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 Post subject: April 4th Friday Trade Results - Profit $2160.00
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 4:43 pm 
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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)
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 @ $2,160.00 dollars or +21.60 points, Emini ES ($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 @ $2,160.00 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=129&t=1762

Quote:
The reasons (strategies) behind the trades are only discussed with fee-base clients in real-time within a different private chat room if/when the fee-base client ask questions about any of my trades posted by me in ##TheStrategyLab chat room. Simply, there are different chat rooms @ TheStrategyLab. Trades and price action analysis are posted in ##TheStrategyLab free chat room for public documentation whereas the reasons (strategies) behind my trades are only discussed in the private strategy discussion chat room or with fee-base clients via Skype...the strategy discussion chat room is very active in comparison to ##TheStrategyLab free chat room.

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) general volatility analysis involving WRB Analysis 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 and I do not have the time/energy/resources to manage a signal calling chat room. Access instructions for chat room @ 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=236&t=2302

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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: Brutal Finale To Week

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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors rushed for the exits Friday afternoon.

The Nasdaq plunged 2.6%, and the Dow and S&P 500 fell around 1%.

After a bullish start to the week, gains evaporated on Friday. The Nasdaq is down more than 0.6% for the week, although the Dow and S&P 500 squeezed out weekly gains.

Momentum stocks got manhandled today. Netflix (NFLX), Facebook (FB, Fortune 500), Priceline (PCLN, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), LinkedIn (LNKD), Tesla (TSLA) were all pummeled as investors began to question future prospects.

In case anyone needs another barometer of what Friday was like, CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index started the day in greed mode, swung firmly into fear territory and now sits in neutral (although leaning toward fear).

In other words, investors were all over the place.

The other sector that couldn't seem to stop the slide was biotechnology. Biogen Idec (BIIB, Fortune 500), Regeneron (REGN), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) all took a deep dive.

Sharing in the biotech butchery were Amgen (AMGN, Fortune 500) and Halozyme Therapeutics. (HALO) A late-stage test of Amgen's skin cancer drug disappointed researchers, and Halozyme plunged after it suspended a study of its pancreatic cancer drug due to patient safety concerns.

The "Friday fall" was the talk of the day on StockTwits, prompting this reaction from TradeTheHits,"$QQQ The recent violent shake really forces you to be humble. Throw everything you think you know out the window."

InvestingJungle said,"$QQQ This thing has to find support right here, right now, or it's gonna be a nasty flush into the close." And it was.

Hard to believe this is the same day that started off with record highs. Shortly after trading began this morning, the Dow (16,629) and S&P 500 (1,897) both touched intraday all-time highs in response to the the March jobs report. But it didn't last.

"Wall Street expected a huge bounce, but they didn't see it", said Kristina Hooper, U.S. Investment Strategist at Alliance Global Investors. She characterized the jobs report as somewhat positive but,"not too positive that the Fed would alter its stance."

The much anticipated unemployment report today said 192,000 jobs were added last month, less than expected, and the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%.

Wage growth is still weak, something you don't want to see in an economic recovery. A bright spot from the report is that January and February payrolls were revised higher, showing more job gains than first reported during the frigid winter months.

Still, the report probably won't influence the Federal Reserve to change its policy of slowly drawing down economic stimulus. The yield on the 10-year bond -- a key interest rate gauge -- finished lower at 2.73% following the jobs report.

One stock investors gobbled up was GrubHub. (GRUB) The online food ordering company priced its initial public offering at $26 a share and surged over 30% to end the day at $34.

On StockTwits, MaxDamage said,"$GRUB Another MOMO (momentum stock) load of junk with a $2 billion valuation."

NYCStox said,"$GRUB GrubHub now valued 20% more than the New York Yankees. Cool." But Gharris914 responded,"I've been using Seamless and GrubHub for 5 years now. They are a money making machine! They also have a monopoly over the NYC market."

Another stock also making its Friday debut was IMS Health (IMS). Shares of the healthcare information company closed up 15%.

Shares of Synnex (SNX, Fortune 500) were are also sharply higher, up more than 23%. The computer hardware distributor reported better than expected earnings late Thursday. Brean Capital also raised its price target for the stock to $85 a share from $72 a share.

Unfortunately for CarMax (KMX, Fortune 500), it's wasn't TGIF. Its shares skidded nearly 4%. The biggest seller of used cars in the U.S. reported weaker than expected earnings largely due to what the company referred to as an accounting correction.

