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 Post subject: December 19th Thursday Trade Results - Profit $1200.00
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:39 am 
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:06 pm
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Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
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 @ $1,200.00 dollars or +12.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 @ $1,200.00 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 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=1677

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.

Image ##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

Image 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

Image 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).

Image 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.

Investors Take A Break After Taper Rally

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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors took a breather Thursday following the huge Fed-inspired rally Wednesday.

After ending at record closing highs the previous day, the Dow and the S&P 500 finished the day mostly unchanged. The Nasdaq slipped slightly.

All three indexes surged more than 1% after the Federal Reserve announced a modest scaling back of its stimulus program. Instead of pumping $85 billion per month into the markets through bond purchases, the Fed said it will scale the purchases back to $75 billion per month beginning in January.

* Federal Reserve finally tapers its stimulus

The Fed's decision to wind down -- or taper -- its stimulus program can be interpreted as a sign the economy is getting back on its feet and no longer needs as much assistance from the central bank.

That pleased investors all around, as the change isn't so drastic to start. But it also may satisfy Fed critics who believe the central bank would be in danger of creating runaway inflation if it did not begin to cut back on the accommodative polices that it instituted in response to the financial crisis.

* CNNMoney Fear and Greed Index moves out of Fear mode

Despite Wednesday's big gains, December has so far been a dud for the stock market. All three indexes are flat for the month. But a so-called Santa Claus rally still has time to transpire, especially now that investors have a lot more clarity from the Fed.

But even without any huge gains, 2013 has been a stellar year for stocks. The Dow and S&P 500 are up more than 20% for the year, while the Nasdaq has surged more than 30%.

Those gains put the Dow on track for its best year since 2003 and the S&P 500 on pace for its best year since 1997. The Nasdaq's gains would be the index's best since 2009.

* Fortune 500: Worst-performing stocks of 2013

Gold prices tumbled more than 3% and traders blamed the Fed's taper decision. Prices fell below $1,200 an ounce for the first time in over three years. The Gold ETF (GLD) and gold miners including Newmont Mining (NEM, Fortune 500) were taking a hit. The sharp drop generated plenty of buzz on StockTwits.

"$GLD Yup, agreed, $1200's are history...." Stockswinger1968. "Miners are tanking hard...should see $1,050 - $1,100 in Q1 2014...I'd like to see an $800 bottom."

StockTwits user tradewithjoe added that investors still buying gold "now should just donate money to charity. Fed crushed gold prices yesterday. End of story. $GLD."

But a handful of investors remained optimistic, suggesting that gold could again offer some safe haven appeal if Congress bickers over the debt ceiling early next year.

"$GLD Not a single fundamental reason to sell GOLD, NONE," said skyzer. "Printing $75B instead $85B? What else? Debt Ceiling Increase or default in 1 month."

In corporate news, Darden Restaurants (DRI, Fortune 500) missed on earnings. The company also announced plans to spin off the Red Lobster chain, which experienced a slump in sales.

Target (TGT, Fortune 500)shares fell more than 2% after the retailer said that as many as 40 million people who shopped at Target stores in the three weeks after Thanksgiving may be affected by a breach of credit and debit card data.

Though it remains to be seen how the breach will impact how consumers feel about shopping at Target in the future, one StockTwits trader mentioned that the timing of the breach is particularly unfortunate, given that the holidays are key for retailers.

"$TGT data breach news awful timing so close to Christmas, Bearish," said quantitude.

* IPO market expected to stay hot in 2014

Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) fell after the social media company filed to sell 70 million shares, mostly to index funds that will be buying the stock once it is added to the S&P 500. That includes more than 41 million shares from co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Despite the move downward, StockTwits traders remained bullish on Facebook, which is up more than 100% so far in 2013.

"$FB Go take a nap," said bopdubop. "We'll see you tomorrow. You need some rest. Bullish."

Another trader suggested the pullback may be a good buying opportunity, highlighting that Facebook is slated to be added to the S&P 500 at the end of trading this week, an event that will help further expand the stock's investor base.

