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December 21st Thursday Trade Results - No Trades
http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=335&t=3623
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Author:  wrbtrader [ Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:59 am ]
Post subject:  December 21st Thursday Trade Results - No Trades

Image

Price Action Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
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
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Price Action Trading: http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm
TheStrategyLab Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
Telephone: +1 708 572-4885
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
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Quote:
No trades today. I had some friends traveling from the United States to visit their relatives living in upper Quebec...Gaspe area. Also, they needed me to help them get around town to do their last minute Christmas shopping. It was nice because it was the first time I got to drive in helping someone since my doctors removed my medical restrictions on driving from my illness last fall 2016.

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini RTY ($RTY_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Gold GC ($GC_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points and EuroFX 6E ($6E_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks. Total Profit @ $0.00 dollars

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 & Price Action Analysis is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=174&t=2723

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 and price action analysis 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.

Quote:
2017 has been the most difficult trading year since I've begun trading +25 years ago because successful trading involves more than just trade methods than any other trading year. This is a key concept many traders have difficulties in understanding. Some blame it on algorithms while I blame it on the inability to adapt, failure to backtest, failure to document trades (real-money or simulator) and underestimating how our environment influences our cognitive decision making while trading...all while trading in low volatility market conditions that statistically have the reputation for difficult trading.

Image ##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

Quote:
All of my real-time posted trades involves price action concepts from the WRB Analysis free study guide, Advance WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 4 - 12 and the Volatility Trading Report (VTR) trade signal strategies. Yet, I'm always backtesting new concepts of WRB Analysis, new trade entry rules, new trade management rules, new position size management rules before application in real money trades (small position size trades) to adapt to changed market conditions prior to large position size trades or sharing the new concepts with fee-base clients...living up to the name of my website. TheStrategyLab.

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.

Image 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

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

Image Daily Trading Plan Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=335&t=3584 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.

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

The Market at 04:25PM ET
Dow: +55.64… | Nasdaq: +4.40… | S&P: +5.32…
NASDAQ Vol: 1.80 bln… Adv: 1717… Dec: 1101…
NYSE Vol: 780 mln… Adv: 1785… Dec: 1135…

Moving the Market

M&A speculation

Financial and energy sectors outperform

Weakness in the semiconductor space

Sector Watch
Strong: Telecom services, Financials, Energy, Consumer Discretionary
Weak: Utilities, Real Estate, Information technology

04:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market on Thursday did what it has done all year and avoided follow-through losses. Some closing selling interest, however, cut into larger gains and spoiled what was shaping up to be a record-high close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Russell 2000.

Still, the major indices never saw red figures during the trading session and ended the day with gains ranging from 0.1% to 0.5%.

There were pockets of weakness, like the semiconductor industry, which fell prone to profit taking, and the utilities sector (-1.2%), which got rolled back on PG&E's (PCG 44.50, -6.62, -13.0%) announcement that it is suspending its dividend to preserve cash in the event its equipment is found to be a substantial cause of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires.

The losses in the semiconductor space knocked the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index back 1.1% and weighed on the S&P 500 information technology sector (-0.3%), which found itself in a trailing position most of the day.

Otherwise, the broader market showed good resilience to selling efforts, garnering support from the outperformance of the energy (+2.1%), financial (+0.9%), telecom services (+0.7%), and consumer discretionary (+0.6%) sectors, which benefited in part from sector rotation and some company-specific announcements.

AT&T (T 38.88, +0.33, +0.9%), for instance, said it will offer its workers $1,000 bonuses and increase its capital spending budget by $1 billion now that tax reform has been approved. Comcast (CMCSA 40.81, +1.43, +3.6%) also announced a plan to give its employees $1,000 bonuses and to increase its capital spending.

Separately, Wells Fargo (WFC 61.61, +1.47, +2.4%) noted, with the passage of the tax bill, that it will raise its minimum hourly pay rate to $15.00 from $13.50. Fifth Third (FITB 30.93, +0.42, +1.4%) also raised its minimum hourly rate to $15.000 and added that it will give a $1,000 bonus to more than 13,500 employees.

The Russell 2000 (+0.5%) outlegged all the other indices as optimism surrounding the cut in the corporate tax rate kept the small-cap index afloat. Domestically-oriented small-cap companies are seen as receiving a greater benefit from that tax cut since they typically pay a higher effective tax rate.

