TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
wrbtrader (more info about me): http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Archive Real-Time Chat Logs (timestamp, entries/exits, position size): http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewforum.php?f=20
Accolades (Testimonials): http://www.thestrategylab.com/Accolades.htm
TheStrategyLab Reviews: http://www.thestrategylab.com/thestrategylab-reviews.htm
Price Action Trading: http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm
TheStrategyLab Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
Stocktwits @ http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader (24/7)
Twitter @ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


click on the above image to view today's performance verification

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini RTY ($RTY_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $4087.50 dollars or +81.75 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 @ $4087.50 dollars

Disclaimer: Today's trading performance is not an indication of my future performance and not an indication of the future performance for any trader that decides to learn/apply WRB Analysis. The risk of loss can be substantial. Therefore, you must carefully consider if trading is suitable for you within the context of your financial condition. TheStrategyLab.com is an educational and research site. The resources on this site are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace professional educational and professional research because we are retail traders only. TheStrategyLab does not accept liability for your use of the website and its resources.

We make no guarantees of success and your level of success is dependent upon other factors including your skill as a trader, knowledge, financial condition, market conditions and other factors. Trading is stressful and you should always consult a doctor in all matters relating to physical and mental health of you and your family because trading can impact beyond your financial condition regardless if you're a profitable or losing trader.

Russell 2000 Emini RTY Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $5.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup (formerly as TF @ 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

Today's Trade Log is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=173&t=2686

All of my trades are posted real-time at the above link for today's archive chat log in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room via the user name wrbtrader for anyone to do a real-time review (you must be a member of the chat room for a real-time review). Although the trades are posted by me and other users of WRB Analysis in real-time...this is not a signal calling chat room nor is this a live trading room that has a head trader telling you what to do. I'm the moderator (I keep the peace between members) and my own live trades are posted within 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation in my broker trade execution platform via an auto script to minimize delays in posting of my trades. You can review today's price action trade journal about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit, market analysis) as the trade traversed to its completion. In addition, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility...all key concepts from the WRB Analysis free study guide even though the free chat room is not design to be an education chat room because the education is only performed at the forums in the private threads.


##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. The free chat room is not a signal calling trading room nor is it a live trading room with a head trader even though members of the chat room are posting their trades & market analysis in real-time. I do not mentor (never have) although I get many requests to do mentoring. There is education but only in members private threads at the forum involving members asking questions (help) about their own trading. Thus, the primary purpose of TheStrategyLab free chat room is for you to use as your trade journal so that you can use as valuable feedback about your own trading and for members to help each other...as in more eyes on the market. In addition, we highly recommend that you use the free chat room with a professional trade journal software like tradebench.com, edgewonk.com, tradervue.com, tradingdiarypro.com, stocktickr.com, journalsqrd.com, tradingdiary.pro, mxprofit.com or trademetria.com because they can provide you with the quantitative statistical analysis of your trading. You can then download your results and post them in your private thread at the forum.

Also, you can use TheStrategyLab free chat room to ask real-time WRB Analysis questions. Yet, please do not post your quantitative statistical analysis, brokerage statements in the free chat room. Instead, its highly recommended that you only post that particular information in your private thread for security reasons. Yet, if you want to post that type of information at another website, blog or chat room...that's your choice.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is on IRC via users request because the IRC servers are located in many different countries, software in many different languages, many different mobile apps, many different types of social media software can be used to log in along with IRC being easier to moderate via script codes when trouble makers, spammers and trolls show up. I'm the moderator of the free chat room via the user name wrbtrader. Thus, I keep the peace between members without hesitation in removing problematic traders so that members can peacefully post their market observations, trades, WRB Analysis commentary about the markets without being trolled or harassed.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is not for traders looking for someone to hold their hands and tell them when to buy or sell nor do we allow the free chat room to be used for mentoring because we do not offer a mentoring service. The purpose of TheStrategyLab is for you to post your real-time analysis or trades so that you can review as feedback for any trading day to provide valuable information about the results in your broker statements. If you join the free chat room and then you decide to not post any WRB Analysis about the price action or you decide to not post your trades or you decide to be silent (lurk without saying a word about today's markets)...you're not using the free chat room properly to help improve your trading.

In fact, we do not want silent (lurkers) traders to join the free chat room unless they are actively posting at the forum about their trading after the markets close. Access instructions for the free chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164


Also, posted below for you to review 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.

