

Despite today's gain, the Russell 2000 remains lower by 2.2% this month. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 holds a month-to-date loss of 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown some relative strength, but the index also holds a December loss (-0.8%).

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues to trade within five points of its session high that was established 30 minutes into the trading day. Since the first-hour surge, the index has been locked in a slow retreat.

The energy sector (+1.1%) displayed early strength, and it continues to outperform at this juncture. Meanwhile, the materials space (+0.5%) trails the remaining cyclical groups. Strikingly, the sector lags even as miners and steelmakers outperform. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 21.46, +0.35) trades higher by 1.7% while gold futures trade up 1.0% to $1246.70 per troy ounce. Elsewhere, the Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 48.23, +0.52) is higher by 1.1%, but the largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal (MT 16.20, -0.27) trades lower by 1.6%.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices continue to hover near their recent levels with the Dow (+0.9%) maintaining its outperformance.

As mentioned earlier, all ten sectors trade in positive territory. Furthermore, the technology sector trades ahead of the broader market with a 1.1% gain, erasing its December loss. The largest S&P 500 sector has received support from its top components as Apple (AAPL 561.08, +6.65), Google (GOOG 1072.27, +11.48), and Intel (INTC 24.46, +0.18) trade with gains between 0.7% and 1.2%.

Outside of Intel, other chipmakers have also displayed strength as the PHLX Semiconductor Index trades higher by 1.5%. Avago (AVGO 48.74, +3.09) is a notable outperformer, trading higher by 6.6% after agreeing to acquire LSI Logic (LSI 10.96, +3.05) for $11.15 per share.

11:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the major averages retreat from their opening highs. Even though the indices have pulled back from their best levels of the session, they continue to hold the bulk of their gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.9%) remains in the lead while the small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.8%) follows the price-weighted index.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 trades higher by 0.7%, but only three cyclical sectors-energy (+1.2%), industrials (+0.8%), and technology (+1.2%)-trade ahead of the broader market. Over on the countercyclical side, influential consumer staples (+0.1%) and health care (+0.3%) lag while telecom services (+0.7%) and utilities (+0.9%) outperform.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Commodities are mostly higher this morning, while the dollar index is in the red and just pulled back below the 80.00 level.

Natural gas is the worst-performing commodity this morning, which is driven by more moderate weather conditions in the U.S., but has recovered some off its LoD. Currently, Jan natural gas is -1.3% at $4.30/MMBtu.

Crude oil futures are higher this morning, which follows an upbeat euro zone PMI report and unrest in Libya. Libya so far refuses to reopen the oil ports in the east of Libya, creating smaller exports to the market. Jan crude oil is back near HoD and is now +0.9% at $97.48/barrel.

Precious metals rallied earlier this morning and just rallied again minutes ago, pushing both gold and silver futures to new highs for today. Feb gold is now +0.7% at $1242.90/oz and Mar silver is +1.3% at $19.85/oz.

9:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have continued inching higher following the opening surge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.1%) remains in the lead while the Nasdaq (+1.0%) and S&P 500 (+0.9%) follow not too far behind.

At this juncture, all ten sectors trade with gains and outside of consumer staples (+0.5%), financials (+0.7%), and materials (+0.7%), every group trades in-line or ahead of the broader market.

Elsewhere, Treasuries hover near their best levels of the session with the benchmark 10-yr yield off two basis points at 2.85%.

9:40 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equities climbed out of the gate with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8%) setting the pace. The price-weighted index is providing early leadership as all 30 components register gains.

Exxon Mobil (XOM 97.88, +2.56) is the leading index component, trading higher by 2.6% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.' On a related note, the energy sector (+1.2%) trades ahead of the remaining nine groups. Crude oil has contributed to the early strength as the energy component trades higher by 0.7% at $97.27 per barrel.

The remaining nine sectors also trade in positive territory, but outside of energy, only the telecom services space (+1.5%) displays a gain larger than 1.0%.