In other developments, the Bank of Japan voted 8-1 to leave its key policy rate and asset purchase program unchanged. Separately, Dow component Boeing (BA 295.03, -2.87, -1.0%) and Brazilian company Embraer (ERJ 24.42, +4.43, +22.2%) confirmed they are holding discussions about a possible combination.

Congress, meanwhile, continues to work on a continuing resolution to keep the government open. A deal needs to be reached before midnight on Friday.

Press reports suggested the leading resolution will provide government funding through January 19. Assuming it is approved, and it also includes a PAYGO waiver, President Trump could sign the tax bill into law as early as Friday.

The latter would be the most notable news item if it happened on Friday, yet it could be preempted possibly by the news of a government shutdown.

Other key happenings on Friday include the release of a large slate of economic data that includes the Personal Income and Spending report for November, the Durable Orders report for November, New Home Sales for November, the final December reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included the third estimate for Q3 GDP, the weekly initial claims, Philadelphia Fed Index, and Leading Economic Index reports:

The third estimate for third quarter GDP carried a slight downward revision to 3.2% (Briefing.com consensus 3.3%) from 3.3%, as more complete source data showed personal consumption expenditures increased less than previously estimated (2.2% vs. 2.3%). The GDP Deflator was left unchanged at 2.1%, as expected.
The key takeaway from the report is that it was little changed, which maintains the impression that U.S. economic output is carrying on at an encouraging 3.0%+ clip.
Initial claims for the week ending December 16 increased by 20,000 to 245,000 (Briefing.com consensus 236,000) while continuing claims for the week ending December 9 increased by 43,000 to 1.932 million.
While the claims headlines were a little worse than expected, the key takeaway is that they did nothing to disrupt the underlying trend of jobless claims running near historically low levels.
The Philadelphia Fed Index increased from 22.7 in November to 26.2 in December (Briefing.com consensus 21.0), led by an eight-point jump in the New Orders Index from 21.4 to 29.8. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 0.0.
The key takeaway from the report is that current indicators suggest solid growth for the manufacturing sector in the Philadelphia Fed region.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.4% in November, as expected, on top of an unrevised 1.2% increase in October. November marked the 15th straight month of gains for the Leading Economic Index.
The key takeaway from the report is that the leading economic index increased at a faster pace (3.0%) for the six-month period ending November 2017 than it did for the previous six months (+2.4%), as strengths among the leading indicators have remained widespread.

Dow: +55.64… | Nasdaq: +4.40… | S&P: +5.32…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1717/1101. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1785/1135.

03:35PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities end the day lower :

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently down 0.45% at 85.05
Dollar index is currently up 0% at 93.31
Jan WTI Crude is up 0.43% on the day.
Futures settle $0.25 higher to $58.34/barrel.
In other energy:
EIA Natural gas inventory data showed a draw of 182 bcf vs a draw of 69 bcf in the prior wee
Jan Natural Gas settled down $0.04 at $2.6/MMBtu
On the metals:
Feb Gold gained $1.2 to settle at $1270.8/oz, while Mar silver lost $0.04 to $16.24/oz
Mar Copper gained $0.02 to $3.22/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Mar Corn settled unchanged at $3.51/bu.
Jan Soy settled down $0.0125 at $9.4775/bu.
Mar wheat settled flat at $4.27/bu.

Dow: -28.1… | Nasdaq: +13.21… | S&P: +9.54…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1838/1067. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1933/1027.

03:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has lost a little of its steam, yet red figures are not part of the tote board. Entering the final hour, the major indices are up between 0.3% and 0.6%.

The Russell 2000 is the index that is up 0.6%, which most will cite as a remnant of the ongoing optimism surrounding the passage of the tax bill.

The cornerstone of that bill is a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, which is a reduction that market analysts believe will benefit domestically-oriented small-cap companies the most since they typically pay higher effective tax rates.

The Russell 2000 has nonetheless trailed the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 by a significant margin this year, up 14.2% versus gains ranging from 20.1% to 29.6% for the Big Three. That underperformance, and the coming benefit of the tax cut, are among the reasons why some analysts think the small-cap stocks are poised to outperform in 2018.

Dow: +94.09… | Nasdaq: +18.55… | S&P: +10.63…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1856/1048. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1930/993.

02:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] A little bit of a fade for the major indices since the last update, with the Nasdaq Composite pacing things.