Price Action Analysis via Advance WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters @ 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

Analysis -----> Trade Signals

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). All WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1 - 12 are included in the purchase of the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Daily Trading Plan Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=333&t=3556 contains brief information about trading plan, market context, brokers, trading time frames, position size management and other discussions.

-----------------------------

Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, Briefing, 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 RTY 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 for easy review 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 PnL statements alone. Further, most financial websites remove (delete) their archives after a few years to make room for new content. Therefore, I maintain my own archives of the news content so that I have it available for me when financial websites no longer archives their content.


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

The Market at 04:30PM ET
Dow: +81.25… | Nasdaq: -1.59… | S&P: +0.49…
NASDAQ Vol: ---… Adv: 1519… Dec: 1123…
NYSE Vol: 911.0 mln… Adv: 1453… Dec: 1485…

Moving the Market

Investors digest House's tax reform bill, exert caution ahead of Apple (AAPL) earnings

Heavily-weighted financial sector outperforms, keeps broader market's loss in check

Sector Watch
Strong: Financials, Industrials, Utilities, Real Estate
Weak: Consumer Discretionary, Materials, Telecom Services

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities ended Thursday little changed after a late-afternoon rally trimmed modest losses from earlier in the session. The S&P 500 ended a tick above its flat line, while the Nasdaq ended slightly lower and the Dow (+0.4%) outperformed, settling at a new record high. Small caps had a good showing, pushing the Russell 2000 higher by 0.3%.

Highlights of the House's tax reform bill include an immediate--and permanent--reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35.0% to 20.0%, a repeal of state and local tax deductions--with the exception of a $10,000 limit for property taxes, a limit for mortgage interest deductions on new home loans of less than $500,000 (adjusted from $1,000,000), and no major changes to 401(k) tax laws.

The bill also calls for reducing the number of tax brackets from seven to four--12%, 25%, 35%, and 39.6%--with the rate for top earners remaining unchanged.

Stocks initially sold off after the media leaked details of the bill in the morning, but the market bounced back soon thereafter. Financials helped fuel the turnaround and remained strong for the remainder of the session; the S&P 500's financial sector finished with a gain of 0.9%. The industrials (+0.5%), utilities (+0.4%), and real estate (+0.9%) groups also outperformed.

Meanwhile, the technology sector (+0.1%) manged to eke out a slim victory, but was weighed down by Facebook (FB 178.92, -3.74), which dropped 2.1% despite reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues. Conversely, chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM 54.84, +1.38) jumped 2.6% after beating both top and bottom line estimates.

In other earnings news, Tesla (TSLA 299.26, -21.82) plunged 6.8% after reporting worse-than-expected earnings and delaying its Model 3 production target of 5,000 per week by another quarter. Newell Brands (NWL 30.01, -10.99)--which owns names like Sharpie, Crock-Pot, and Yankee Candle--also tumbled, losing 26.8%, after missing earnings estimates and cutting its outlook.

Dow component DowDuPont (DWDP 72.04, -1.28) also declined, losing 1.8%, despite reporting above-consensus earnings. The materials sector (-0.8%), which houses DowDuPont, finished near the bottom of the sector standings, alongside the telecom services (-1.0%) and consumer discretionary (-0.8%) groups.

Elsewhere, the Bank of England announced its first rate hike in a decade, increasing the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% in a 7-2 vote. However, the British pound dropped 1.4% against the U.S. dollar to 1.3064, hitting a fresh one-month low.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries climbed in a curve-flattening trade; the yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note dropped three basis points to 2.35%, while the 2-yr yield slipped one basis point to 1.62%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Also of note, President Trump nominated Fed Governor Jerome Powell to replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen when her term ends in February--as expected.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included third quarter Productivity, third quarter Unit Labor Costs, and the weekly Initial Claims Report:

The preliminary unit labor costs ticked up 0.5% during the third quarter, while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change (0.0%). The preliminary productivity reading showed an increase of 3.0%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 2.8%.
The key takeaway from the productivity report is that it was the highest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2014, offering a hopeful sign that U.S. economic activity and workers' standard of living will be improving.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 229,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 235,000. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 234,000 (from 233,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.884 million from the revised count of 1.899 million (from 1.893 million).
The key takeaway is the initial claims are holding at historically low levels, underscoring the tightness in the labor market.

On Friday, investors will receive the Employment Situation Report for October (Briefing.com consensus 300K) at 8:30 ET, the September Trade Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$43.5 billion) also at 8:30 ET, and both the October ISM Services Index (Briefing.com consensus 58.5) and September Factory Orders at 10:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +24.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +19.0% YTD
S&P 500 +15.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +10.3% YTD

Dow: +81.25… | Nasdaq: -1.59… | S&P: +0.49…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1519/1123. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1453/1485.