9:15 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +8.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +18.50. The major averages are poised for an upbeat start to the session after enduring a downbeat week. The S&P 500 futures trade higher by 0.5% as the benchmark index will look to rebound after losing 1.8% over the course of the past four sessions.

Similar to U.S. equity futures, major European markets are staging a rebound effort of their own that has core indices trading with gains close to 1.0%.

For the most part, pre-market news has been limited to company-specific developments. Notably, LSI Logic (LSI 10.95, +3.04) has surged 38.6% on news the company will be acquired by Avago (AVGO 50.49, +4.84) for $11.15 per share, representing a 41.0% premium to Friday's closing price.

On the economic front, revised productivity data for the third quarter showed an increase of 3.0%, which was above the 2.7% increase that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Unit labor costs for the third quarter were revised lower to reflect a decrease of 1.4% (from -0.6%). The consensus expected the reading to reflect a decrease of 1.3%.

Separately, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for December registered a reading of 0.98, which was up from the prior month's reading of -2.2. Economists polled by Briefing.com expected the survey to improve to 5.0.

Just reported, November industrial production increased 1.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an uptick of 0.4%. Meanwhile, capacity utilization hit 79.0% while the Briefing.com consensus called for a reading of 78.4%.

9:02 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +20.20. The S&P 500 futures trade higher by 0.5%.

It was a sea of red across Asia as virtually all of the major averages ended with losses. Regional data of note was limited to China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI (50.5 actual, 51.0 expected, 50.8 prior) and the Tankan Survey out of Japan. The Large Manufacturers Index rose to 16 from 12 (15 expected) while the Non-Manufacturers Index improved to 20 from 14 (16 consensus). Also of note, the Large Non-Manufacturers Diffusion Index increased to 17 from 14 (19 consensus) while the Small Non-Manufacturers Diffusion Index ticked up to 1 from -2 (2 expected).

Japan's Nikkei lost 1.6%, ending at its lowest level in a month as traders chose to lock in profits before the capital gains tax increases in 2014. Exporters sank as the yen strengthened with Honda Motor and Toyota Motor shedding 2.8% and 1.9%, respectively.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.6% after the disappointing HSBC Manufacturing PMI. Brokerage names underperformed as Citic Securities lost 2.1% amid an uptick in the overnight lending rate. Most notable was the 13 basis point jump in one-month SHIBOR to 5.557%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.6% as trade slumped to its own four-week low. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gave up 1.7%.

Major European indices hover near their best levels of the session as they rebound from last week's losses. Among news of note, Joerg Asmussen has left the European Central Bank's governing council to assume the junior labor minister post in Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet. Deutsche Bundesbank vice-president Sabine Lautenschlager is expected to replace Mr. Asmussen on the governing council. Investors received several economic data points. Eurozone trade surplus narrowed to EUR14.50 billion from EUR12.40 billion (EUR15.20 billion expected). Separately, the Manufacturing PMI improved to 52.7 from 51.6 (51.9 consensus) while Services PMI ticked down to 51.0 from 51.2 (51.5 forecast). Germany's Manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2 from 52.7 (53.0 consensus) while Services PMI slipped to 54.0 from 55.7 (55.5 expected). French Manufacturing PMI ticked down to 47.1 from 48.4 (49.1 expected) while Services PMI eased to 47.4 from 48.0 (49.0 consensus). Italy's trade surplus expanded to EUR4.07 billion from EUR0.83 billion (EUR1.24 billion consensus).

Great Britain's FTSE is higher by 1.1% with basic materials pacing the advance. CRH and Mondi are both up near 3.5%. On the downside, consumer names Next and Persimmon lag with respective losses of 0.4% and 1.3%.
In France, the CAC trades higher by 1.4% as 37 of 40 components register gains. Growth-sensitive Gemalto and Lafarge lead with respective gains of 4.0% and 2.8%.
Germany's DAX sports an advance of 1.8% as all but two components trade in positive territory. Financials Commerzbank and Deutsche Boerse outperform, trading higher by 3.4% and 2.4%, respectively.