European markets finished higher on Friday, likely fueled by the European Central Bank's pledge yesterday to do some sort of quantitative easing, if necessary. Asian markets ended the week mixed. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, while stocks in Singapore dropped 0.3%. The Nikkei was little changed at close of trading on Friday.

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4:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The stock market finished the week on a lower note after equity indices spent the entire session in a steady decline from their opening highs. The Nasdaq led the retreat, falling 2.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.0%) and S&P 500 (-1.3%) registered smaller losses.

Even though the major averages endured a daylong retreat, only the Nasdaq ended down for the week (-0.7%) while the Dow and S&P 500 posted respective weekly gains of 0.6% and 0.4%.

Prior to the open, the Nonfarm Payrolls report pointed to the addition of 192,000 jobs in March, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 195,000. After the report crossed the wires, equity futures spiked, but so did gold (+1.5% to 1303.40/ozt) and Treasuries (10-yr yield -7 bps to 2.73%), which was inconsistent with the risk-on disposition observed in equity futures. Furthermore, the dollar/yen pair spiked initially (yen weakness), but gave it all back, and then some, in short order.

The dollar/yen pair hovered near 103.90 and spiked above 104.10 in reaction to the data, before spending the remainder of the session in a retreat that mirrored the price action in the S&P 500. The Japanese yen finished the session near its high with the dollar/yen pair sliding to 103.25 by the New York close.

With cautious action in most other markets, the upbeat sentiment in the stock market dissipated quickly. The Nasdaq led the retreat as heavy selling pressure weighed on biotechnology and other momentum names.

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 225.30, -9.41) lost 4.0% after being unable to retake its 100-day moving average at the open (238.35). The ETF surrendered its entire 2014 gain, while the broader health care sector (-1.5%) ended behind the broader market.

Most other heavily-weighted groups did not fare much better. Consumer discretionary (-1.7%) and technology (-2.2%) lagged throughout the session, while financials (-1.2%) outperformed.

Notably, the discretionary sector was pressured by continued weakness in names like Amazon.com (AMZN 323.00, -10.62), Netflix (NFLX 337.31, -17.38), and Priceline.com (PCLN 1178.08, -59.37). Homebuilders, meanwhile, fared relatively well with the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 24.59, -0.12) shedding 0.5%.

Elsewhere, the largest S&P 500 sector, technology, proved to be a significant drag on the major averages amid weakness in large names. Apple (AAPL 531.82, -6.97), Google (GOOG 543.14, -26.60), Microsoft (MSFT 39.87, -1.14), and Visa (V 207.70, -7.31) lost between 1.3% and 4.7% with Google seeing the largest decline of the bunch. Smaller momentum names registered even larger losses with FireEye (FEYE 50.36, -4.50), Splunk (SPLK 62.68, -3.68), and Yelp (YELP 65.76, -4.85) down between 5.6% and 8.2%. The three names extended their weekly losses to 20.7%, 12.0%, and 14.1%, respectively.

On the upside, utilities (+0.6%) posted a solid gain with lower yields giving a boost to the rate-sensitive sector.

The selloff invited above average participation as 764 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Looking closer at today's jobs report:
Related Stories

InPlay from Briefing.com Briefing.com
How the Dow Jones industrial average did Thursday Associated Press
US STOCKS-Wall St sharply cuts gains as biotechs plunge Reuters
S&P 500 at record close MarketWatch
US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Dow, S&P 500 dip; momentum shares hit Nasdaq Reuters

Overall, the employment data was fairly solid, but nothing to really get excited about. The initial claims data over the past several weeks supported payroll growth in the neighborhood of 200,000. That was exactly what happened in March.
Total nonfarm private payrolls also increased by 192,000 jobs in March, up from 188,000 in February. The consensus expected these payrolls to increase by 205,000.
Winter weather, which was blamed for prior weaknesses, again did not show up in the payroll numbers. Construction employment increased by 19,000 in March, which was only a marginal improvement over the 18,000 added in February. Had winter weather conditions really impacted the economy, construction payrolls would have spiked in March as employment recovered from winter delays.
The one area that winter weather did impact was the number of hours worked. The average workweek fell to 34.3 in February as weather conditions prevented employees from working their normal hours. As temperatures and conditions returned to normal, the average workweek jumped to 34.5.
Average hourly earnings were essentially flat in March after increasing 0.4% in February.
The unemployment rate remained at 6.7% in March while the consensus expected the rate to tick down to 6.6%.

Monday's data will be limited to the February Consumer Credit report, which will be released at 15:00 ET.