03:35PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities end the day higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.18% at 86.6923
Dollar index is currently down 0.09% at 94.73
Oct WTI Crude is up 0.44% on the day.
EIA Natural gas inventory data showed a build of 65 bcf vs a build of 64 bcf in the prior week
Futures settle $0.24 higher to $54.54/barrel.
In other energy, Dec Natural Gas settled up $0.05 at $2.94/MMBtu
On the metals:
Dec Gold gained $0.90 to settle at $1278.2/oz, while Dec silver lost $0.04 to $17.14/oz
Dec copper settled flat at $3.14/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Dec Corn settled unchanged at $3.51/bu.
Nov Soy settled down $0.0025 at $9.9875/bu.
Dec Wheat settled up $0.01 at $4.27/bu.

Dow: +74.52… | Nasdaq: -1.39… | S&P: +0.14…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1560/1169. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1426/1489.

03:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are still mixed moving into the final stretch; the Dow is up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 show losses of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

Apple (AAPL 168.33, +1.44)--the largest S&P 500 component by market cap--will report earnings following today's close, as will Starbucks (SBUX 54.95, -0.18), AIG (AIG 64.74, +0.08), Activision Blizzard (ATVI 65.14, -0.18), and many others. Duke Energy (DUK 88.49, +0.63) will report earnings on Friday morning.

As a reminder, President Trump will announce his pick for the next Fed Chair at 15:00 ET. Reports indicate that current Fed Governor Jerome Powell will get the nod.

Dow: +27.72… | Nasdaq: -8.56… | S&P: -4.64…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1507/1275. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1316/1599.

02:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have not changed since the last update.

Five sectors are trading in the green this afternoon--real estate (+0.8%), financials (+0.6%), utilities (+0.5%), industrials (+0.2%), and technology (unch)--while six are trading in the red--consumer staples (-0.4%), health care (-0.5%), consumer discretionary (-0.8%), energy (-0.8%), materials (-0.9%), and telecom services (-1.0%).

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are still trending sideways, drifting a step above their unchanged marks. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is three basis points lower at 2.35%, while the 2-yr yield is lower by one basis point at 1.62%.

Dow: +28.11… | Nasdaq: -8.84… | S&P: -3.11…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1469/1301. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1311/1580.

02:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices continue to drift near their unchanged marks this afternoon, with the S&P 500 showing a loss of 0.2%.

Industrial giant General Electric (GE 19.81, -0.20) is down for the ninth session in a row, showing a loss of 1.1%. Including today's tumble, the company has dropped 16.9% over the course of those nine sessions. The recent sell off was prompted by the company's latest earnings report, which showed worse-than-expected earnings and provided disappointing guidance for the fiscal year.

Still, the S&P 500's industrial sector (+0.2%) is trading ahead of the broader market. Most of the group's component are trading in the green, with Dow components Boeing (BA 260.18, +1.68) and 3M (MMM 232.62, +2.44) showing notable strength; the two companies are up 0.7% and 1.1%, respectively.

Dow: +26.43… | Nasdaq: -17.12… | S&P: -4.13…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1479/1278. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1356/1515.

01:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are currently trading mixed as investors continue to digest the GOP tax plan and await President Trump's official nomination of Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that Microsoft (MSFT 84.34, +1.16), Wal-Mart (WMT 88.97, +1.03), & 3M (MMM 232.42, +2.24) are outperforming.

Conversely, DowDuPont (DWDP 72.08, -1.24) is the worst-performing Dow component after reporting its third quarter results this morning.

For the week, the DJIA is currently +0.11%.

Dow: +30.30… | Nasdaq: -8.23… | S&P: -2.27…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1469/1305. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1341/1512.

01:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities are little changed at midday despite a heavy dose of headlines this morning, including details related to the House's tax reform bill. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both down 0.1%, while the Dow and the Russell 2000 sport gains of 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively.

Stocks opened the session flat, slipped to a new session low following leaked tax reform details, and then began trimming their losses in the late morning. At its worst mark of the day, the S&P 500 held a loss of 0.5% and, at its best, traded right at yesterday's closing mark.

House Republicans' tax reform bill most notably calls for an immediate--and permanent--reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35.0% to 20.0%, a repeal of the deduction for state and local taxes--with the exception of a $10,000 limit for property taxes, a limit for mortgage interest deductions on new home purchases of less than $500,000, and no major changes to 401(k) tax laws.