"$FB Buy the dip," said explorestocks. "With S&P inclusion tomorrow, there will be a big rally and demand. Bullish."

Looking at stocks around the world, European markets rose by roughly 1.5% in their first opportunity to react to the Fed tapering news. Asian markets ended mixed.

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4:15 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] There was plenty of excitement in the stock market on Wednesday following the FOMC decision to taper its asset purchase program. There wasn't much excitement, however, on Thursday, which featured the added news that the Senate passed the two-year budget agreement. After some early gyrations, the major indices held to pretty tight trading ranges throughout the session and ended the day little changed.

All in all, it was a pretty good showing given the scope of Wednesday's advance and considering the yield on the 10-yr note went as high as 2.95% before settling back down to 2.93%.

A lack of concerted leadership and some buying exhaustion were to blame for the inability to log another record closing high for the S&P 500. It challenged Wednesday's high on two occasions, but each time it was greeted with renewed selling interest that held it in check. The Dow, though, eked out another record close.

Sector-wise, there wasn't a single sector that moved up, or down, more than 1.0%. The performance range was highlighted by a 0.3% gain for the materials sectors on the upside and a 0.7% loss for the rate-sensitive utilities sector on the downside.

Large-cap averages held up better than their smaller counterparts, but a 1.2% drop in Apple (AAPL 544.46, -6.31) left the Nasdaq 100 in a position of underperforming the broader market. The S&P Midcap 400 Index (-0.8%) and the Russell 2000 (-0.8%) were the biggest laggards. That was likely owed to some portfolio rebalancing decisions given that each has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 year-to-date.

Another notable pocket of weakness was found in the precious metals space. Gold (-$43.30 to $1191.70/troy oz.) and silver (-$0.89 to $19.17/troy oz.) dropped 3.5% and 4.4%, respectively, on a host of reasonable explanations that ranged from dollar strength to a lack of inflation concern to tax-loss selling.

Today's economic data didn't move the needle much since it was a mixed bag.

Initial claims for the week ending December 14 rose by 10,000 to 379,000 (Briefing.com consensus 333,000). That was the highest level in nine months, but once again seasonal adjustment problems were cited by the Department of Labor as impacting the reporting, so it couldn't be taken at face value as a "clean read."
Existing home sales declined 4.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.90 mln (Briefing.com consensus 5.00 mln). November marked the first time in 29 months that home sales were below year-ago levels.
The Philadelphia Fed Index jumped to 7.0 in December (Briefing.com consensus 5.0) from 6.5, reflecting an expansion in manufacturing activity in the Philly Fed region
Leading Indicators increased 0.8% in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.2%) in October

The only item on Friday's economic calendar is the third estimate for third quarter GDP (Briefing.com consensus 3.6%; prior 3.6%), which isn't expected to have any impact given its dated nature.

Trading volume today was on the lighter side with 688 mln shares changing hands at the NYSE. That number will be substantially higher on Friday given the quarterly rebalancing and options expiration activity.

Nasdaq +34.1% YTD
Russell 2000 +32.7% YTD
S&P 500 +26.9% YTD
DJIA +23.5% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Precious metals were under significant pressure today as the dollar index held gains following yesterday's FOMC taper announcement. Feb gold fell below the $1200 per ounce level after touching a session high of $1207.80 per ounce in early morning pit trade. It settled with a 3.3% loss at $1193.60 per ounce, at the lowest level since Aug 2010 for the continuous contract
Mar silver traded in a consolidative fashion near the $19.20 per ounce level. Unable to gain momentum, it settled 4.4% lower at $19.18 per ounce
Jan crude oil extended yesterday's gains despite the stronger dollar index. It came off its session low of $97.85 per barrel set at pit trade open and rose to a session high of $99.49 per barrel. The energy component pulled back slightly in late afternoon floor action and settled with a 1.0% gain at $99.07 per barrel
Jan natural gas advanced to the highest level since July 2011 following a record weekly drop in stockpiles. Inventory data for the week ending Dec 13 showed a draw of 285 bcf when a draw of 258-264 bcf was anticipated. Natural gas lifted from its session low of $4.29 per MMBtu and settled with a 4.7% gain at $4.46 per MMBtu.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Not a great deal of change in the overall sense of things. Buyers aren't showing much conviction today (they're probably spent after yesterday), yet there isn't a lot of concerted selling interest either outside of individual issues and precious metals.