S&P 500 +0.9% YTD
Russell 2000 -0.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -1.2% YTD

Week in Review: Biotech Remains Volatile

On Monday, the stock market closed out a volatile month of March on an upbeat note with small caps leading the advance. The Russell 2000 gained 1.8% for the day while the S&P 500 settled higher by 0.8% with nine sectors ending in the green. The benchmark index was able to eke out a 0.7% gain for the month while the Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 could only trim their losses. The Nasdaq ended the month with a decline of 2.5% while the Russell 2000 lost 1.0% in March. Equity indices made the bulk of their advance during the opening hour before spending the remainder of the session inside narrow ranges. The upbeat start took place after a weekend phone call between President Obama and Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Ukraine, was viewed as a step that increased the chances for a diplomatic solution to the standoff between Russia and Ukraine. The early buying interest was also bolstered by comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who spoke at a conference in Chicago, saying the Fed remains short of its employment and inflation goals and that the economy requires 'considerable support for some time.'

On Tuesday, the stock market kicked off April on an upbeat note with the Nasdaq Composite (+1.6%) leading the charge. The S&P 500 (+0.7%) settled at a fresh record high of 1885.52 with eight sectors registering gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) lagged. In the absence of notable pre-market data or earnings, the major averages began the day with a steady climb that was assisted by upbeat action in Europe, where markets in France, Germany, and Great Britain posted solid gains between 0.5% and 0.8%. For the second day in a row, the Nasdaq began the day in the lead, maintaining its outperformance throughout the session. The early strength of biotechnology (IBB +2.2%) propelled the initial advance while the index was kept near its session high into the afternoon by the daylong outperformance of the technology sector (+1.3%).

The stock market meandered inside a narrow range on Wednesday after posting solid gains to start the week. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and notched a fresh record closing high at 1890.90 while the Nasdaq (+0.2%) struggled to stay in the green throughout the session. Equity indices began the day near their flat lines and maintained narrow ranges into the afternoon before breaking out to fresh highs during the final 30 minutes of action. That thrust placed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above its 2013 closing high of 16576.66 for the first time this year, but the index returned below that level by the close. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 extended their respective 2014 gains to 2.4% and 2.3%, but the Nasdaq had a tough time keeping pace with the benchmark index today as large cap tech names and biotechnology lagged.

Equities ended the Thursday session on a lower note with small caps leading the weakness. The Russell 2000 (-1.0%) and Nasdaq (-0.9%) posted comparable losses while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (unch) and S&P 500 (-0.1%) finished little changed after climbing off their lows during the last hour of action. Of the major averages, the Nasdaq faced the most aggressive selling due to the daylong weakness in biotechnology and an afternoon slump in the technology sector (-0.6%). Biotechnology spent the entire session in a steady retreat that pressured the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF back below its 100-day moving average (238.12). The biotech ETF lost 2.9% while the broader health care sector shed 0.3%.

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Precious metals rose today after U.S. payroll data showed March Nonfarm Payrolls adding 192K jobs vs Briefing.com consensus of 195K.
June gold initially slipped to a session low of $1286.80 per ounce but quickly recovered above the $1300 per ounce level. It rose as high as $1307.50 per ounce and settled with a 1.5% gain at $1303.40 per ounce. Today's advance brought gains for the week to 0.7%.
May silver advanced to a session high of $20.23 per ounce in early morning pit trade. It eventually settled 0.9% higher at $19.97 per ounce, booking a 1.0% gain for the week.
May crude oil also traded in positive territory, rising to a session high of $101.63 per barrel in morning action. It brushed a session low of $100.97 per barrel moments before settling with a 0.8% gain at $101.14 per barrel. Today's advance cut losses for the week to 0.5%.
May natural gas briefly rose to a session high of $4.48 per MMBtu in morning action before slipping back into the red. Unable to find buying support, it settled 0.9% lower at $4.43 per MMBtu, booking a 1.1% weekly loss.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades lower by 1.2% with one hour remaining in the final session of the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq holds a loss of 2.6% as the tech-heavy index endures its largest one-day drop since June 2012.

Biotechnology has been an area of weakness throughout the session, and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 225.29, -9.41) has recently dropped to new session lows. Strikingly, the ETF has now surrendered its entire year-to-date gain after being up more than 20.0% in late February.

For its part, the health care sector (-1.3%) traded in-line with the S&P 500 for the first half of the session, but the group has since succumbed to the weakness in biotechnology.

2:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Not much change since our last update as the major averages remain near their session lows. The Nasdaq (-2.5%) is the weakest index while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.7%) outperforms.

The Dow's relative strength comes as nine components display gains. Travelers (TRV 85.55, +0.57) is the top performing index member while the top-weighted component, Visa (V 207.53, -7.48) holds a loss of 3.5%.