Homebuilders were initially hit hard by the news of a limit for mortgage interest deductions, but have reclaimed some of their earlier losses. Still, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 39.46, -0.52) is down 1.3%. Home-improvement retailers are also lower, with Home Depot (HD 162.93, -2.45) and Lowe's (LOW 77.01, -2.91) showing losses of 1.5% and 3.6%, respectively.

The aforementioned names have weighed on the S&P 500's consumer discretionary sector (-0.7%), which trades near the bottom of today's sector standings. Elsewhere within the group, Newell Brands (NWL 30.15, -10.84)--which owns brands like Sharpie, Crock-Pot, and Yankee Candle--has plunged 26.4% after missing earnings estimates and cutting its outlook for the fiscal year.

Materials also show relative weakness, sending the lightly-weighted materials sector lower by 0.8%. Within the group, DowDuPont (DWDP 72.00, -1.32) exhibits particular weakness, losing 1.8%, despite reporting better-than-expected earnings this morning.

On a positive note, the heavily-weighted financial sector (+0.8%) is hovering near the top of today's sector standings amid broad strength. The group shot sharply higher in the early afternoon, extending its gain to 0.8% from 0.2% in less than 30 minutes. There's not a particular catalyst to credit for the move, but it may be a belated reaction to the tax reform release.

Also, insurers within the financial group are outperforming after MetLife (MET 55.09, +1.22), Prudential (PRU 112.70, +2.12), and Allstate (ALL 97.72, +3.47) beat earnings estimates.

Elsewhere, the Bank of England announced its first rate hike in a decade, increasing the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% in a 7-2 vote. However, the British pound has dropped 1.4% against the U.S. dollar to 1.3062, hitting a fresh one-month low.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are still trading higher across the curve, sending yields into the red. The yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is down two basis points at 1.61%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by three basis points at 2.35%.

Also of note, President Trump will announce his nominee for the next Fed Chair later this afternoon at 15:00 ET, with reports indicating that it will be current Fed Governor Jerome Powell.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included third quarter Productivity, third quarter Unit Labor Costs, and the weekly Initial Claims Report:

The preliminary unit labor costs ticked up 0.5% during the third quarter, while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change (0.0%). The preliminary productivity reading showed an increase of 3.0%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 2.8%.
The key takeaway from the productivity report is that it was the highest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2014, offering a hopeful sign that U.S. economic activity and workers' standard of living will be improving.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 229,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 235,000. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 234,000 (from 233,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.884 million from the revised count of 1.899 million (from 1.893 million).
The key takeaway is the initial claims are holding at historically low levels, underscoring the tightness in the labor market.

Dow: +42.22… | Nasdaq: -6.84… | S&P: -1.76…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1567/1207. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1400/1454.

12:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities have been trimming their losses as of late, sending the major averages back near their opening levels. The Dow has hit a fresh session high and holds a slim gain of 0.1%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq trade lower by 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

Financials have paced this recent uptick, sending the S&P 500's financial sector sharply higher; the group is up 0.8% after holding a gain of just 0.2% less than 30 minutes ago. Just about all of the sector's components are now trading in the green, including heavyweights like Goldman Sachs (GS 246.71, +2.45) and Bank of America (BAC 27.83, +0.30), which are higher by 1.0% apiece.

There doesn't appear to be a particular catalyst to credit for the shift in sentiment, but it may be related to the GOP's tax reform bill, which was released earlier this morning. It's also worth pointing out that insurers are showing relative strength after MetLife (MET 55.15, +1.28), Prudential (PRU 112.78, +2.19), and Allstate (ALL 97.55, +3.30) reported better-than-expected earnings.

Dow: +30.23… | Nasdaq: -9.05… | S&P: -1.70…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1612/1155. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1466/1375.

12:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have had a largely muted response to the official release of the House's tax reform bill, however, it contained few surprises as media outlets had already leaked many of the details beforehand. The S&P 500 is down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.4%) exhibits relative weakness.

Eight of the S&P 500's 11 sectors are trading in negative territory, with losses ranging between 0.1% and 1.0%. The weakest groups are consumer discretionary (-1.0%), telecom services (-1.0%), and materials (-0.9%), while the strongest are real estate (+1.5%), utilities (+0.8%), and financials (+0.2%).

Outside of the equity market, U.S. Treasuries are still trading higher across the curve, sending yields into the red; the benchmark 10-yr yield is currently down three basis points at 2.35%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.2% at 94.50, despite adding 1.3% on the pound (1.3072) after the Bank of England raised rates for the first time in a decade.