Both gold (-$39.70 at $1195.30/oz.) and silver (-$0.82 at $19.24/oz.) are getting clipped pretty good. Several factors, from a stronger dollar to fewer inflation concerns to tax-loss selling, have been cited for today's weakness. All are reasonable, but no matter the specific cause, the weakness is unmistakable.

Separately, there has been some continued fallout in the CBOE Volatility Index (13.74, -0.06) with less interest in seeking downside protection after yesterday's power move following the FOMC decision. With today's loss, the VIX Index is now down 12.8% for the week.

2:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have been locked in mostly sideways action for the last hour or so. Interestingly, the S&P 500 made a run at yesterday's high. On the brink of getting there, selling interest percolated to hold it back.

There just isn't a lot of leadership to speak of at the moment, which is preventing a breakout effort. In turn, bond traders haven't been in a hurry to buy today's dip, so the yield on the 10-yr note remains pinned near its high for the day at 2.93%. That is being watched closely as it is thought a move above 2.95% opens the door for a quick move to 3.00% that some think will be a brake on the equity rally.

Volume isn't all that heavy today, but that won't be the case tomorrow with the quarterly rebalancing and quadruple witching options expiration day (index futures, single stock futures, stock options, and index options).

1:55 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] All in all, the stock market is showing some good resilience today after a big surge yesterday in the wake of the FOMC decision to taper.. The strength of that move, and the talk of a possible setup for a "Santa Claus" rally, could be keeping sellers at bay.

The "Santa Claus" period, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac, encompasses the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the new year. That period has been good for an average gain of 1.6% since 1969. Over the last 44 years, there have been only 10 instances when Santa failed to show up (i.e. the return for the period was negative). The most recent was 2007 when the S&P 500 dropped 2.5%, so it's currently riding a five-year winning streak.

In terms of today's performance, large-cap averages are exhibiting the best relative strength. The S&P Midcap 400 Index and the Russell 2000 are currently down 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, after leading their larger counterparts in 2013.

1:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has trimmed its loss to 0.1% as the deliberate rebound off the morning lows continues. The three advancing sectors-energy (+0.3%), materials (+0.2%), and technology (+0.2%)-have now been joined in the green by telecom services (+0.1%). However, the telecom sector is the smallest S&P 500 group, which limits its influence over the broader market.

Interestingly, despite the rebound in the Dow and S&P 500, the Nasdaq (-0.3%) remains near its opening level. Small-caps also lag as the Russell 2000 trades lower by 0.4%.

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are little changed at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovers right at its flat line while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hold respective losses of 0.3% and 0.2%.

Equities began the session on a lower note amid some profit taking following yesterday's surge that sent the Dow and S&P 500 to record closing highs. The early selling was limited as the indices notched their lows 45 minutes into the session before staging a turnaround.

The Dow has already returned to its flat line thanks to the outperformance of some of its top-weighted components. Chevron (CVX 123.02, +1.42), IBM (IBM 179.97, +1.27), and Visa (V 216.81, +1.46) hold gains between 0.7% and 1.2%.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has yet to regain its flat line as seven of ten sectors register losses. On the upside, the three advancing sectors-energy, materials, and technology-hold modest gains of no more than 0.2%.