With stocks pinned to lows, participants are showing interest in volatility protection, which has pushed the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.12, +0.75) off multi-month lows.

2:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages remain on their lows as the afternoon wears on.

Even though market participants are seeing plenty of red on their stock screens today, the Dow, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 remain on track to end the week with gains between 0.4% (Russell 2000) and 1.0% (Dow Jones).

Strikingly, of the ten sectors, only technology is on pace to finish the week in the red (-0.4%), while other sectors sport gains between 0.6% and 1.9%. Consumer staples and financials are tied for the second-to-last place while the industrial sector has added 1.9% this week.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have inched off their highs, but continue holding the bulk of their gains. The benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by seven basis points at 2.73%.

1:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the major averages maintain their levels near session lows. It is worth mentioning that today's weakness has been most apparent in two heavily-weighted sectors--consumer discretionary (-1.3%) and technology (-1.8%)--while most other groups trade ahead of the S&P 500 (-0.8%).

The only other group that trails the benchmark index is the materials sector (-0.9%). Monsanto (MON 114.81, -2.23) contributed to yesterday's outperformance of the sector, but the stock weighs on the space today with its 1.9% loss. Meanwhile, miners are showing strength with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 24.42, +0.36) trading higher by 1.5% while gold futures trade up 1.4% at $1303.10/ozt.

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] At midday, equity indices hover near their lows amid significant weakness in biotechnology and other momentum names. The Nasdaq leads the retreat with a loss of 2.4% while the S&P 500 sports a more modest decline of 0.8%.

Prior to the open, it was announced that the March nonfarm payrolls report pointed to the addition of 192,000 jobs, which was a bit below the 195,000 expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The early reaction saw a spike in equity futures, but that took place as gold (+1.6% at $1305.70/ozt) and Treasuries (10-yr yield -7 bps at 2.73%) also rallied, suggesting the participants in those markets did not share the same optimism that was observed in equities.

Also of note, the dollar/yen pair spiked immediately following the release, but gave up its entire gain over the next 90 minutes. Currently, the pair hovers near 103.35 after notching a high just north of 104.00. The continued yen strength as the afternoon wears on indicates the presence of caution in the foreign exchange market.

Turning the focus back to equities, the Nasdaq began the session ahead of its peers, but was also the first index to slide into negative territory. Biotechnology remains an area of weakness with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 224.68, -10.04) down 4.3% as it hovers at levels last seen in late December. Interestingly, the broader health care sector (-0.9%) has held up relatively well.

Elsewhere, technology (-1.8%) trails the remaining groups amid significant weakness in large cap names. Apple (AAPL 532.81, -5.98), Google (GOOG 549.80, -19.94), and Microsoft (MSFT 39.86, -1.15) hold losses between 1.2% and 3.5%, while smaller momentum names like Fireeye (FEYE 51.13, -3.73) and Splunk (SPLK 63.48, -2.88) are faced with even more aggressive selling.

Momentum names have also pressured the discretionary space (-1.4%) where Amazon.com (AMZN 318.93, -14.69) and Netflix (NFLX 337.61, -17.08) display losses close to 4.5% apiece. Including today's declines, Amazon.com and Netflix are both down 5.8% for the week.

Looking back at today's jobs report:

The employment data was fairly solid, but nothing to really get excited about. The initial claims data over the past several weeks supported payroll growth in the neighborhood of 200,000. That was exactly what happened in March.
Total nonfarm private payrolls also increased by 192,000 jobs in March, up from 188,000 in February. The consensus expected these payrolls to increase by 205,000.
Winter weather, which was blamed for prior weaknesses, again did not show up in the payroll numbers. Construction employment increased by 19,000 in March, which was only a marginal improvement over the 18,000 added in February. Had winter weather conditions really impacted the economy, construction payrolls would have spiked in March as employment recovered from winter delays.
The one area that winter weather did impact was the number of hours worked. The average workweek fell to 34.3 in February as weather conditions prevented employees from working their normal hours. As temperatures and conditions returned to normal, the average workweek jumped to 34.5.
Average hourly earnings were essentially flat in March after increasing 0.4% in February.
The unemployment rate remained at 6.7% in March while the consensus expected the rate to tick down to 6.6%.

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw continued weakness in the Nasdaq (-2.0%) while the S&P 500 has widened its loss to 0.6%.

Six of ten sectors hover in the red with consumer discretionary (-1.1%) and technology (-1.7%) leading the retreat as both sectors contain a fair share of momentum names that have found some downward momentum this week.