As a reminder, President Trump is set to announce his nominee for the next Fed Chair this afternoon (15:00 ET), with reports indicating that it will be current Fed Governor Jerome Powell.

Dow: +1.38… | Nasdaq: -26.47… | S&P: -5.45…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1457/1295. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1354/1477.

11:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are still mostly lower, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows relative strength, hovering at its unchanged mark.

Within the industrial average, DowDuPont (DWDP 71.66, -1.73) is one of the weakest components, dropping 2.4%, despite reporting better-than-expected earnings earlier this morning. On the flip side, fast food giant McDonald's (MCD 167.98, +1.61) shows relative strength, up 1.0%, thanks in part to above-consensus earnings and revenues from peer Yum! Brands (YUM 79.32, +5.01)--which owns brands like Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut. YUM shares have added 6.8%.

House Republicans are expected to release their tax reform bill in just a few moments, but many of the details have already been leaked. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) just took the podium.

Dow: -4.19… | Nasdaq: -16.84… | S&P: -5.37…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1414/1357. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1267/1528.

11:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The equity market has slipped from its flat line in recent action following leaked information regarding the GOP's tax reform bill, which will be released at 11:15 ET. The S&P 500 currently trades lower by 0.2%.

According to the Wall Street Journal, House Republicans are calling for a permanent reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35.0% to 20.0%, a repeal of the deduction for state and local taxes, a limit for mortgage interest deductions on new purchase loans under $500,000, and no major changes to 401(k) tax laws.

The news of a limit for mortgage interest deductions has sent homebuilders lower, evidenced by the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 39.02, -0.96), which is down 2.4%. Home-improvement retailers are also lower, with Home Depot (HD 162.07, -3.30) and Lowe's (LOW 77.19, -2.73) showing respective losses of 2.0% and 3.5%.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries initially ticked higher following the leaked information, but have returned to their opening levels. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is down three basis points at 2.35%.

Dow: -6.82… | Nasdaq: -12.92… | S&P: -5.44…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1507/1250. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1309/1478.

10:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day flat :

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.09% at 86.6190
Dollar index is currently down 0.35% at 94.49
Dec WTI crude is down 0.04% on the day.
Futures are $0.02 lower to $54.28/barrel.
In other energy:
EIA natrual gas inventory data showed a build of 65 bcf vs a build of 64 bcf in the prior week
Nov natural gas is up $0.03 at $2.92/MMBtu
Metals:
Dec gold gained $5.70 and trades at $1283.00/oz, while Dec silver gained $0.01 to $17.19/oz
Dec copper gained 0.03 to $3.17/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Dec corn is up $0.02 at $3.5/bu.
Nov soy is up $0.05 at $9.9625/bu.
Dec wheat is up $0.01 at $4.19/bu.

Dow: -34.79… | Nasdaq: -17.44… | S&P: -8.23…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1348/1350. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1211/1541.

10:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices continue to hover near their flat lines in early trading.

Newell Brands (NWL 32.52, -8.49) has plunged 20.8% following its latest earnings report and guidance. The company--which owns brands like Sharpie, Crock-Pot, and Yankee Candle--missed earnings estimates for the third quarter and cut its outlook for the fiscal year. Today's slide places NWL shares at their lowest level since July 2014.

Reports from Washington indicate that the GOP's tax reform bill, which is expected to be released at 11:15 ET, will call for no major changes to the 401(k) program and a permanent reduction in the corporate tax rate (from 35.0% to 20.0%).

Dow: +8.30… | Nasdaq: -3.15… | S&P: -1.02…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1356/1292. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1330/1327.

09:45AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are trading near their flat lines in the opening minutes of today's session, with the Nasdaq (-0.2%) showing relative weakness.

Most sectors are hovering within 0.2% of their unchanged marks. The top-weighted technology sector (-0.2%) is one of the weakest groups, thanks in part to Facebook (FB 179.54, -3.13), which trades lower by 1.7% despite reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues. The consumer discretionary space (-0.4%) is currently the weakest sector.

On the flip side, the lightly-weighted real estate space has jumped 0.5%, and the influential financial space (+0.3%) is also trading in the green.

Dow: +6.71… | Nasdaq: -13.33… | S&P: -0.96…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1110/1431. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1355/1232.

09:10AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.60.

Equity futures have been ticking higher in recent action and now point to a flat open for the U.S. equity market; the S&P 500 futures currently trade in line with fair value.