The energy sector (+0.1%) trades just above its flat line as crude oil displays a gain of 1.2% at $99.27 per barrel. The other commodity-linked group-materials (+0.1%)-has received support from steelmakers. The Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 49.25, +0.60) trades higher by 1.2%. Despite the notable gain, the sector also has to contend with significant weakness among miners. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 20.52, -0.34) is lower by 1.6% as gold futures trade down 3.3% at $1194.60 per troy ounce.

Elsewhere, the tech sector is being underpinned by Accenture (ACN 79.73, +4.11) and Oracle (ORCL 36.52, +1.92) after both reported better-than-expected results.

Even though the technology sector can be found among the leaders, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.3%) continues to hover near its opening levels. The largest index component, Apple (AAPL 545.28, -5.49), has contributed to the weakness as it trades lower by 1.0%. Biotechnology also weighs as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 218.41, -0.90) displays a loss of 0.4%.

Treasuries hover in the red with the benchmark 10-yr yield up four basis points at 2.93%.

Participants received several economic data points today. The weekly initial claims level increased to 379,000 from an upwardly revised 369,000 (from 368,000). The Briefing.com consensus expected the initial claims level to fall to 333,000. Once again, today's release was accompanied by a statement saying the claims data was biased with Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays responsible for this week's skewed reading.

November existing home sales hit an annualized rate of 4.90 million units, which was a bit weaker than the rate of 5.00 million units that had been expected by the consensus. The pace for November was down from the prior month's unrevised rate of 5.12 million units.

Separately, the Leading Indicators report for November increased 0.8%. That followed a 0.2% increase in September, and was better than the 0.6% uptick expected by the consensus.

Lastly, the November Philadelphia Fed Survey rose to 7.0 from 6.5. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that the Survey would decline to 5.0.

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow (+0.03%) has clawed its way back to its flat line, but the Nasdaq (-0.3%) remains essentially where it started today's session.

Despite the outperformance of the technology sector (+0.2%), the tech-heavy Nasdaq is feeling the weight of its largest component, Apple (AAPL 545.86, -4.91), which trades lower by 0.9%. The index is also being pressured by biotechnology as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 218.59, -0.72) trades lower by 0.3%.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the major averages continue working their way back from the morning lows. The S&P 500 has narrowed its loss to 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovers less than 0.1% below its flat line.

The price-weighted Dow owes its outperformance to some of its most influential components. Chevron (CVX 122.80, +1.20), IBM (IBM 179.86, +1.16), and Visa (V 216.48, +1.13) hold gains between 0.5% and 1.0%.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have risen off their lows, but they remain down for the day. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by three basis points at 2.93%.

11:25 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Not much has changed since our last update as the major averages remain near their opening levels.

The technology sector (+0.2%) continues to outperform with Oracle (ORCL 36.19, +1.59) contributing to the strength. Shares of Oracle trade higher by 4.7% after the company beat its earnings estimates by two cents on above-consensus revenue. On a related note, Accenture (ACN 78.81, +3.19) also outperforms, trading higher by 4.2% after reporting better-than-expected results.

Outside of the two big gainers, other tech components trade in mixed fashion. Facebook (FB 54.57, -1.00) is lower by 1.8% after commencing a public offering of 70 million shares of its common stock. Of the 70 million shares, 41.35 million shares are being sold by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Chipmakers can also be found among the laggards as the PHLX Semiconductor Index trades lower by 0.6%.

11:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have ticked up off their lows, but they continue to hold the bulk of their losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.3%) remains among the laggards but the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.4%) has slipped behind all of its peers.

Sector standing remains little changed from our earlier updates with most groups trading lower. At this juncture, the materials sector (+0.1%) is lone advancer as steelmakers contribute to the strength. The Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 49.28, +0.63) trades up 1.3%. Despite the notable strength of steelmakers, the sector is being weighed down by miners. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 20.52, -0.34) is lower by 1.6% while gold futures display a loss of 3.2% at $1195.90 per troy ounce.