Interestingly, despite today's weakness in biotechnology (IBB -3.3%), the health care sector (-0.5%) has held up relatively well. Elsewhere, another influential group-financials (-0.4%)-trades a bit ahead of the broader market.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow (-0.2%) and S&P 500 (-0.4%) have continued resisting the selling pressure that has knocked the Nasdaq (-1.8%) back to last Friday's levels. Biotechnology (IBB -2.7%) and other momentum names have been responsible for the significant weakness with dip-buyers reluctant to step in.

Including today's losses, Amazon.com (AMZN 321.49, -12.12) and Netflix (NFLX 340.44, -14.44) are both down near 5.0% this week while the likes of Fireeye (FEYE 52.43, -2.43), Splunk (SPLK 63.19, -3.17), and Yelp (YELP 66.64, -3.97) display week-to-date losses between 10.0% and 20.0%.

Meanwhile, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 228.63, -6.08) is flat on the week, but has slumped more than 17.0% from its February high.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the Dow and S&P 500 slide back into the red while the Nasdaq has widened its loss to 1.4%.

Even though the Dow and S&P 500 held slim gains through the first 90 minutes of action, that same risk-on sentiment was not reflected in gold or Treasuries. Gold futures began climbing after the jobs report with another move higher taking place during the past 30 minutes. Currently, the yellow metal trades higher by 1.6% at $1305.30/ozt.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have continued their rally with the benchmark 10-yr yield slipping to 2.73% after hovering near 2.80% prior to the jobs report.

Also of note, the dollar/yen pair saw a brief spike in reaction to nonfarm payrolls, before sliding to new session lows. At this juncture, the risk-sensitive currency pair hovers near 103.50 after notching a high just north of the 104.00 level.

11:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) and S&P 500 (+0.2%) have returned just below their opening highs while the Nasdaq (-0.5%) remains in the red.

The tech-heavy index trails the other averages amid weakness in some large technology names. Google (GOOG 560.03, -9.71) holds a loss of 1.7% while Apple (AAPL 535.71, -3.08), Facebook (FB 59.24, -0.25), and Microsoft (MSFT 40.58, -0.43) display losses between 0.5% and 1.2%.

Also of note, biotechnology is contributing to the underperformance of the Nasdaq, with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 233.66, -1.05) trading lower by 0.5% after being unable to regain its 100-day moving average. The health care sector (+0.5%), meanwhile, trades ahead of the broader market.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Crude oil, gold and silver have been trending higher today and showing nice gains
May crude oil is near its session high and is now +1% at $101.30/barrel.
June gold is +1.2% at $1299.40/oz and May silver is +1.6% at $20.12/oz
Natural gas futures have been recovering off its LoD and is now -0.5% at $4.45/MMBtu
May copper is currently +0.4% at $3.04/lb

9:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have continued their retreat from their opening highs. The Nasdaq Composite is now lower by 0.4% while the S&P 500 trades just north of its flat line.

The recent retreat was largely the result of continued weakness in two heavily-weighted sectors. Consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and technology (-0.5%) have dropped to fresh lows while financials (+0.3%) and health care (+0.3%) trade ahead of the broader market.

Even though the major averages have slipped from their opening levels, participants are not showing much demand for volatility protection with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.31, -0.06) down 0.5%.

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9:40 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages began the session broadly higher, but the Nasdaq (+0.1%) has surrendered roughly half of its early gain as the biotechnology industry group retreated from its opening high (IBB UNCH). Meanwhile, momentum names that lagged yesterday like Amazon.com (AMZN 330.70, -2.92), Priceline.com (PCLN 1228.91, -8.54), and Netflix (NFLX 350.53, -4.17) began the session among the laggards. As a result, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.2%) trails the broader market.

Similar to the discretionary sector, technology (+0.2%) underperforms while financials (+0.3%) trade in line with the S&P 500 (+0.3%).

Treasuries remain near their highs with the benchmark 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.76%.

9:17 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +10.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +20.00. Equity indices are on track to begin the final session of the week on an upbeat note with futures on the S&P 500 trading ten points above fair value. Index futures inched higher during the overnight session with a recent spike taking place after the March Nonfarm Payrolls report crossed the wires.

The jobs report came in below expectations (192,000 versus Briefing.com consensus 195,000), but the slight miss is unlikely to alter the Fed's tapering course. Also of note, the February reading was revised up to 197,000 from 175,000.

Interestingly, the jobs report was met with a rally in equity futures and Treasuries. The 10-yr note sits right near its session low with the benchmark 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.76%.