In Washington, House Republicans are scheduled to release their tax reform bill at 11:15 ET, and President Trump is expected to announce his nominee for the next Fed Chair at 15:00 ET--although this will likely be a nonevent as reports indicate that the president has decided on current Fed Governor Jerome Powell.

Facebook (FB 182.35, -0.31) is trading a tick lower in pre-market action after releasing its third quarter results on Wednesday evening. The social media giant beat both earnings and revenue estimates and reported a year-over-year increase of 16.0% in monthly active users (MAUs).

Meanwhile, Newell Brands (NWL 34.39, -6.76) has plunged 16.7% after missing earnings estimates and cutting its guidance for the fiscal year. Conversely, L Brands (LB 46.98, +3.37) has surged 7.7% after reporting better-than-expected same store sales for October and issuing upbeat earnings guidance for the third quarter.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are trading higher this morning, sending yields lower across the curve; the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is down two basis points at 1.61%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by three basis points at 2.35%. Treasuries ticked higher following this morning's batch of economic data.

The preliminary unit labor costs ticked up 0.5% during the third quarter, while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change (0.0%). Meanwhile, the preliminary productivity reading showed an increase of 3.0%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 2.8%.

Separately, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 229,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 235,000. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 234,000 (from 233,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.884 million from the revised count of 1.899 million (from 1.893 million).

Elsewhere, the Bank of England announced its first rate hike in a decade, increasing the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% in a 7-2 vote. The pound is down 1.0% against the U.S. dollar at 1.3119.

08:50AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade one point below fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note while Japan's Nikkei outperformed. The Japanese press reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking a JPY2 trillion supplementary budget while a Nikkei report indicated the country's government plans to expand a tax on foreign online retailers. Bloomberg reported that China may crackdown on micro lenders with high interest rates.

In economic data:
Japan's October Household Confidence 44.5 (expected 43.6; last 43.9) and Monetary Base +14.5% year-over-year (expected 15.7%; previous 15.6%)
Australia's September Building Approvals +1.5% month-over-month (expected -1.0%; last 0.1%). September trade surplus AUD1.75 billion (expected AUD1.20 billion; last AUD0.87 billion)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5%. Kobe Steel continued its post-earnings rally, climbing 8.7%. Honda Motor jumped 5.2% after beating earnings expectations while Tosoh, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, Sony, TOTO, Yamaha Motor, Okuma, and Konami posted gains between 2.0% and 5.0%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.3% with financials and property names pulling back after a recent show of strength. HSBC, China Construction Bank, China Life Insurance, China Overseas, Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, and Bank of China lost between 0.5% and 1.0%.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%. Yibin Paper Industry, Shanghai Potevio, Shanghai Material Trading, Shenghe Resources Holding, and Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group lost between 4.6% and 6.0%.
India's Sensex shed 0.1%. Hero MotoCorp, ITC, SBI, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto, AXIS Bank, and Tata Motors lost between 0.5% and 2.2%. On the upside, Sun Pharma and Lupin gained 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively.

Major European indices trade on a mixed note with the UK's FTSE (+0.8%) outperforming. The Bank of England announced its first rate hike in nearly 10 years, calling for a 25 bps Bank Rate increase to 0.50% in a 7-2 vote. The European Banking Authority reportedly postponed the release of bank stress test results due to inability of some banks to provide timely data for calculations. Carles Puigdemont, who was ordered to appear before the National High Court in Madrid, remains in Brussels.

In economic data:
Eurozone October Manufacturing PMI 58.5 (expected 58.6; last 58.6)
UK's October Construction PMI 50.8 (consensus 48.1; last 48.1)
Germany's October Manufacturing PMI 60.6 (expected 60.5; last 60.5). October Unemployment Change -11,000 (expected -10,000; last -22,000) and Unemployment Rate 5.6%, as expected.
France's October Manufacturing PMI 56.1 (expected 56.7; last 56.7)
Italy's October Manufacturing PMI 57.8 (expected 56.6; last 56.3)
Spain's October Manufacturing PMI 55.8 (consensus 54.9; last 54.3)
Swiss September Retail Sales -0.4% year-over-year (consensus 0.4%; last -1.0%) and Q4 SECO Consumer Climate -2 (expected 0; last -3)

---Equity Markets---

Germany's DAX is lower by 0.1%. Infineon, Heidelbergcement, Siemens, SAP, and BASF show losses between 0.2% and 2.1%. On the upside, Deutsche Bank has climbed 1.8%.
France's CAC is also down 0.1%. Airbus Group, STMicroelectronics, Atos, Schneider Electric, and Cap Gemini are down between 0.5% and 1.7%. On the upside, Carrefour, Louis Vuitton, Accor, and Pernod Ricard outperform with gains between 0.4% and 2.4%.
UK's FTSE trades up 0.8% with select financials and consumer names showing relative strength. Marks & Spencer, Standard Chartered, British American Tobacco, Barclays, St. James Place, and Imperial Brands hold gains between 0.7% and 1.9%.

