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 Post subject: March 6th Thursday Trade Results - Profit $790.00
PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:20 am 
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:06 pm
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Location: Canada
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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 @ $760.00 dollars or +7.60 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $30.00 dollars or +0.03 points, Gold GC ($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 @ $790.00 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=128&t=1739

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 or you do not document (journal) your own thoughts from trade to trade...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=234&t=2257

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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.

S&P 500 Hits New High As Ukraine Fears Fade

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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A flurry of political maneuvering on the global stage couldn't stop stocks from reaching a new record Thursday.

The S&P 500 ended the day at an all-time closing high. The Dow Jones industrial average closed higher as well, but the Nasdaq posted a small loss.

The gains came despite a tense political standoff between Russia and Western powers over Ukraine. Russian troops moved into Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula over the weekend, effectively taking control of the strategically important territory.

For now, investors are confident that the conflict will not escalate into a full-blown war. But the crisis could have unpredictable political ramifications.

Political leaders in Crimea have called for a referendum this month on whether to remain part of Ukraine or join the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, U.S. and European officials unveiled new sanctions aimed at pressuring the Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for the crisis.

Despite the geopolitical drama, investors are optimistic about the outlook for stocks this year. The latest reading from the CNNMoney Fear & Greed index shows extreme greed is definitely driving the markets.

Stocks are approaching the five year anniversary of the starting point of the current bull market. And while some investors worry that stocks are overdue for a pullback, bulls say there's more room to run.

In economic news, the government said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. All eyes will be on the jobs report for February tomorrow. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect that 150,000 jobs were added last month and that the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.6%.

On the corporate front, Staples (SPLS, Fortune 500) shares plunged after the office supplier reported a slump in last year's sales and announced that 225 stores will be closed by the middle of 2015.

The news suggests Staple's days as an independent company might be numbered, according to one trader on StockTwits.

"$SPLS this company is going out of business or going to be bought," said jackmac420.

Another trader said the talk about Staples going under is overblown.

"$SPLS typical panic/overreacting. If online is the future, where does that put spls since it's #2 online retailer behind amzn?" said ashlarry.

Costco (COST, Fortune 500) fell after the warehouse retailer reported sales and profits that missed forecasts. Still, one trader was relieved that Costco didn't blame bad weather for its lousy results, unlike a host of other retailers.

"Costco didn't blame the weather at least. Weakness was from holiday promotions and weaker gross margins in fresh foods. $COST," said TraceyRyniec.

Pandora (P) shares sank nearly 6% after the online radio service said listener hours fell to 1.51 billion in February from 1.58 billion in January. It also decided to stop issuing monthly reports on user growth. The pullback comes after Pandora shares hit an all-time high earlier this week. Even with Thursday's decline, the stock is still up nearly 40% this year.

One trader was surprised the stock wasn't down further.

"$P i don't understand who would buy this here after seeing those numbers..." said luckymox.

Chinese Internet company Sina (SINA) surged 9% on more speculation that the company may soon file for an initial public offering for its Weibo unit, a microblogging tool similar to Twitter (TWTR). Sina was the biggest gainer in CNNMoney's Tech 30 index Thursday ... but is still the second-worst performer this year. Interestingly, only Twitter has fared worse.

European markets ended higher after the European Central Bank voted to leave interest rates unchanged at its latest policy meeting. Asian markets all closed with gains.

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4:10 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended the Thursday session on a mixed note ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for February (Briefing.com consensus 163K). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.4%) and S&P 500 (+0.2%) posted modest gains while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) lagged throughout the session.

Equities began the trading day on an upbeat note following comments from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, both of which reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining their current, accommodative, policy stance.

The reminder of continued monetary support overshadowed concerns about the escalation of the situation in Ukraine where the Crimean parliament voted to join the Russian Federation and hold a referendum on the matter in just over a week.

Another issue that was put on the backburner was the continuation of retailer woes as indicated by disappointing quarterly results from Children's Place (PLCE 50.66, -4.04), Costco (COST 113.26, -3.21), and Staples (SPLS 11.35, -2.05). Costco weighed on the consumer staples sector (-0.04%) while the discretionary space (+0.3%) was able to end among the outperformers thanks to gains among quick-service restaurant names. Yum! Brands (YUM 77.29, +2.48) made a significant contribution, climbing 3.3% following a Robert W. Baird upgrade to 'Outperform' from 'Neutral.'