The other commodity-related group, energy, hovers right at its flat line while crude oil trades higher by 0.5% at $98.57 per barrel.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar index has been in positive territory all day so far and remains near its HoD
Gold and silver have been in the red all day so far
Gold broke below $1200/oz and remains there. Feb gold is currently -3.2% at $1195.70/oz
Silver remains at its LoD. Mar silver is now -4.5% at $19.16/oz
Crude oil futures began to take off higher just before pit trade began Feb crude ran as high as $98.70/barrel. Crude is now +0.5% at $98.52/barrel
Natural gas is higher, and was near its HoD just ahead of the weekly EIA inventory data
Following the inventory data, Jan natural gas popped to a new HoD. Jan nat gas is now +3.0% at $4.38/MMBtu

10:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues to hover near its session low (-0.3%) as nine of ten sectors display losses.

November existing home sales hit an annualized rate of 4.90 million units, which was a bit weaker than the rate of 5.00 million units that had been generally expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The pace for November was down from the prior month's unrevised rate of 5.12 million units.

Separately, the Leading Indicators report for November increased 0.8%. That followed a 0.2% increase in September, and was better than the 0.6% uptick expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

Lastly, the November Philadelphia Fed Survey rose to 7.0 from 6.5. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that the Survey would decline to 5.0.

9:40 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices registered opening losses with the Nasdaq (-0.3%) pacing the opening retreat. Interestingly, despite the early underperformance of the Nasdaq, the tech sector (+0.1%) is the only group trading in positive territory.

The remaining nine sectors display losses between 0.1% (energy and materials) and 1.0% (utilities). More importantly, heavily-weighted financials (-0.3%) and health care (-0.3%) are among the early laggards.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have held their levels for the past 45 minutes after spending over four hours in a steady retreat. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by five basis points at 2.94%.

November Existing Home Sales, November Leading Indicators, and the December Philadelphia Fed Survey will all be released at 10:00 ET.

9:15 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.50. Equities are expected to begin today's session on a lower note as index futures hover near their worst pre-market levels. The S&P 500 futures trade six points below fair value with the entire decline coming in the past 45 minutes. There was no specific catalyst responsible for the drop, which suggests it was likely a function of profit taking after the Dow and S&P 500 ended yesterday's session at new record closing highs.

The retreat in futures coincided with Treasuries falling to their lows after spending the entire morning in a downtrend. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by almost five basis points at 2.94%. More notably, the 5-yr note has been under more aggressive selling pressure with its yield spiking eight basis points to 1.68%.

Pre-market economic data was limited to weekly initial claims, which rose to 379,000 from 369,000. The reading was disappointing at first glance, but the Department of Labor said that seasonal adjustment issues related to the holidays continue to skew claims data.

November Existing Home Sales, November Leading Indicators, and the December Philadelphia Fed Survey will all be released at 10:00 ET.

8:57 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.50. U.S. equity futures fell to their lows during the past 30 minutes of action without a specific catalyst. The S&P 500 futures now trade more than six points below fair value.

Asian markets ended mixed as Japan's Nikkei (+1.7%) rallied while markets in China (-1.0%) and Hong Kong (-1.1%) lagged as the recent liquidity crunch intensified once again. The two-week Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate jumped almost 114 basis points to 6.218%.

Economic data was scarce. Japan's foreign bonds buying report indicated net purchases in the amount of JPY110.50 billion (JPY390.10 billion prior). Separately, the All Industries Activity Index ticked down 0.2% month-over-month (-0.2% expected, 0.5% last). Elsewhere, New Zealand's GDP rose 1.4% quarter-over-quarter (1.1% consensus, 0.3% previous).

Japan's Nikkei gained 1.7%, ending less than 100 points below its mid-May high as heavyweights Fast Retailing and FANUC led the advance. The two names settled higher by 4.5% and 4.1%, respectively.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1% after falling from its flat line into the close. Property names weighed as China Resource Land and Hang Lung Properties fell 2.5% and 4.6%, respectively.
China's Shanghai Composite slid 1.0%, ending on its lows. Financials weighed as China Vanke lost 1.5%.

