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 Post subject: March 19th Wednesday Trade Results - Profit $11790.00
PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:33 pm 
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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)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (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 @ $1,000.00 dollars or +10.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $10,700.00 dollars or +214.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Gold GC ($GC_F) futures @ $90.00 dollars or +0.90 points and EuroFX 6E ($6E_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks. Total Profit @ $11,790.00 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=1748

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.

Stocks Slump On Yellen Rate Hike Remark

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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors weren't too thrilled by what they heard from Janet Yellen during her first meeting in charge of the Fed.

The Dow fell more than 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also finished lower.

Stocks were relatively stable as Yellen started her press conference. But the Dow fell as many as 180 points before recovering after she said the Fed's stimulus program would most likely be finished by the fall and that a rate hike could come as soon as early 2015.

Prior to the press conference, the Fed said it will continue trimming, or tapering, its monthly bond buying program by another $10 billion, to $55 billion a month.

Those asset purchases, a policy known as quantitative easing, started at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to support the U.S. economy. Many experts say it also has been a key driver behind the bull market in stocks for the past five years.

The Fed also said in its statement that was dropping its 6.5% unemployment threshold for hiking interest rates, instead saying that it will strive for maximum employment and 2% inflation before any rate change.

The central bank added that it would keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" after its bond purchases end. But in response to a question at the press conference, Yellen said that a "considerable time" could be as short as six months.

Additionally, the Fed said the cold weather slowed economic growth in recent months.

Bond yields spiked on the Fed news as well. The rate on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.77% Wednesday from 2.68% a day earlier. Bond yields rise when prices fall and investors often sell bonds at times when economic data is improving.

In corporate news, home builders were among the biggest gainers. KB Home (KBH) shares jumped after the company reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations.

Rivals Lennar Corporation (LEN), D.R. Horton (DHI), and PulteGroup (PHM) also rallied. On Tuesday, the government reported that building permits, a sign of future construction, rose by 7.7% in February.

FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) blamed "unusually severe winter storms" for quarterly earnings that came in below estimates. But the fact that snow would impact FedEx wasn't that big of a surprise, and shares of the shipping company fell only slightly Wednesday.

UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) reported a similarly poor profit last quarter due to the weather. Both stocks are in negative territory for the year. But one trader on StockTwits thinks investors are no longer that concerned about companies blaming the weather.

"$FDX Let's see if giddy mkts forgive FDX earnings miss "weather ate my profits" and they rally it could be a common theme this quarter?," said WiseOwlTrader.

But FedEx is often viewed as a bellwether for the economy, and LDrogen thought its earnings could affect other companies.

"Ouch, expect a lot of lowered estimates off of the bad $FDX numbers today," he said.

Shares of Orbitz (OWW) tumbled 9% after the travel site operator was downgraded to a "sell" rating by analysts at Goldman Sachs.

First Solar (FSLR) shares soared 21% after the company said it plans to develop a solar power plant with General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) as part of the two companies' partnership that was announced last year. The stock has soared 135% in the past twelve months. That had one trader wondering if it's time to sell.

"$FSLR good day to take profit." said truongjh.

Horizon Pharma (HZNP)surged after the biotech company said it was buying Dublin-based Vidara Therapeutics International for $660 million. Biotechnology stocks have been on a tear this year, although some of the leading stocks have pulled back lately on concerns about valuations.

"Biotech Lottery is back! Today's early winner---> $HZNP," said chicagosean.

European markets and Asian markets both ended with mixed results Wednesday as traders around the world were all waiting for the Fed.

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4:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages finished the Wednesday session in the red with small caps displaying the largest decline. The Russell 2000 lost 0.7% while the S&P 500 settled lower by 0.6% with all ten sectors ending in the red.

Equity indices did not show much change during the first half of the session as participants awaited the latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve, but activity picked up considerably after the release of the directive. Confusion may have also played a part in today's trading activity as the FOMC statement represented the most wordy directive on record.