Although the discretionary sector displayed relative strength, it was another cyclical group, financials (+0.7%), that spent the entire day in the lead. The financial sector outperformed for the third consecutive day, extending its week-to-date gain to 2.5% versus a 1.0% increase for the S&P 500.

Despite the relative strength of an influential group, the S&P 500 was knocked off session highs in the early afternoon when significant selling pressure among biotechnology weighed on the health care sector (-0.7%) and the Nasdaq Composite. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 261.14, -7.15) ended near its session low, down 2.7%. Also exerting pressure on the Nasdaq was the technology sector, which ended flat.

The afternoon weakness contributed to increased demand for volatility protection, sending the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.20, +0.31) higher by 2.2%.

Treasuries ended modestly lower with the 10-yr yield up three basis points at 2.74%.

Participation was below average as 661 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Also of note, President Obama addressed the situation in Ukraine, touching on the following points: (1) the Crimea referendum to join Russia violates international law (2) there is an executive order that sanctions anyone threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine (3) Russia should allow international monitors into Ukraine and (4) Congress should resolve to support the IMF's capacity to help Ukraine with a loan facility.

Investors received four economic data points:
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InPlay from Briefing.com Briefing.com

Initial claims for the week ending March 1 fell by 26,000 to 323,000 (Briefing.com consensus 338,000). The Department of Labor said the decline coincided with strong winter storms, implying that layoffs were either deferred or individuals laid off were unable to file their unemployment claims.
Fourth quarter productivity was revised down to 1.8% (Briefing.com consensus 2.5%) from 3.2%.
Unit labor costs declined 0.1% in the fourth quarter (Briefing.com consensus -0.7%) versus an originally reported 1.6% drop. The improvement was the end result of an increase in hourly compensation (positive) combined with a drop in output (negative).
Factory orders declined 0.7% in January after declining a downwardly revised 2.0% (from -1.6%) in December. The Briefing.com consensus expected factory orders to decline 0.5%.

Tomorrow, February nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, hourly earnings, average workweek, and the January trade balance will all be reported at 8:30 ET while the January Consumer Credit report will be released at 15:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +4.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +3.8% YTD
S&P 500 +1.6% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.9% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Apr gold extended yesterday's gains as the dollar index fell on a rally in the euro. The move came as the ECB left its rates unchanged and decided against implementing any potential tools in order to spur pricing.
The yellow metal lifted from its session low of $1335.30 per ounce and broke into positive territory in morning action. It continued to trend higher and settled at $1351.70 per ounce, or 0.9% higher.
May silver also erased overnight losses as it came off its pit session low of $21.17 per ounce. It rose as high as $21.65 per ounce and settled with a 1.5% gain at $21.58 per ounce.
Apr crude oil spent most of today's floor trade in the red, falling to a session low of $100.13 per barrel in early afternoon action. However, buyers stepped in ahead of the close and pushed prices back above the unchanged line, leaving the energy component to settle 0.1% higher at $101.54 per barrel.
Apr natural gas dipped to a session low of $4.51 per MMBtu in early morning action but popped on inventory data that showed a draw of 152 bcf when a smaller draw of 137-138 bcf was anticipated. It advanced to a session high of $4.70 per MMBtu and eventually settled with a 2.9% gain at $4.66 per MMBtu.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has continued its recovery off the afternoon lows, and now hovers roughly three points below its session high.

Financials (+0.8%) have held up well, and the sector remains in the lead with one hour to go. Biotechnology, however, has not seen much of a rebound. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 261.69, -6.60) holds a loss of 2.4% while the health care sector (-0.6%) remains near its session low.

The late afternoon slide from highs sent the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.13, +0.24) to a fresh high, but the near-term volatility measure has since retreated to the middle of its session range.

2:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%) remains near its recently-established afternoon low that resulted from significant weakness in biotechnology. The health care sector continues to trade lower by 0.6% while iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 260.77, -7.51) holds a loss of 2.8%.