Major European indices hold solid gains across the board. Among new of note, there are reports circulating that Eurozone finance ministers have reached an agreement on a single resolution mechanism to be used in winding down troubled banks. Elsewhere, Fitch affirmed the United Kingdom's sovereign rating at 'AA+' with a Stable outlook.

Investors received several economic data points. Eurozone current account surplus expanded to EUR21.80 billion from EUR14.90 billion (EUR14.20 billion expected). Great Britain's retail sales ticked up 0.3% month-over-month (0.3% expected, -0.9% prior) while the year-over-year reading increased 2.0% (2.3% forecast, 1.8% last). Core retail sales increased 0.4% month-over-month (0.3% consensus, -0.7% prior) while the year-over-year reading pointed to an increase of 2.3% (2.5% forecast, 2.3% last). Italy's wages were unchanged month-over-month (0.2% prior). Elsewhere, Spain's industrial new orders fell 4.0% year-over-year (1.1% expected, -0.3% prior).

Great Britain's FTSE is higher by 1.0% with industrials and financials in the lead. Petrofac is higher by 4.3% and Standard Life holds an advance of 2.8%. Miners lag with Fresnillo, Glencore Xstrata, and Randgold Resources down between 0.5% and 2.9%.
In France, the CAC trades up 1.2% as growth-sensitive names contribute to the gains. Technip is higher by 3.2% while financials AXA and Credit Agricole trade with respective gains of 3.0% and 2.3%.
Germany's DAX sports an advance of 1.3%. Deutsche Boerse leads with a gain of 2.6% while Deutsche Post follows (+1.9%) not far behind. On the downside, HeidelbergCement is lower by 0.8%.

8:31 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.30. The S&P 500 futures continue to hover two points below fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 379,000, which was higher than the 333,000 that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 369,000 (from 368,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 2.884 million from 2.790 million.

7:59 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.50. U.S. equity futures hold modest losses amid light profit taking following yesterday's surge that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to new record closing highs. The S&P 500 futures hover less than two points below fair value.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei +1.7%, China's Shanghai Composite -1.0%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.1%.
Regional economic data was limited:
Japan's foreign bonds buying report indicated net purchases in the amount of JPY110.50 billion (JPY390.10 billion prior). Separately, the All Industries Activity Index ticked down 0.2% month-over-month (-0.2% expected, 0.5% last).
New Zealand's GDP rose 1.4% quarter-over-quarter (1.1% consensus, 0.3% previous).
In news:
Markets in China underperformed as the recent liquidity crunch intensified once again. The two-week Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate jumped almost 114 basis points to 6.218%.

Major European indices hold solid gains across the board. Great Britain's FTSE +1.1%, France's CAC +1.2%, and Germany's DAX +1.4%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +1.4% and Spain's IBEX +1.6%.
Investors received several economic data points:
Eurozone current account surplus expanded to EUR21.80 billion from EUR14.90 billion (EUR14.20 billion expected).
Great Britain's retail sales ticked up 0.3% month-over-month (0.3% expected, -0.9% prior) while the year-over-year reading increased 2.0% (2.3% forecast, 1.8% last). Core retail sales increased 0.4% month-over-month (0.3% consensus, -0.7% prior) while the year-over-year reading pointed to an increase of 2.3% (2.5% forecast, 2.3% last).
Italy's wages were unchanged month-over-month (0.2% prior).
Spain's industrial new orders fell 4.0% year-over-year (1.1% expected, -0.3% prior).
Among news of note:
Fitch affirmed the United Kingdom's sovereign rating at 'AA+' with a Stable outlook.
Reports indicate Eurozone finance ministers have reached an agreement on a single resolution mechanism to be used in winding down troubled banks.