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee announced another $10 billion taper, reducing the size of its monthly asset purchases to $55 billion ($25 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities and $30 billion in longer-term Treasuries). In addition, the Committee opted to drop the 6.5% unemployment threshold from its forward guidance while choosing to shift the focus to a 'wide range of information' on jobs as well as inflation.

Although the stock market dropped to new lows immediately following the statement, those losses were limited with the S&P 500 trading roughly five points below its flat line. The benchmark index tried to claw its way back to the flat line, but was unable to do so with selling pressure accelerating after Ms. Yellen gave an interesting answer to a question regarding a portion of the policy statement.

In response to a question as to what the Fed means by "considerable time" for keeping the current target range for the federal funds rate after the asset purchase program ends, Fed Chair Yellen said "probably six months." Selling activity accelerated after the remark and the fed funds futures market, which, last week, expected the first hike to take place in July, saw the expectations shift to April.

Treasuries plunged to lows after the FOMC announcement and continued their retreat during Ms. Yellen's press conference. The benchmark 10-yr yield was up as much as 11 basis points at 2.79% before retreating to 2.77% by the close, representing a nine-point increase.

The big spike in yields weighed on the rate-sensitive utilities sector (-1.5%), which ended at the bottom of the leaderboard. The remaining countercyclical groups were mixed with respect to the broader market as consumer staples (-0.9%) lagged while health care (-0.4%) and telecom services (-0.4%) outperformed.

On the cyclical side, energy (-0.9%), industrials (-1.0%), and materials (-0.9%) bore the brunt of the selling while the remaining groups held up relatively well. Consumer discretionary (-0.6%) and technology (-0.5%) displayed losses comparable to the benchmark index while financials (-0.2%) outperformed as higher rates should translate into improved net interest margins. Bank of America (BAC 17.44, +0.25) and Citigroup (C 48.94, +0.80) settled higher by 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively, while regional banks also displayed strength. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE 41.62, +0.27) gained 0.7%.

Volatility protection was in demand as indicated by a 4.1% increase in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.12, +0.60).

Despite the busy afternoon, participation was on the light side with just over 650 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.

Today's economic data was limited to two data points. The fourth quarter current account deficit totaled $81.10 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $87.60 billion. The third quarter deficit was revised to $96.40 billion from $94.80 billion.

Separately, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 1.2% to follow last week's decline of 2.1%.

Tomorrow, weekly initial claims will be released at 8:30 ET while February Existing Home Sales, February Leading Indicators, and the March Philadelphia Fed survey will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Russell 2000 +3.2% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +3.1% YTD
S&P 500 +0.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.1% YTD

3:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Copper futures rallied 4.2% off its session low to touch $3/lb. It finished the pit trading session at $2.99/lb, up $0.04. This is something to watch given the move and the fact that it's back around the $3/lb mark
Crude oil, copper and natural gas futures all closed just under today's highs
Crude oil climbed off its morning lows and finished the day up 219 cents higher at $99.15/barrel
Apr natural gas rose 3 cents to $4.49/MMBtu
Gold was weak all day and lost $17.50 to $1341.50/oz. May silver fell $0.03 to $20.82/oz

3:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have extended their losses with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all displaying losses close to 0.4% apiece while the Russell 2000 trades down 0.6%.

Fed Chair Yellen is currently taking questions from members of the media and there haven't been any major surprises revealed since our last update. Ms. Yellen said that the Committee's outlook has not changed since December and that it sees sufficient strength in the economy to support continued improvement in the labor market.

Ms. Yellen also commented on the removal of the 6.5% unemployment threshold from forward guidance, saying that while the unemployment rate is a good indicator, it does not provide a full picture on the conditions of the labor market.

Treasuries have retreated to fresh lows, pushing the 10-yr yield to 2.77%.

2:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all hold losses close to 0.1% apiece while the Russell 2000 (-0.3%) continues to lag, which has been the case throughout the session.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have continued their retreat, sending the benchmark 10-yr yield to 2.76%. With yields continuing their climb, the belief that interest rates will rise sooner than it was previously expected may be taking hold. Conversely, the spike in yields has translated into strength for the financial sector (+0.4%), which would benefit from higher net interest margins. The sector has now overtaken the health care space (unch) for the lead.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has just started her press conference and we will bring noteworthy items from the remarks in our upcoming updates.

2:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Federal Open Market Committee has just released its latest policy directive, which called for a $10 billion reduction to the asset purchasing program, reducing the size of monthly purchases to $55 billion.

In addition to the tapering announcement, the Committee removed the 6.5% unemployment threshold from its forward guidance, opting to focus on a 'wide range of information' on jobs as well as inflation.

The initial reaction to the policy statement took the major averages to new session lows before returning into the previously-established ranges. Currently, the S&P 500 is lower by 0.2%.

Treasuries, which hovered near their lows with the benchmark yield at 2.71% ahead of the announcement, have extended their losses, pushing the yield to 2.72%.

At 14:30 ET, Janet Yellen will hold her first press conference since becoming the Fed Chair.

1:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] We're closing in on the FOMC announcement at the top of the hour and are roughly an hour away from Fed Chair Yellen's press conference.

There is some uncertainty about what the policy directive will say, so it is not unreasonable to expect some knee-jerk trading activity shortly after its release. If there is one key point that Fed Chair Yellen will need to convince the market of today, it is the point that the fed funds rate is still going to remain very low for a long time.

The market does not expect the first hike in the fed funds rate to occur until the latter half of 2015. As an aside, it was communicated at the December meeting that 12 of 17 Fed officials don't expect the first hike until 2015.

The potential for increased selling activity would present itself if the market is left with an impression that the first rate hike could happen sooner than the latter half of 2015.

12:55 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] At midday, the major averages hover near their flat lines. The Russell 2000 (-0.3%) lags while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 trade within 0.1% of yesterday's closing levels.

The quiet start to the session should not have come as a surprise considering participants are awaiting the latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to be released at 14:00 ET.

While the Federal Open Market Committee is widely-expected to announce another $10 billion taper, lowering the size of its monthly asset purchases to $55 billion, the policy statement may introduce some new wrinkles into the conversation.

Speculation has ranged from the directive staying the same to being altered to do away with quantitative targets and shifting to qualitative guidance. It will be Fed Chair Yellen's responsibility to explain the policy decision, and since this is her first press conference as Fed Chair, there is an element of uncertainty in terms of how she will handle the press and the questions she will be asked to handle.

At this juncture, the S&P 500 sits less than a point below its flat line with seven sectors showing losses. Utilities (-0.4%) and industrials (-0.3%) are the two biggest laggards while other declining sectors sport losses slimmer than 0.2%.

The industrial sector lags amid weakness in its top component, General Electric (GE 25.42, -0.22), which trades lower by 0.9% after spending the first half of the session in a steady decline. Elsewhere among industrials, The Dow Jones Transportation Average (-0.1%) hovers right below its flat line as the 20 components of the bellwether complex trade in mixed fashion. FedEx (FDX 138.19, -0.38) holds a loss of 0.3% after missing its Capital IQ consensus estimate by $0.25 on revenue that also missed expectations. The logistics company guided fourth-quarter earnings in-line with estimates, but lowered its fiscal-year 2014 guidance below estimates, citing severe winter weather.

On the upside, the health care sector trades higher by 0.4%. This has kept the S&P 500 from drifting too far below its unchanged level.

Unlike equities, Treasuries have been slipping lower through the first half, pushing the benchmark 10-yr yield up to 2.70%.

Today's economic data was limited to the fourth quarter current account deficit, which totaled $81.10 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $87.60 billion. The third quarter deficit was revised to $96.40 billion from $94.80 billion.

12:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their flat lines with small caps continuing their underperformance. In our last update we highlighted the energy sector (-0.2%), which was trading at new session lows. The growth-sensitive sector has since regained a portion of its loss while another cyclical group-industrials (-0.3%)-has marked a new low of its own.

The largest industrial component, General Electric (GE 25.45, -0.20), holds a loss of 0.8% while transports are little changed. FedEx (FDX 138.58, +0.01), which is a member of the Dow Jones Transportation Average, sits right on its flat line despite announcing disappointing results this morning. The company fell short of its Capital IQ consensus estimate by $0.25 on revenue that also missed estimates. The logistics company guided fourth-quarter earnings in-line with estimates, but lowered its fiscal-year 2014 guidance below estimates, citing severe winter weather.

11:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Quiet action continues with the major averages hovering near their flat lines. The Russell 2000 (-0.4%) displays the largest loss while the other key indices trade closer to their unchanged levels.

Similar to the major averages, individual sectors continue holding their recent levels with the exception of the energy space (-0.4%), which has slid to a new session low. Crude oil, meanwhile, trades lower by 0.2% at $98.68/bbl.

Elsewhere, the other commodity-linked space-materials-holds a slim loss of 0.1%. Miners are among the laggards with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 26.15, -0.28) trading lower by 1.1% while gold futures hold a 1.3% loss at $1341.00/ozt.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices continue trading near their flat lines, which is likely to remain the case until this afternoon's FOMC announcement. Although the Fed is widely-expected to introduce another $10 billion taper, the accompanying statement and Janet Yellen's subsequent press conference could present some new wrinkles when it comes to the Fed's forward guidance.

Outside of health care (+0.3%) and telecom services (+0.5%), the remaining sectors trade within 0.2% of their respective flat lines. Energy (-0.1%), financials (-0.1%), and technology (-0.1%) remain among the laggards while consumer staples (+0.1%) outperform.

10:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues trading within a point of its flat line while the Nasdaq (-0.2%) has slipped to a fresh session low due to the relative weakness of the technology sector (-0.2%) as well as biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 261.36, -0.86) is lower by 0.3%, but that has not had much of an impact on the health care sector (+0.4%) so far as the countercyclical group sits in the lead.

Other defensive sectors also trade in the green with telecom services (+0.4%) and consumer staples (+0.1%) outperforming while the utilities space hovers just above its flat line.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Commodities are feeling pressure today as the dollar index remains near its current session high
Gold and silver futures are down again today. One catalyst is providing downside to both precious metals are easing tensions in Ukraine
Currently, Apr gold is -1.4% at $1339.50/oz and May silver is -1.4% at $20.58/oz
Crude oil rallied this morning to as high as $99.20/barrel, but was about flat just ahead of the weekly EIA inventory data
Following the data, May crude oil showed a muted reaction and is now +0.1% at $98.96/barrel
Natural gas sold off overnight and fell as low as $4.42/MMBtu and is now -0.4% at $4.44/MMBtu
May copper is very weak this morning and fell as low as $2.88/lb, which is were it is currently trading, now down 2.2%.

10:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has climbed back to its flat line while the Russell 2000 (-0.1%) and Nasdaq (-0.1%) remain in the red.

In our comment just ahead of the opening bell we noted the recent large drop that took place in the copper futures market. Since the 9:15 ET comment, the red metal has extended its decline and now trades lower by 2.3% at $2.885/lb. This marks the lowest level for the metal since June 2010.

Copper futures were in focus last week as recent weakness fueled speculation about the strength of global economic growth, and specifically that of China. With rumors of a potential wave of defaults coming from the Chinese materials sector, the price of the base metal is expected to remain in focus.

9:40 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages began the session just below their flat lines with small caps displaying the largest early decline. The Russell 2000 is lower by 0.4% while the S&P 500 holds a more modest loss of 0.1% with nine of ten sectors showing losses.

Most notably, two of the three top-weighted groups-technology (-0.2%) and financials (-0.2%)-are among the early laggards. The technology sector is being pressured by Oracle (ORCL 37.66, -1.18), which trades lower by 3.0% after missing on earnings.

On the upside, the health care sector (+0.2%) is the lone advancer at this juncture.

Elsewhere, Treasuries remain in the red with the 10-yr yield up one basis point at 2.68%.

9:14 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.20. The stock market is on track to begin today's session on a quiet note as futures on the S&P 500 trade right above fair value, which has been the case for the better part of the past four hours.