Weakness in the semiconductor industry has persisted; in fact, another round of selling interest has dropped the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (1274.60, -10.74, -0.8%) back to its lows of the day. That weakness has weighed on the broader information technology sector (-0.1%).

In other developments, Dow component Boeing (BA 296.29, -1.61, -0.5%) and Brazilian company Embraer (ERJ 23.50, +3.51, +17.6%) have confirmed that they are in discussions involving a potential combination.

There has been a spate of increased M&A activity of late, which has acted as another support factor for the market in its year-end rally bid.

Dow: +89.77… | Nasdaq: +16.62… | S&P: +10.61…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1823/1079. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1912/1002.

01:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] It has been more of the same for the stock market, which has faced little challenge thus far from sellers.

A big boost to the energy sector (+2.1%), on what appears to be a sector rotation trade, has been a big help in matters and has more than offset the weakness in the utilities (-0.9%) and real estate (-0.3%) sectors.

The latter two sectors are rate-sensitive sectors; hence, it has been little surprise that they have underperformed in a week that has seen a notable jump in long-term rates.

The Treasury market has behaved better today, with modest gains in longer-dated instruments. The 10-yr note yield has slipped two basis points to 2.48%, yet that is still 14 basis points higher than where it stood a week ago.

Dow: +108.62… | Nasdaq: +29.26… | S&P: +9.62…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1898/991. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1928/991.

01:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major stock indices continue to run on cruise control, trading at, or near, their best levels of the day, perhaps as traders anticipate a "Santa Claus" rally into year end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average for its part is keeping pace with the S&P 500 and is closing in on a new record high (24,876.07 is the record intraday high).

Today's upside in the Dow has been driven by gains in the majority of its 30 components. The biggest point gainers today include Goldman Sachs (GS 260.69, +5.51, +2.2%), Chevron (CVX 124.81, +3.92, +3.2%), JPMorgan Chase (JPM 108.01, +1.87, +1.8%), Caterpillar (CAT 153.79, +1.27, +0.8%), and Apple (AAPL 175.78, +1.43, +0.8%)

With today's gain, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 25.6% year-to-date, outpacing the S&P 500 (+20.3%) and Russell 2000 (+14.8%) by a significant margin.

Dow: +114.98… | Nasdaq: +28.94… | S&P: +12.92…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1895/985. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1978/936.

01:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] On Wednesday, stock market bulls charged out of the gate and then rolled over in a hurry. Today, they charged out of the gate again, but to this point they have held their ground.

The major indices are off their highs of the session, but not by much, as they hold gains ranging from 0.4% to 0.5%.

The upside bias has been forged on the leadership of the energy (+2.1%), financial (+1.0%), and consumer discretionary (+0.7%) sectors, which are garnering support from sector rotation activity as the year draws to a close.

On a related note, the information technology sector (+0.1%), which has been the best-performing sector year-to-date (+39.0%), is trailing the action. It isn't weak on an absolute basis, yet it is weak on a relative basis due in part to weakness in the semiconductor industry.

Leading stocks like Intel (INTC 46.86, -0.70, -1.5%), Applied Materials (AMAT 52.18, -1.11, -2.1%), and KLA-Tencor (KLAC 109.16, -3.29, -2.9%) are on the defensive in a profit-taking move. Their losses, and the losses of other components, have clipped the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (1278.50, -6.94, -0.5%), which is up 40.9% year-to-date.

Overall, the stock market has been underpinned by the ongoing optimism surrounding the passage of the tax bill.

The latter could be signed into law as early as tomorrow if Congress approves a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and there is a PAYGO waiver attached to that resolution that would defer Medicare spending cuts until 2019; otherwise, the signing is likely to happen on January 3, according to press reports.

Following the passage of the tax bill, AT&T (T 38.92, +0.37, +1.0%) and Comcast (CMCSA 40.56, +1.18, +3.0%) both announced that they will be giving $1,000 bonuses to their employees and increasing their capital spending. Wells Fargo (WFC 61.62, +1.48, +2.5%) and Fifth Third (FITB 30.91, +0.40, +1.3%), meanwhile, announced they will be raising their minimum hourly pay rate to $15.00.