08:33AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.60.

The S&P 500 futures trade two points, or 0.1%, below fair value.

Just in, the preliminary unit labor costs ticked up 0.5% during the third quarter, while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change (0.0%). The preliminary productivity reading showed an increase of 3.0%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 2.8%.

Separately, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 229,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 235,000. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 234,000 (from 233,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.884 million from the revised count of 1.899 million (from 1.893 million).

08:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.90.

Equity futures are pointing to a modestly lower open for the U.S. equity market, which comes into Thursday's session little changed for the week. The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all touched new record highs on Wednesday, but weren't able to hold their newly minted levels through the closing bell. The S&P 500 futures currently trade three points, or 0.1%, below fair value.

Today's session is shaping up to be a busy one as House Republicans are scheduled to release their tax reform bill, President Trump is expected to announce his nominee for the next Fed Chair, the Bank of England will likely announce its first rate hike in more than 10 years, and Apple (AAPL 167.30, +0.41) is set to report earnings after the closing bell.

On the data front, investors will receive the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 235K), third quarter Productivity (Briefing.com consensus 2.8%), and third quarter Unit Labor Costs (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%)--all of which will be released at 8:30 ET.

The Fed Chair announcement, which will take place at 15:00 ET, will likely be a nonevent as reports indicate that the White House has already notified current Fed Governor Jerome Powell of the president's intent to nominate him. Mr. Powell's nomination is seen as a positive for the market as he will likely continue current Fed Chair Janet Yellen's cautious approach to normalizing interest rates.

Meanwhile, the House's tax reform bill is expected to be released at 9:00 ET.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are trading higher, sending yields lower across the curve; the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is down two basis points at 1.61%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by one basis point at 2.37%. For the week, the 10-yr yield has lost five basis points.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.2% at 94.53, WTI crude futures are lower by 0.2% at $54.20/bbl, and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 10.46, +0.26) is up 2.5%.

In U.S. corporate news:

Facebook (FB 180.61, -2.05): -1.1% despite reporting above-consensus earnings and revenues. Monthly active users (MAUs) were up 16.0% year-over-year.
Tesla (TSLA 306.45, -14.63): -4.6% after reporting worse-than-expected earnings and delaying its Model 3 production target of 5,000 per week by another quarter.
Newell Brands (NWL 36.99, -4.01): -9.8% after missing earnings estimates and cutting its guidance for the fiscal year.
L Brands (LB 46.44, +2.82): +6.5% after reporting better-than-expected same store sales for October and issuing upbeat earnings guidance for the third quarter.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note while Japan's Nikkei outperformed. Japan's Nikkei +0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.4%, India's Sensex -0.1%.
In economic data:
Japan's October Household Confidence 44.5 (expected 43.6; last 43.9) and Monetary Base +14.5% year-over-year (expected 15.7%; previous 15.6%)
Australia's September Building Approvals +1.5% month-over-month (expected -1.0%; last 0.1%). September trade surplus AUD1.75 billion (expected AUD1.20 billion; last AUD0.87 billion)
In news:
The Japanese press reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking a JPY2 trillion supplementary budget while a Nikkei report indicated the country's government plans to expand a tax on foreign online retailers.
Bloomberg reported that China may crackdown on micro lenders with high interest rates.

Major European indices trade on a mixed note. Germany's DAX -0.2%, France's CAC unch, UK's FTSE +0.3%.
In economic data:
Eurozone October Manufacturing PMI 58.5 (expected 58.6; last 58.6)
UK's October Construction PMI 50.8 (consensus 48.1; last 48.1)
Germany's October Manufacturing PMI 60.6 (expected 60.5; last 60.5). October Unemployment Change -11,000 (expected -10,000; last -22,000) and Unemployment Rate 5.6%, as expected.
France's October Manufacturing PMI 56.1 (expected 56.7; last 56.7)
Italy's October Manufacturing PMI 57.8 (expected 56.6; last 56.3)
Spain's October Manufacturing PMI 55.8 (consensus 54.9; last 54.3)
Swiss September Retail Sales -0.4% year-over-year (consensus 0.4%; last -1.0%) and Q4 SECO Consumer Climate -2 (expected 0; last -3)
In news:
The Bank of England is expected to announce its first rate hike in nearly ten years. The central bank is expected to increase its Bank rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% while the asset purchase program is expected to remain unchanged at GBP435 billion.
The European Banking Authority reportedly postponed the release of bank stress test results due to inability of some banks to provide timely data for calculations.
Carles Puigdemont, who was ordered to appear before the National High Court in Madrid, remains in Brussels.