The recent weakness in the high-flying industry group has sent the Nasdaq (-0.2%) into the red. The traditional tech sector, meanwhile, hovers right in the vicinity of its flat line. The sector deserves close attention during the final 90 minutes of action since it has the potential to pressure the broader market if top-weighted listings start displaying additional weakness. Currently, top components are mixed with Apple (AAPL 529.82, -2.54) and Microsoft (MSFT 38.07, -0.05) hovering in the red while Google (GOOG 1220.34, +2.08) and Intel (INTC 24.62, +0.12) display modest gains.

The slide from session highs has sparked some demand for volatility protection as indicated by a 2.6% increase in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.25, +0.36).

1:55 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have continued their retreat from the highs with the Nasdaq (-0.2%) and Russell 2000 (-0.2%) dipping into the red.

Biotechnology has driven the decline with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 261.10, -7.27) widening its loss to 2.7%. This has also pressured the health care sector, which now trades lower by 0.6% after trading in-line with the broader market about an hour ago.

The recent weakness in the health care sector combined with the continued underperformance of technology (-0.1%) has caused the S&P 500 to surrender the bulk of its advance. The benchmark index remains modestly higher thanks to the persistent strength of financials (+0.7%) and industrials (+0.5%).

1:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] President Obama recently concluded a brief press conference addressing the Ukraine situation. In the press conference the president touched on the following points: (1) the Crimea referendum to join Russia violates international law (2) there is an executive order that sanctions anyone threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine (3) Russia should allow international monitors into Ukraine and (4) Congress should resolve to support the IMF's capacity to help Ukraine with a loan facility.

The president didn't take any questions. The S&P 500 has dipped a bit following his remarks, but it certainly isn't moving in a way that would suggest there is an abject concern about the situation escalating. That may, or may not, change in time, but the perspective in the here and now is that a solution will be reached that will avert any worst-case scenarios.

That perspective has helped push the S&P 500 to a new record high this week along with the continued understanding that leading central banks continue to espouse very accommodative monetary policies.

As an aside, today marks the five-year anniversary of the intraday low of 666.79 seen during the financial crisis sell-off. The actual closing low (676.53) occurred on March 9. Including today's gain, the S&P 500 has jumped 182% since the March 6 low.

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) and S&P 500 (+0.4%) hover near their best levels of the day while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) and Russell 2000 (+0.1%) lag.

Stocks climbed out of the gate with the financial sector (+0.9%) setting the pace once again. This marks the third consecutive day of notable strength for a sector that has been reluctant to take part in the February rally. The influential group added 2.9% last month versus a 4.3% increase for the S&P 500.

A bit of a role reversal has taken place during the first week of March as the sector sports a week-to-date gain of 2.7% versus a 1.2% increase for the S&P 500.

Today's leader notwithstanding, other sectors are a bit more scattered. Industrials (+0.6%) and materials (+0.8%) outperform while consumer discretionary, energy, and health care all trade in-line with the broader market. For its part, the largest S&P 500 sector-technology (+0.1%)-underperforms, which also explains the relative weakness of the Nasdaq. Biotechnology has also pressured the index as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 266.42, -1.87) trades lower by 0.7%.

Although the discretionary sector has caught up to the broader market, the group was among the laggards until not too long ago. Retailers are on the defensive after Staples (SPLS 11.28, -2.12) reported disappointing results and announced plans to close as many as 225 North American stores by the end of next year.

Another retailer, Costco (COST 113.66, -2.81), trades down 2.4% following disappointing results. This has reflected on the consumer staples sector (+0.1%), which is little changed.

Treasuries hold modest losses with the 10-yr yield up two basis points at 2.73%.

Investors received four economic data points:

Initial claims for the week ending March 1 fell by 26,000 to 323,000 (Briefing.com consensus 338,000). The Department of Labor said the decline coincided with strong winter storms, implying that layoffs were either deferred or individuals laid off were unable to file their unemployment claims.
Fourth quarter productivity was revised down to 1.8% (Briefing.com consensus 2.5%) from 3.2%.
Unit labor costs declined 0.1% in the fourth quarter (Briefing.com consensus -0.7%) versus an originally reported 1.6% drop. The improvement was the end result of an increase in hourly compensation (positive) combined with a drop in output (negative).
Factory orders declined 0.7% in January after declining a downwardly revised 2.0% (from -1.6%) in December. The Briefing.com consensus expected factory orders to decline 0.5%.

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) and S&P 500 (+0.4%) have inched to fresh session highs while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.3%) continues to lag.