In domestic economic news, the October net long-term TIC flows report indicated a $35.4 billion inflow of foreign capital into U.S. denominated assets. This follows the prior month's $25.5 billion inflow.

8:32 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +8.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +17.50. The S&P 500 futures trade higher by 0.5%.

Productivity data for the third quarter showed an increase of 3.0%, which was better than the 1.9% increase that had been reported in the preliminary reading. It was also above the 2.7% increase that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Unit labor costs for the third quarter were revised lower to reflect a decrease of 1.4% after they had reportedly decreased 0.6% in the preliminary reading. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that unit labor costs would tick down in the revised reading to reflect a decrease of 1.3%.

Separately, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for December registered a reading of 1.0, which was up from the prior month's reading of -2.2. Economists polled by Briefing.com expected the survey to improve to 5.0.

7:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +21.20. U.S. equity futures hover near their highs amid upbeat overseas action. The S&P 500 futures trade higher by 0.6%.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended lower across the board. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.6%, China's Shanghai Composite -1.6%, and Japan's Nikkei -1.6%.
Investors received several economic data points:
China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.5 from 50.8 (51.0 consensus).
Japan's Tankan Large Manufacturers Index rose to 16 from 12 (15 expected) while the Non-Manufacturers Index improved to 20 from 14 (16 consensus). Also of note, the Large Non-Manufacturers Diffusion Index increased to 17 from 14 (19 consensus) while the Small Non-Manufacturers Diffusion Index ticked up to 1 from -2 (2 expected).
New Zealand's Westpac Consumer Sentiment rose to 120.1 from 115.4.
India's Wholesale Price Index increased to 7.5% from 7.0% (7.0% expected).
In news:
The yen strengthened following the release of a better-than-expected Tankan Index. The current assessment component of the index came in well ahead of expectations, but the outlook was a bit below analyst estimates.
Major European indices hover near their best levels of the session. Great Britain's FTSE +0.8%, France's CAC +1.0%, and Germany's DAX +1.4%.
In economic data:
Eurozone trade surplus narrowed to EUR14.50 billion from EUR12.40 billion (EUR15.20 billion expected). Separately, the Manufacturing PMI improved to 52.7 from 51.6 (51.9 consensus) while Services PMI ticked down to 51.0 from 51.2 (51.5 forecast).
Germany's Manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2 from 52.7 (53.0 consensus) while Services PMI slipped to 54.0 from 55.7 (55.5 expected).
French Manufacturing PMI ticked down to 47.1 from 48.4 (49.1 expected) while Services PMI eased to 47.4 from 48.0 (49.0 consensus).
Italy's trade surplus expanded to EUR4.07 billion from EUR0.83 billion (EUR1.24 billion consensus).
Among news of note:
Joerg Asmussen has left the European Central Bank's governing council to assume the junior labor minister post in Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet. Deutsche Bundesbank vice-president Sabine Lautenschlager is expected to replace Mr. Asmussen on the governing council.

In U.S. corporate news:

Citigroup (C 51.50, +0.53): +1.0% after Evercore upgraded the stock to 'Overweight' from 'Equal Weight' with a $58 price target.
Exxon Mobil (XOM 96.49, +1.18): +1.2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'
Intel (INTC 24.47, +0.18): +0.7% amid news Verizon (VZ 48.05, +0.21) is close to purchasing Intel's TV service.

The December Empire Manufacturing survey as well as the third quarter productivity and unit labor costs will all be reported at 8:30 ET. The October net long-term TIC flows report will be released at 9:00 ET while November industrial production and capacity utilization will be released at 9:15 ET.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +7.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.50.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...15152.91...-250.20...-1.60%. Hang Seng...23114.66...-131.30...-0.60%.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6472.17...+32.20...+0.50%. DAX...9126.97...+120.60...+1.30%.

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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