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.90.
05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...22539...+119.00...+0.50%

Hang Seng...28519...-75.40...-0.30%

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7493.45...+5.50...+0.10%

DAX...13443.34...-22.20...-0.20%

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks touched record highs at Wednesday's opening bell, but the bullish sentiment was quickly stifled, leaving the market little changed. The major indices finished the session mixed, settling in the lower half of their trading ranges. The Dow and the S&P 500 added 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%. Small caps struggled, sending the Russell 2000 lower by 0.7%.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced its latest policy decision on Wednesday afternoon, but the event came and went without much impact on the financial markets. As expected, the FOMC voted unanimously to leave the fed funds target range at 1.00%-1.25% and reiterated its belief that the economy will continue to expand at a moderate pace.

Wednesday's policy statement did little to alter the market's belief that the Fed will hike rates at the December FOMC meeting, evidenced by the CME FedWatch Tool--which places the chances of a December rate hike at 98.2%. On a related note, President Trump is expected to unveil his Fed Chair nominee on Thursday, with reports indicating that it'll likely be Fed Governor Jerome Powell.

In addition, House Republicans say they'll release their tax reform bill on Thursday--one day later than their original self-imposed deadline.

Energy stocks led Wednesday's modest rally, even though WTI crude futures declined 0.4% to $54.18/bbl. Crude oil held a gain of more than 1.0% early in the session, but moved back to its flat line after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stockpiles declined by 2.4 million barrels last week. Still, the commodity finished near an eight-month high.

The S&P 500's energy sector added 1.1%, but gains from the other groups were pretty modest. The consumer staples space was one of the top performers outside of energy, adding 0.3%, thanks in part to cosmetic giant Estee Lauder (EL 122.12, +10.31), which surged 9.2% on better-than-expected earnings and revenues.

Meanwhile, the materials sector (+0.6%) also outperformed, with DowDuPont (DWDP 73.32, +1.01) adding 1.4% before its Thursday morning earnings release.

On the flip side, Apple (AAPL 166.89, -2.15) struggled on Wednesday, losing 1.3%, following three straight sessions of big gains. The tech giant will report earnings on Thursday evening and goes into Thursday's session with an incredible year-to-date gain of 44.1%. With a market cap of around $860 billion, Apple is the largest component within the S&P 500.

Telecom stocks continued their bearish 2017 campaign in the midweek session, with CenturyLink (CTL 17.85, -1.14) pacing the retreat. The company finished with a loss of 6.0% after completing its acquisition of Level 3 Communications--a process that took nearly a year. The S&P 500's telecom services sector declined by 0.5%, extending its year-to-date loss to 16.4%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries finished mostly lower, but longer-dated issues showed relative strength. The yield on the 2-yr Treasury note climbed four basis points to 1.63%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield finished flat at 2.38%. Generally speaking, Treasuries ticked lower following the Fed's policy release. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index finished higher by 0.3% at 94.69.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included the October ADP Employment Change Report, the October ISM Index, September Construction Spending, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

The ADP National Employment Report showed an increase of 235,000 in October (Briefing.com consensus 215,000). The September reading was left unrevised at 135,000.
The ISM Index for October declined to 58.7 from an unrevised reading of 60.8 in September, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 59.0.
The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing conditions remain solid, as the October dip is most likely just a cooling off from what was a very hot September reading.
The Construction Spending report for October rose 0.3%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.2%. The prior month's increase was revised to 0.1% from 0.5%.
The key takeaway from the report is that overall construction spending remains modest and an inhibitor of stronger real GDP growth.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2.6% to follow last week's 4.6% decline.

On Thursday, investors will receive the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 235K), third quarter Productivity (Briefing.com consensus 2.8%), and third quarter Unit Labor Costs (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%)--all of which will be released at 8:30 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +24.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +18.6% YTD
S&P 500 +15.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +10.0% YTD

Dow: +57.77… | Nasdaq: -11.14… | S&P: +4.10…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1037/1599. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1572/1345.

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Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. Also, thank you for the review of TheStrategyLab performance record...hopefully the links will be useful for you.

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
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