The first half of the trading day is expected to be fairly subdued with participants awaiting the latest policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC is expected to announce another $10 billion taper, lowering the amount of monthly asset purchases to $55 billion per month. The 14:00 ET announcement will be followed by Janet Yellen's first press conference as Fed Chair.

Treasuries display slim losses after slipping from their flat lines over the past hour. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by one basis point at 2.69%.

Although most markets are not showing much change at this juncture, copper futures have dropped to fresh year-to-date lows. Currently, the red metal trades lower by 1.9% at $2.895/lb. Elsewhere among commodities, crude oil trades flat at $98.86/bbl and gold holds a 1.1% loss at $1344.50/ozt.

8:59 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.00. The S&P 500 futures hover right above fair value.

The major Asian bourses ended on a mixed note. Japan's trade deficit narrowed to JPY1.13 trillion from JPY1.76 trillion (expected JPY890 billion). While the deficit was the largest ever for the month of February, the numbers improved from last month as exports jumped 9.8% (consensus 12.4%, prior 9.5%) and imports expanded 9.0% (expected 7.4%, last 25.0%). The trade deficit marked the 20th consecutive negative current account reading and was the eight below-consensus reading out of the last nine.

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4%, climbing to a one-week high. Robotics maker Fanuc rallied 3.2% after trade data showed exports to China improved.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%. Galaxy Entertainment lost 2.8% after its quarterly results disappointed.
China's Shanghai Composite settled lower by 0.2% after erasing the bulk of its losses into the close. Property shares were a drag as China Vanke lost 4.0% and Poly Real Estate gave up 2.8%.

The major European indices trade mixed with Germany's DAX (+0.6%) in the lead. Participants received a handful of data points. Eurozone Labor Cost Index increased 1.4% year-over-year (prior 1.1%); Great Britain's Claimant Count decreased 34,600 (expected -25,000, prior -33,900) while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.2%, as expected; and the French current account deficit widened to EUR3.90 billion from EUR1.20 billion.

Among news of note, the minutes from the latest Bank of England policy meeting indicated a unanimous vote to stay the course, keeping the benchmark interest rate at 0.5%.

Great Britain's FTSE trades lower by 0.1%. Miners are on the defensive with Anglo American, Antofagasta, and Glencore Xstrata showing losses between 1.7% and 2.5%. Defense contractors BAE Systems and Rolls Royce outperform with respective gains of 3.0% and 1.6%.
France's CAC trades higher by 0.1% with growth-sensitive names in the lead. ArcelorMittal and Technip are both up close to 2.0% apiece. Consumer names Pernod Ricard and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton lag. Both names are down near 1.0%.
Germany's DAX holds an advance of 0.6% with BMW in the lead. The carmaker has surged 7.7% after issuing upbeat guidance. On the downside, producers of basic materials are among the laggards. HeidelbergCement and Lanxess are down 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

8:33 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.70. The S&P 500 futures continue trading less than a point above fair value.

The current account deficit for the fourth quarter totaled $81.10 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $87.60 billion. The third quarter deficit was revised to $96.40 billion from $94.80 billion.

8:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.20. U.S. equity futures trade little changed amid quiet action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover less than a point above fair value.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei +0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite -0.2%.
Participants received several economic data points:
Japan's trade deficit narrowed to JPY1.13 trillion from JPY1.76 trillion (expected deficit of JPY890 billion) as exports rose 9.8% year-over-year (consensus 12.4%, prior 9.5%) and imports expanded 9.0% (expected 7.4%, last 25.0%). Separately, All Industries Activity Index rose 1.0% (consensus 1.3%, prior -0.1%).
Australia's MI Leading Index slipped 0.1% month-over-month (prior -0.1%).
New Zealand's current account deficit narrowed to NZD1.43 billion from NZD4.88 billion.
South Korea's PPI was unchanged month-over-month (prior 0.3%).
In news:
Japan's trade deficit marked the 20th consecutive negative trade balance reading and was the eight below-consensus reading out of the last nine.
Major European indices trade mixed. Great Britain's FTSE -0.1%, France's CAC +0.1%, and Germany's DAX +0.7%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX +0.4% and Italy's MIB -0.1%.
In economic data:
Eurozone Labor Cost Index increased 1.4% year-over-year (prior 1.1%).
Great Britain's Claimant Count decreased 34,600 (expected -25,000, prior -33,900) while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.2%, as expected.
French current account deficit widened to EUR3.90 billion from EUR1.20 billion.
Among news of note:
The minutes from the latest Bank of England policy meeting indicated a unanimous vote to stay the course, keeping the benchmark interest rate at 0.5%.