It is also worth mentioning that the dollar/yen pair, used to gauge risk sentiment, spiked immediately following the data, but has given up that entire gain and then some. Currently, the pair trades near 103.76 after spiking above 104.00.

8:56 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +22.20. The S&P 500 futures trade almost ten points above fair value.

Markets across Asia ended mostly lower. Trade across the region was on the quiet side as many pared back risk ahead of the U.S. nonfarm payroll report. Malaysia's trade surplus widened to MYR10.4 billion from MYR6.4 billion while the Philippines' inflation rate slowed to 3.9% year-over-year from 4.1%.

Japan's Nikkei shed 0.1%, easing off three-week highs. Heavyweight Softbank weighed, falling 2.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.2% for a second straight session. Internet gaming giant Tencent Holdings was the worst performer as shares slumped 3.9%.
China's Shanghai Composite added 0.7%, regaining its 50-day moving average. Rare earth names led as China Minmetals Rare Earth and Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Group rallied 10% and 3.8%, respectively.

Major European indices trade higher across the board. The first half of the session has been very quiet with no market-moving news. As such, the focus remained on yesterday's comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who hinted at a potential implementation of a quantitative easing program. According to UBS, the potential QE would target bank lending rather than sovereign bond purchases.

Economic data was scarce. Eurozone Retail PMI improved to 49.2 from 48.5. Germany's Factory Orders rose 0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.1%, prior 0.1%). Great Britain's Halifax House Price Index fell 1.1% month-over-month (consensus 0.7%, previous 2.4%) while the year-over-year reading jumped 8.7% year-over-year (7.9% last).

In France, the CAC is higher by 0.4%. Growth-sensitive names outperform with Alstom, ArcelorMittal, and Lafarge up between 1.1% and 2.5%. On the downside, Orange trades lower by 0.2%.
Germany's DAX trades up 0.5% with financials providing support. Allianz, Commerzbank, and Muenchener Re hold gains between 0.5% and 1.7%. On the downside, health care names Fresenius and Merck display losses between 0.1% and 0.5%.
Great Britain's FTSE is higher by 0.5% as miners outperform. Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata, and Rio Tinto are up between 1.4% and 1.9%.

8:33 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +22.00. The S&P 500 futures trade 10 points above fair value.

March nonfarm payrolls came in at 192,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 195,000. Nonfarm private payrolls added 191,000 against the 205,000 expected by the consensus. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7% while the consensus expected a reading of 6.6%.

Hourly earnings were unchanged while the Briefing.com consensus expected an uptick of 0.2%. The average workweek was reported at 34.5 against the 34.4 expected by the consensus.

7:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.70. U.S. equity futures hold modest gains amid generally upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover almost six points above fair value; however, some volatility is expected to surround the 8:30 ET release of the Nonfarm Payrolls report for March (Briefing.com consensus 195K).

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%, Japan's Nikkei -0.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite +0.7%.
There was no economic data of note reported overnight.
In news:
On Wednesday, Shanghai Securities News reported that some smaller cities may lift some property curbs in order to avoid a housing downturn, but those reports have been met with official pushback today.

Major European indices trade mostly higher. France's CAC +0.3%, Great Britain's FTSE +0.4%, and Germany's DAX +0.4%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.2% and Spain's IBEX +0.1%.
Economic data was scarce:
Eurozone Retail PMI improved to 49.2 from 48.5.
Germany's Factory Orders rose 0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.1%, prior 0.1%).
Great Britain's Halifax House Price Index fell 1.1% month-over-month (consensus 0.7%, previous 2.4%) while the year-over-year reading jumped 8.7% year-over-year (7.9% last).
Among news of note:
According to UBS, the potential deployment of a quantitative easing program by the European Central Bank would target bank lending rather than sovereign bond purchases.

In U.S. corporate news:

CarMax (KMX 46.00, -1.56): -3.3% after missing on earnings and revenue.
Micron (MU 24.58, +0.58): +2.4% following its bottom-line beat on above-consensus revenue.
Mylan (MYL 55.00, +5.14): +10.3% amid reports the company is in talks to acquire Meda, which is based in Sweden.

In addition to the aforementioned March Nonfarm Payrolls report, Private Payrolls (Briefing.com consensus 205K), Unemployment Rate (consensus 6.6%), Hourly Earnings (consensus +0.2%), and Average Workweek (consensus 34.4) will all be released at 8:30 ET.

6:43 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.00.

6:43 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...15063.77...-8.10...-0.10%. Hang Seng...22510.08...-55.00...-0.20%.

6:43 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6683.05...+33.90...+0.50%. DAX...9664.98...+36.20...+0.40%.