Despite today's underperformance, the Nasdaq remains on track to finish the week ahead of the S&P 500 with a gain of 1.4%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 sports a week-to-date increase of 1.2% with financials accounting for a solid portion of that gain.

The financial sector, which has been somewhat dormant in February, has started March on a strong note. Including today's 0.9% gain, the sector is on track to finish the week ahead of the remaining groups with a 2.7% jump.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 sits less than two points below its intraday record high of 1881.87 that was established during the initial 30 minutes of today's affair.

Although the relative strength of financials (+0.7%), health care (+0.4%), and industrials (+0.5%) helped the index climb to its current level, the underperformance of consumer discretionary (+0.3%), consumer staples (+0.1%), and technology (+0.1%) has kept the index from posting additional gains.

Retailer woes have contributed to the relative weakness of both consumer groups after Costco (COST 113.07, -3.40) and Staples (SPLS 11.43, -1.97) reported disappointing results. The two hold respective losses of 2.9% and 14.7% while the broader SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 86.35, -0.18) trades lower by 0.2%.

Homebuilders have also factored into the slight underperformance of the discretionary sector as the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 25.92, -0.17) trades down 0.7%.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their recent levels with the S&P 500 trading higher by 0.3%.

Even though the largest sector-technology-underperforms with a slim gain of just 0.1%, the broader market has not missed a beat as other cyclical groups like energy (+0.4%), financials (+0.7%), and industrials (+0.5%) display solid gains.

Notably, the industrial sector has been boosted by transports. The Dow Jones Transportation Average trades higher by 0.7% with 18 of its 20 components in the green. Including today's advance, the bellwether complex is up 3.3% since Monday's close.

11:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) and S&P 500 (+0.4%) have slipped from their early highs while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) remains just below its best level of the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq lags amid relative weakness among biotechnology and large cap tech names. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 268.17, -0.12) is flat while the likes of Apple (AAPL 532.06, -0.30), Cisco Systems (CSCO 21.84, -0.03), Intel (INTC 24.41, -0.09), and Microsoft (MSFT 38.05, -0.06) hover in the red.

Despite the underperformance of the technology sector (+0.1%), the S&P 500 sits only two points below its session high with other influential groups like financials (+0.8%), health care (+0.5%), and industrials (+0.5%) picking up the slack.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Crude oil was in the red overnight and in the early morning session. It since recovered and is now down three cents at $101.42/barrel
The dollar index has been inching lower this morning and is just above its session low, which is providing some price support in select commodities such as precious metals
Gold and silver futures rallied this morning and remain near session highs. Apr gold is now +0.5% at $1346.60/z, while May silver is +0.5% at $21.37/oz
Natural gas has been in positive territory all session so far and was higher just ahead of the weekly EIA inventory data
Apr nat gas rallied to a new session high following the data and is now +2.9% at $4.66/MMBtu

10:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their session highs with the Dow (+0.5%) in the lead while the Nasdaq (+0.2%) lags.

The just-released factory orders report for January indicated orders decreased 0.7%, which was worse than the Briefing.com consensus estimate that called for a decrease of 0.5%.

9:50 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages began the session on an upbeat note with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.4%) in the lead. The S&P 500 (+0.4%) follows not far behind with eight of ten sectors showing early gains.

The financial sector (+0.7%) began in the lead, continuing its recent outperformance. Including the early gain, the sector is up 2.5% for the week versus a 1.1% gain for the S&P 500. Outside of financials, health care (+0.6%) and materials (+0.6%) paced the opening advance.

On the downside, telecom services (-0.03%) and utilities (-0.2%) hover right below their flat lines.

Treasuries are on their lows with the benchmark 10-yr yield up four basis points at 2.75%.

The factory orders report for January will be released at 10:00 ET.

9:18 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.20. The stock market is on track to begin today's session on a higher note as the S&P 500 futures trade five points above fair value. U.S. equity futures continue to hover near their pre-market highs even as European indices have been beaten back from their best levels of the day. The retreat in Europe followed the European Central Bank's decision to keep its policy on hold.

The announcement was a bit of a surprise to the foreign exchange market as some expected the central bank to announce an end to the sterilization of its bond purchases. The euro strengthened notably, jumping from 1.3750 to 1.3820 against the dollar. The Dollar Index, meanwhile, is lower by 0.3%.