In U.S. corporate news:

Accenture (ACN 78.00, +2.38): +3.2% following its earnings beat on above-consensus revenue.
Darden Restaurants (DRI 53.52, +0.60): +1.1% after reporting in-line results. Also of note, the company announced plans to enhance shareholder value, which include a spinoff of Red Lobster.
Facebook (FB 53.30, -2.27): -4.1% after commencing a public offering of 70 million shares of its common stock. Of the 70 million shares, 41.35 million shares are being sold by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Oracle (ORCL 35.19, +0.59): +1.7% after beating on earnings and revenue.

Weekly initial claims will be reported at 8:30 ET while Existing Home Sales for November will cross the wires at 10:00 ET. In addition, November Leading Indicators and the December Philadelphia Fed Survey will also be released at 10:00 ET.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.00.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...15852.22...+271.40...+1.70%. Hang Seng...22888.75...-255.10...-1.10%.

6:39 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6557.47...+65.20...+1.00%. DAX...9315.56...+133.70...+1.50%.

Dow Inches Up To Record Close On Quiet Trading Day

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(Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished mostly flat on Thursday as investors paused after a rally in the previous session, though the Dow closed at its second record high in a row.

The Nasdaq declined slightly on weakness in tech shares, though its loss was limited by a rally in Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) shares a day after the company's results.

Despite that, trading volume was below average. Many investors have already locked in their gains for the year ahead of the coming holidays. About 5.53 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data.

"There's a lot of transparency in the market, but most of the noise has been made," said Mark Martiak, senior wealth strategist at Premier Wealth/First Allied Securities in New York. "We should expect to continue seeing light volume and not much selling."

Wednesday's rally came after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $75 billion, beginning in January. The statement was accompanied by a dovish indication of rock-bottom interest rates for the foreseeable future, a combination that gave the Dow and the S&P 500 their largest daily gains in two months.

Oracle's stock jumped 5.8 percent to $36.60 a day after the No. 2 software maker reported earnings that beat expectations and gave a bullish revenue outlook. The stock was the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer.

Red Hat Inc (RHT.N) shares jumped 8.2 percent to $53 in extended-hours trading following the company's third-quarter results, which were released after the bell. The stock had ended the regular session at $49, up 0.2 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 11.11 points, or 0.07 percent, to finish at 16,179.08, a record closing high. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dipped 1.05 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 1,809.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shed 11.93 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 4,058.14.

The Dow reached an all-time intraday high of 16,194.72 during the session, while the S&P 500 moved within 3 points of setting a new high. Both indexes are up more than 20 percent this year, with the rally largely fueled by the Fed's accommodative monetary policies.

Facebook (FB.O) shares fell 0.9 percent to $55.05 after the social network company announced the offering of 70 million shares, including more than 41 million shares from Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, worth about $2.3 billion. Zuckerberg's sale, partly to pay a tax bill, will reduce his voting power to 56.1 percent from 58.8 percent.

Among other tech names, Adobe Systems (ADBE.O) shares fell 1.5 percent to $58.13. Texas Instruments (TXN.O) lost 1.5 percent to end at $42.46, weighing on the Nasdaq.

Target Corp (TGT.N) said hackers might have stolen data from some 40 million credit and debit cards of shoppers who visited its stores during the first three weeks of the holiday season in the second-largest such breach reported by a U.S. retailer. The stock slid 2.2 percent to $62.15.

In the deals arena, Dish (DISH.O) is considering a bid for T-Mobile US (TMUS.N) next year, according to people close to the matter, in what would be the satellite TV provider's second attempt at acquiring a major wireless operator. Dish rose 1 percent to $55.83, while T-Mobile gained 8.7 percent to $29.61.

Darden Restaurants (DRI.N) said it would sell or spin off its Red Lobster business, buckling under pressure from activist investor Barington Capital Group after reporting another quarter of sliding profits. Darden's stock dropped 3.6 percent to $51.02.

In economic news, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest in nearly nine months, while home resales fell to the lowest in nearly a year. On the upside, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's index of factory activity rose slightly in December.

About 56 percent of the shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed lower, while about 60 percent of the issues traded on the Nasdaq ended down.

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

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

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