U.S. Stocks Fall as Technology Selloff Drops Nasdaq Index

By Joseph Ciolli and Lu Wang Apr 4, 2014 4:33 PM ET

U.S. stocks fell, with the Nasdaq Composite Index sliding the most in two months, after large technology stocks from Google Inc. to Yahoo Inc. plunged as investors sold the bull market’s biggest winners.

Google Class A shares sank 4.6 percent in the biggest drop since October 2012. Facebook Inc. lost 4.6 percent, bringing its two-day slide to 9.5 percent. Yahoo Inc. declined 4.2 percent to the lowest since November. An index of biotechnology stocks plunged 4.1 percent. GrubHub Inc. surged 31 percent in its trading debut.

The Nasdaq index lost 2.6 percent to 4,127.73 at 4 p.m. in New York, for its worst day since Feb. 3. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sank 1.3 percent to 1,865.09 after earlier rising to an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 159.84 points, or 1 percent, to 16,412.71.

“This has been in the making for a few weeks,” Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said a phone interview. “Managers were positioned very heavily last year with the winners. They killed in 2013 and money started to pour in them. Today is kind of like the panic day that they couldn’t stand it any more and now they’re just puking these names.”

The Nasdaq index fell 0.7 percent in the past five days after losing 2.8 percent last week. The gauge is down 1.2 percent in 2014. It rose 38 percent last year. Equities had climbed to records earlier today after on a government report showing employers added to payrolls last month.

Isolated lurches in the Nasdaq 100 Index have become more common in the last two months as investors reassessed equities that have posted annual gains of 25 percent since 2009. The gauge twice tumbled more than 1.8 percent over two-day stretches last week and lost 2.1 percent on March 13 and 14.

Biotechnology Index

All but nine of the 121 stocks in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index dropped, led by a 27 percent slide in Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. The gauge plunged 7 percent last week after rallying 79 percent in the 12 months through Feb. 28.

Netflix Inc. sank 4.9 percent to $337.31 for a third straight decline. The stock nearly quadrupled in 2013 after jumping 34 percent in the previous year.

Facebook, which doubled last year, lost 4.6 percent to $56.75, the lowest since January.

Google Class A shares slid 4.6 percent to $545.25, the lowest since Dec. 19 on a split-adjusted basis.

Yahoo dropped 4.2 percent to $34.26, the lowest since Nov. 12.

Little Nervousness

“There’s a little bit of nervousness about some of the high multiples in the biotech area and computer and Internet-related stocks,” John Carey, a fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc., a Boston-based firm that manages about $220 billion worldwide, said in a phone interview. “You’re having another wave of selling in that very high-momentum group.”

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent in the past five days and closed at records on April 1 and 2 after retreating 0.5 percent last week. The gauge trades at 17.3 times reported earnings, the highest level since 2010 and 11 percent above its five-year average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“When you’re at record high levels, people start to get a little tentative going into weekends,” Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab Corp. which manages $2.2 trillion in client assets, said in a phone interview. “Taking a few profits off the table going into the weekend is probably not a bad strategy.”

Volatility Index

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as VIX, rose 4.4 percent to 13.96, trimming its decline this week to 3.1 percent. About 7.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent more than the three-month average.

Equities earlier rose to all-time highs after data showed employers in the U.S. boosted payrolls and the unemployment rate held at 6.7 percent even as more Americans entered the labor force. Payrolls rose 192,000, short of the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists for a 200,000 gain.

Employment in January and February was revised higher, showing the effect on the labor market from inclement winter weather was less severe than previously thought.

Investors have been scrutinizing data to determine whether the world’s largest economy has begun to emerge from a weather-related setback in the first part of the year. Freezing temperatures and mountains of snow kept shoppers indoors, grounded flights and made it harder for shippers to fill product orders.

Jobs Report

“We like this number because it is not too high,” David Roda, the Miami-based regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank, said in a phone interview. His firm manages $170 billion. “If this number were too big and unemployment was declining faster than expected, we would have anticipated faster Fed moves, partially in short-term rates.”

The Fed uses the jobs report to help determine the timing and pace of further cuts to its monthly bond-buying program. The central bank also looks to the unemployment rate as a factor in deciding when to raise its benchmark interest rate.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said this week that “considerable slack” in the labor market is evidence that the central bank’s unprecedented accommodation will be needed for “some time” to put Americans back to work.

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross said the pace of employment growth in the U.S. means the Fed will continue to wind down bond purchases and then consider raising

Gross Assessment

The Fed’s quantitative easing should “end at the end of October or November,” said Gross said in a radio interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene and Michael McKee. “Then, as Janet Yellen has suggested, six months plus or minus, we can begin to talk about higher policy rates.”