In U.S. corporate news:

FedEx (FDX 136.30, -2.27): -1.6% after missing the Capital IQ consensus estimate by $0.25 on below-consensus revenue. The logistics company guided fourth-quarter earnings in-line with estimates.
Oracle (ORCL 37.89, -0.95): -2.5% after missing bottom-line estimates on revenue that was in-line with analyst expectations.
SolarCity (SCTY 75.95, -1.15): -1.5% after its below-consensus guidance overshadowed better-than-expected earnings and revenue.

The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 1.2% to follow last week's decline of 2.1%.

The fourth quarter current account balance (Briefing.com consensus -$87.60 billion) will be announced at 8:30 ET. Also of note, the Federal Open Market Committee will conclude its two-day meeting with the latest policy statement scheduled to be released at 14:00 ET. The statement will be followed by Janet Yellen's first press conference as Fed Chair, scheduled to begin at 14:30 ET.

6:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.50.

6:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...14462.52...+51.50...+0.40%. Hang Seng...21568.69...-14.80...-0.10%.

6:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6593.35...-11.90...-0.20%. DAX...9270.62...+28.10...+0.30%.

Gold Falls Most in Three Months After Fed Stimulus Cut

By Debarati Roy Mar 19, 2014 4:21 PM ET

Gold fell the most in three months after the Federal Reserve further reduced U.S. monetary stimulus and more officials predicted a rise in interest rates in 2015, curbing demand for the metal as a store of value.

The Fed reduced the monthly pace of bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion, and 13 of the 16 Federal Open Market Committee participants expect an increase in the main interest rate next year. Spot gold has lost 3.9 percent this week on signs the American economy is pulling out of a slowdown that policy makers linked in part to harsh winter weather.

“The real surprise is that the Fed officials see rates rising next year, and that is very negative for gold,” Charlie Bilello, director of research who helps oversee $220 million of assets at New York-based Pension Partners LLC, said in a telephone interview. “Also, the Fed talking about the economy showing strength makes this statement less dovish than widely anticipated.”

Gold for immediate delivery slumped 1.9 percent to $1,329.80 an ounce at 3:27 p.m. in New York, heading for the biggest drop since Dec. 19.

Futures for April delivery settled 1.3 percent lower at $1,341.30 on the Comex in New York. The metal fell for the third straight day, the longest slump in 10 weeks. The metal rose to a six-month high of $1,392.60 on March 17 amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine.

This year, gold has advanced 12 percent as signs of slowing global growth and turmoil in Eastern Europe increased demand for haven assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country isn’t seeking to split Ukraine further. The U.S. and Europe pledged more sanctions for his drive to annex Crimea.

Fed Tapering

Last year, gold fell 28 percent, the most since 1981, amid a rally in equities and on concern that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of monetary stimulus. The price jumped 70 percent from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed pumped more than $2 trillion into the financial system and cut interest rates to a record to boost the economy.

Weather played an important role in weakening economic activity in the first quarter, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said today after the FOMC’s two-day meeting.

“There is sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy to support ongoing improvement in labor-market conditions,” the FOMC said in a statement.

The central bank also cut monthly bond buying by $10 billion at the prior two meetings.

Goldman Sachs Group’s Jeffrey Currie said this month the chances are increasing that prices will slump to $1,000 for the first time since 2009.

“Gold will remain under pressure as it’s clear that tapering with continue,” Mike Meyer, assistant vice president at EverBank Wealth Management in St. Louis, said in a telephone interview. “The temporary safe-haven premium because of Russia is slowly disappearing.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Millie Munshi at mmunshi@bloomberg.net Joe Richter, Patrick McKiernan

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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