The only area of the stock market showing notable weakness today is the utilities sector (-0.8%). It has been pressured by PG&E's (PCG 44.24, -6.88, -13.5%) announcement that it is going to suspend its quarterly dividend in a prudent step to preserve cash in the event it is determined by investigators that its equipment was a substantial cause of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires.

In other developments, the Bank of Japan voted 8-1 to leave its key policy rate and asset purchase program unchanged.

Reviewing this morning's economic data, which included the third estimate for Q3 GDP, the weekly initial claims, Philadelphia Fed Index, and Leading Economic Index reports:

The third estimate for third quarter GDP carried a slight downward revision to 3.2% (Briefing.com consensus 3.3%) from 3.3%, as more complete source data showed personal consumption expenditures increased less than previously estimated (2.2% vs. 2.3%). The GDP Deflator was left unchanged at 2.1%, as expected.
The key takeaway from the report is that it was little changed, which maintains the impression that U.S. economic output is carrying on at an encouraging 3.0%+ clip.
Initial claims for the week ending December 16 increased by 20,000 to 245,000 (Briefing.com consensus 236,000) while continuing claims for the week ending December 9 increased by 43,000 to 1.932 million.
While the claims headlines were a little worse than expected, the key takeaway is that they did nothing to disrupt the underlying trend of jobless claims running near historically low levels.
The Philadelphia Fed Index increased from 22.7 in November to 26.2 in December (Briefing.com consensus 21.0), led by an eight-point jump in the New Orders Index from 21.4 to 29.8. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 0.0.
The key takeaway from the report is that current indicators suggest solid growth for the manufacturing sector in the Philadelphia Fed region.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.4% in November, as expected, on top of an unrevised 1.2% increase in October. November marked the 15th straight month of gains for the Leading Economic Index.
The key takeaway from the report is that the leading economic index increased at a faster pace (3.0%) for the six-month period ending November 2017 than it did for the previous six months (+2.4%), as strengths among the leading indicators have remained widespread.

Dow: +112.72… | Nasdaq: +24.27… | S&P: +11.28…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1878/1022. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1928/967.

12:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The gains for the major indices are modest today, ranging from 0.3% (Nasdaq Composite) to 0.6% (Russell 2000), yet there hasn't been much challenge from sellers so far.

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.6%) has been a pocket of relative strength today and that standing doesn't have as much to do with Amazon.com (AMZN 1176.36, -1.26, -0.1%) and the retailers as it does with the media stocks.

The retailers are helping somewhat, but it is the media companies that are posting outsized gains in the wake of an LA Times article discussing a range of potential acquisition candidates.

Some sector standouts today include Discovery Communications (DISCA 23.76, +1.39, +6.2%), which was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch), Scripps Networks (SNI 85.76, +1.91, +2.3%), and CBS (CBS 60.66, +0.58, +1.0%).

Dow: +100.19… | Nasdaq: +23.30… | S&P: +9.64…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1860/1001. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1933/952.

12:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] It has been a good day so far for the broader stock market, which has been bolstered by value-oriented trades that have favored the energy (+1.9%), financial (+0.9%), and consumer discretionary (+0.6%) sectors.

This hasn't been a day, though, where all boats have risen with the tide.

The utilities sector (-1.2%) has been a notable laggard once again, bringing its week-to-date loss to 4.8%. The sector has been broadsided by a few factors: (1) the jump in long-term rates that is raising competitive pressure for these income-oriented plays and (2) the belief the utility companies, which are highly regulated, don't stand to benefit much (or as much) from the cut in the corporate tax rate.

Another factor clipping the sector today is PG&E's (PCG 44.00, -7.12, -13.9%) decision to suspend its dividend due to the board's desire to preserve cash now in the event its equipment is found later to be a substantial cause of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires, leaving the company potentially liable for property damage and attorneys' fees. Edison International (EIX 63.76, -4.54, -6.7%), which could face similar issues related to the more recent Southern California wildfires, is another big laggard in the utility sector.

Dow: +108.23… | Nasdaq: +21.19… | S&P: +9.78…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1885/955. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1951/927.

11:25AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Market bulls haven't been as quick to give up the fight today as they were yesterday, as the major indices continue to hold near their highs for the day.

The energy sector (+1.8%) has been the winning standout. It isn't moving so much on oil price gains ($58.15, +$0.04, +0.05%) as it is on a sector rotation trade.

The energy sector has been left in the market's dust in 2017 (down 4.5% year-to-date), so it is being looked at as a relative value trade in relation to other sectors that have outperformed.