Treasuries hold modest losses with the 10-yr yield up almost three basis points at 2.73%.

9:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.50. The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Major Asian indices posted gains with the exception of Australia's ASX, which shed less than a point. In China, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that GDP growth in the neighborhood of 7.2% would still meet this year's target. This comes after yesterday's headlines indicating the country is targeting 7.5% growth in 2014. Economic data was scarce. Japan's foreign bonds buying report pointed to net sales in the amount of JPY759.00 billion (+JPY601.90 billion prior) and Australia's retail sales increased 1.2% (0.5% expected, 0.7% previous). Separately, the trade surplus expanded to AUD1.43 billion from AUD591 million (AUD270 million expected) as exports grew 4.0% month-over-month (4.0% prior) and imports increased 1.0% (2.0% previous).

Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.6% amid broad strength. The gains were aided by news indicating the country's pension fund does not need to invest in government bonds exclusively. Heavyweight names outperformed with SoftBank climbing 4.9%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.6% as 37 of its 50 components posted gains. Lenovo and Tencent Holdings both gained near 2.0%.
China's Shanghai Composite eked out a modest gain of 0.3%. with financials providing support. China Vanke surged 8.3%.

Major European indices trade mixed after seeing broad gains earlier. Participants received several economic data points. The European Central Bank held its key interest rate at 0.25%, as expected. Separately, eurozone Retail PMI fell to 48.5 from 50.5. The Bank of England kept its main interest rate and the purchasing program at their respective 0.5% and GBP375 billion. Separately, Halifax House Price Index increased 2.4% month-over-month (0.7% expected, 1.1% prior) while the year-over-year reading rose 7.9% (7.2% consensus, 7.3% last). Germany's factory orders increased 1.2% month-over-month (0.7% consensus, -0.2% prior). French unemployment rate slipped to 10.2% from 10.3% (11.0% expected).

Among news of note, the Crimean parliament voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation and set a referendum on the matter within ten days.

Germany's DAX is lower by 0.3%. Heavyweights Deutsche Telekom and Merck lag with respective losses of 3.9% and 4.7%. On the upside, HeidelbergCement is higher by 5.5%.
Great Britain's FTSE trades up 0.2%. Insurer Aviva leads with a gain of 8.5% after the company reinstated bonuses. On the downside, industrials lag. IMI is lower by 5.4% while Meggitt and BAE Systems trade down 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively.
In France, the CAC is higher by 0.4%. Telecom provider Orange leads with a gain of 8.7% after issuing upbeat guidance. On the downside, industrials Legrand and Schneider Electric are both down near 0.6%.

8:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.50. The S&P 500 futures trade five points above fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 323,000, which was lower than the 338,000 that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 349,000 (from 348,000). As for continuing claims, they fell to 2.907 million from 2.915 million.

Productivity data for the fourth quarter showed an increase of 1.8%, which was worse than the 3.2% increase that had been reported in the preliminary reading. It was also below the 2.5% increase that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Unit labor costs for the fourth quarter were revised lower to reflect a decrease of 0.1% after they had reportedly decreased 1.6% in the preliminary reading. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that unit labor costs would tick up in the revised reading to reflect a decrease of 0.7%.

7:57 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.00. U.S. equity futures display modest gains amid upbeat overseas action. The S&P 500 futures trade almost three points above fair value.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended higher. China's Shanghai Composite +0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.6%, and Japan's Nikkei +1.6%.
Economic data was scarce:
Japan's foreign bonds buying report pointed to net sales in the amount of JPY759.00 billion (+JPY601.90 billion prior).
Australia's retail sales increased 1.2% (0.5% expected, 0.7% previous). Separately, the trade surplus expanded to AUD1.43 billion from AUD591 million (AUD270 million expected) as exports grew 4.0% month-over-month (4.0% prior) and imports increased 1.0% (2.0% previous).
In news:
In China, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that GDP growth in the neighborhood of 7.2% would still meet this year's target. This comes after yesterday's headlines indicating the country is targeting 7.5% growth in 2014.
Major European indices hold gains across the board. Germany's DAX +0.2%, Great Britain's FTSE +0.2%, and France's CAC +0.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.8% and Spain's IBEX +1.1%.
Participants received several economic data points:
The European Central Bank held its key interest rate at 0.25%, as expected. Separately, eurozone Retail PMI fell to 48.5 from 50.5.
The Bank of England kept its main interest rate and the purchasing program at their respective 0.5% and GBP375 billion. Separately, Halifax House Price Index increased 2.4% month-over-month (0.7% expected, 1.1% prior) while the year-over-year reading rose 7.9% (7.2% consensus, 7.3% last).
Germany's factory orders increased 1.2% month-over-month (0.7% consensus, -0.2% prior).
French unemployment rate slipped to 10.2% from 10.3% (11.0% expected).
Among news of note:
The Crimean parliament voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation and set a referendum on the matter within ten days.