Data this week showed that jobless claims rose more than forecast last week while a private payrolls report indicated hiring fell short of estimates last month.

Fed stimulus has helped boost the S&P 500 by as much as 180 percent since the bull market began in March 2009.

GrubHub rallied 31 percent to $34. The company, which runs websites including Seamless.com and Menupages.com, surged in its trading debut after raising a higher-than-expected $192 million in an initial public offering.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joseph Ciolli in New York at jciolli@bloomberg.net; Lu Wang in New York at lwang8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net Jeremy Herron, Jeff Sutherland

Canadian Dollar Climbs to Strongest in Six Weeks on Jobs Growth

By Ari Altstedter Apr 4, 2014 5:09 PM ET

Canada’s dollar gained to the strongest level in more than six weeks after the economy added more jobs than forecast in March, rebounding from a decline the previous month, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell.

The currency, called the loonie, rose versus 10 of its 16 major peers as employment in the U.S., Canada’s biggest trade partner, grew less than projected. The loonie has been the biggest loser this year among major currencies on bets slowing growth would lead the Bank of Canada to wait longer than the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. The bank meets April 16. Governor Stephen Poloz said March 18 a rate cut might be possible if the economy worsens.

“It was a strong number with strong details, and that’s positive for Canada,” Camilla Sutton, head of currency strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia, said by phone from Toronto. “What we have left is where that leaves Governor Poloz. Should he sound as dovish as he did the other week on April 16, that will resurge the weakness story. Should he sound quite neutral, that will bring further gains for the Canadian dollar.”

The loonie, nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, gained 0.5 percent to C$1.0981 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto. It was the strongest closing level since Feb. 18. The currency gained for a second week, appreciating 0.7 percent. One loonie buys 91.07 U.S. cents.

Bonds Rise

Canada’s government bonds rose, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year security down the most in three weeks. It fell as much as six basis points, the biggest intraday drop since March 13, to 2.49 percent. The price of the 2.5 percent debt due in June 2024 increased 49 cents to C$100.10.

The Canadian dollar has declined 3.3 percent this year against its U.S. counterpart, the worst performance among 16 major peers. The loonie has fallen 4 percent this year in a basket of 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, also the biggest loss. The U.S. dollar declined 0.4 percent, and the euro lost 0.7 percent.

“Some optimism is headed Canada’s way,” Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada, said by phone from Toronto. “The positive impact of having a weaker currency over the past number of months is going to be shown in economic data going forward. We saw it in the trade numbers, and we’re perhaps going to see it in inflation.”

Net Shorts

Hedge funds and other large speculators cut wagers on Canada’s dollar weakening against the greenback, known as net shorts, by 36,590 positions as of March 25 from a week earlier, the most in records going back to 1993, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The shift dropped short positions to 33,215 contracts, the least since November, from 69,805.

Net-shorts stayed at almost the fourth-month low in the week ended April 1. They increased by 3,779 contracts to 36,994, according to CFTC data released today.

The Bank of Canada helped send the loonie on its worst annual start in at least 42 years, a loss of 4.5 percent against the greenback in January, after officials’ monetary policy report on Jan. 22 said currency strength was damping exports. The bank’s next policy report is due April 16.

Data yesterday showed Canada’s merchandise trade balance swung to a surplus in February, with rising exports of automobiles and energy outpacing record imports.

Canadian Jobs

The loonie climbed after Statistics Canada said employment in the world’s 11th-largest economy rose by 42,900 jobs, the biggest jump in seven months, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent from 7 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 22,500-job increase and a jobless rate unchanged at 7 percent.

U.S. payrolls rose 192,000 last month after a 197,000 gain in February that was larger than first estimated, the Labor Department reported. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a 200,000 gain. The jobless rate was unchanged at 6.7 percent, compared with a forecast for a decrease to 6.6 percent.

The Bank of Canada said in a statement March 5 after its last meeting that with consumer-price increases below its 2 percent target, “the downside risks to inflation remain important.” It held its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent.

Inflation has held below the target for 22 straight months, registering 1.1 percent on an annualized basis in February.

The U.S. central bank at a meeting last month made a third cut in its monthly bond-buying, saying there was “sufficient underlying strength” in the economy to support labor-market improvement. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said policy makers may conclude the stimulus program by year-end and raise the key U.S. interest rate from virtually zero about six months later.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Altstedter in Toronto at aaltstedter@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net Greg Storey, Kenneth Pringle

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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