In U.S. corporate news:

Costco (COST 113.45, -3.02): -2.6% after missing on earnings and revenue. The company's same store sales grew 2.0% in February versus 2.8% expected by the Retail Metrics consensus.
Joy Global (JOY 56.10, +0.31): +0.6% despite missing on earnings.
Staples (SPLS 12.00, -1.40): -10.5% following its disappointing results and guidance. The company announced plans to close as many as 225 North American stores by the end of 2015.

Weekly initial claims, fourth quarter productivity, and unit labor costs will be announced at 8:30 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the factory orders report for January, which is set to be released at 10:00 ET.

6:42 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.00.

6:42 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...15134.75...+237.10...+1.60%. Hang Seng...22702.97...+123.20...+0.60%.

6:42 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6785.27...+9.90...+0.20%. DAX...9565.55...+23.50...+0.30%.

Gold Trades Near Four-Month High Before U.S. Report on Payrolls

By Glenys Sim Mar 6, 2014 9:04 PM ET

Gold traded near the highest level in more than four months and headed for a fifth weekly advance before U.S. payrolls data while tension persisted in Ukraine.

Bullion for immediate delivery was at $1,350.02 an ounce at 10 a.m. in Singapore from $1,350.85 yesterday, when prices rose 1 percent on expectations that U.S. borrowing costs will hold at a record low and European inflation will gradually accelerate. The metal reached $1,354.87 on March 3, the highest since Oct. 30, as tension between Ukraine and Russia escalated.

Gold rose 1.8 percent this week as a private report showed that U.S. companies added fewer workers than projected in February and Russian forces occupied the Ukrainian region of Crimea, stoking concern that there may be military conflict between the two. Bullion rallied 12 percent this year even as the Federal Reserve reduced stimulus.

“People are waiting for the jobs data to gauge the economy in the U.S.,” Zhu Siquan, an analyst at GF Futures Co., a unit of the Guangzhou-based firm that bought Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd., wrote in a note. “As long as the situation in Ukraine remains, gold will get safe haven bids.”

William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said yesterday expectations that interest rates won’t rise until mid-2015 are appropriate, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expects the inflation rate to gain in the next 30 months.

Fed Tapering

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week the central bank is “open to reconsidering” the pace of cuts in asset purchases should the economy weaken. The Fed, which next meets March 18-19, announced a $10 billion reduction to bond buying at each of its past two meetings, leaving purchases at $65 billion.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded product backed by bullion, were unchanged yesterday for a seventh day, the longest stretch assets have held steady in 13 months. In China, volumes for the benchmark spot contract in Shanghai have been lower over the past seven days than the two-week high that was reached on Feb. 25.

Gold for April delivery slid 0.1 percent to $1,350 an ounce on the Comex in New York after climbing 0.9 percent yesterday. In Ukraine, Crimean lawmakers called a referendum to return the Black Sea peninsula to its former Soviet-era master as U.S. and the European Union seek measures to protest the Kremlin’s moves in the region.

Palladium, Platinum

Palladium traded at $781.30 an ounce from $781.11 yesterday, when prices jumped to $783.21, the highest since April 1. The metal rose for a fifth week, the longest stretch since December 2012, on concern that supplies from Russia and South Africa, the biggest producers, may be disrupted.

Platinum was little changed at $1,485.50 an ounce. It also rose for a fifth week in the longest such run since August, and climbed to $1,487.88 on March 5, the highest since Sept. 9. The union leading a strike at the world’s largest platinum mines in South Africa said it won’t back down on demands over pay after talks to end the dispute collapsed.

Silver for immediate delivery traded at $21.5256 an ounce from $21.4729, set for a weekly increase.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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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