On a related note, it was reported earlier that natural gas stockpiles saw a huge draw of 182 billion cubic feet for the week of December 16. Natural gas futures, though, are unchanged at $2.64/mmbtu.

Dow: 107.11… | Nasdaq: +20.00… | S&P: +9.69…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1862/978. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1968/893.

11:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has sported a positive bias mostly since the opening bell, supported by leadership from the financial (+1.0%) and energy (+1.5%) sectors. Some of the early buying interest, though, has tapered off as the information technology sector (unch) has coughed up its early gains.

The semiconductor stocks have been a notable pocket of underperformance, evidenced by the 0.7% drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

The question is, will the relative weakness of the heavily-weighted information technology sector pull down the broader market or will this ultimately prove to be another case of sector rotation that enables the broader market to keep its head above water?

The answer could have much to do with how the financial sector holds up over the remainder of the day since gains in that area have been an important offset in recent weeks when the information technology sector has underperformed.

Dow: +109.18… | Nasdaq: +10.07… | S&P: +9.13…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1766/1051. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1895/917.

10:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day slightly lower:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently down 0.06% at 84.9973
Dollar index is currently flat at 93.31
Jan WTI crude is down 0.41% on the day.
Futures are $0.24 lower to $57.85/barrel.
In other energy:
EIA Natural gas inventory data showed a draw of 182 bcf vs a draw of 69 bcf in the prior week
Jan natural gas is up $0.01 at $2.65/MMBtu
Metals:
Feb gold lost $1 and trades at $1268.60/oz, while Mar silver is flat at $16.28/oz
Mar copper gained 0.01 to $3.21/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Mar corn is up $0.02 at $3.51/bu.
Jan soy is down $0.05 at $9.49/bu.
Mar wheat is up $0.03 at $4.27/bu.

Dow: +71.9… | Nasdaq: +9.5… | S&P: +7.57…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1770/1004. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1869/928.

10:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 remains higher by 0.2% with nine sectors trading in the green.

Just released, November Leading Indicators rose 0.4% on top of last month's increase of 1.2%, which is what the Briefing.com consensus expected.

Dow: +82.56… | Nasdaq: +6.00… | S&P: +4.79…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1636/1058. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1664/1065.

09:45AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the major averages began the day on a modestly higher note, driven by gains in nine out of eleven sectors. The S&P 500 is up 0.2%.

Heavily-weighted financials (+0.6%) and technology (+0.3%) are among the early leaders while the utilities sector (-1.5%) has been pressured by PG&E (PCG 42.44, -8.67) as the stock dives 17.0% after the company suspended its cash dividend.

Treasuries remain below their highs with the 10-yr yield down one basis point at 2.49%.

Dow: +73.95… | Nasdaq: +13.71… | S&P: +5.44…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1617/1013. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1631/1023.

09:10AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +7.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.60.

The stock market is on track for a modestly higher open as futures on the S&P 500 trade seven points above fair value.

Investor participation is expected to decline into the weekend and should remain low next week, but that has not stopped several companies from reporting their quarterly results. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY 23.14, -1.43) is set to begin lower by 5.8% even though the retailer beat top- and bottom-line expectations. On the flip side, Finish Line (FINL 13.10, +1.41) has spiked 12.1% in pre-market after beating third quarter estimates and issuing in-line guidance.

Economic data released today was mixed relative to estimates. The third reading of Q3 GDP (actual: 3.2%; Briefing.com consensus: 3.3%) came up just shy while the Philadelphia Fed Index for December (actual: 26.2; Briefing.com consensus: 21.0) exceeded expectations. Weekly initial claims (actual: 245K; Briefing.com consensus: 236K) increased more than expected.

Treasuries hold modest gains with the 10-yr yield down one basis point at 2.47%.

09:01AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.10.

The S&P 500 futures trade seven points above fair value.

The FHFA Housing Price Index for October increased 0.5% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.4%.

08:51AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.10.

The S&P 500 futures trade seven points above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mixed note. The Bank of Japan voted 8-1 to maintain its policy stance with Goushi Kataoka dissenting for the third straight meeting. Mr. Kataoka wanted to see more accommodation, arguing that CPI is unlikely to reach the 2.0% target. On a separate note, The Telegraph reported that the U.S. is studying the possibility of a "bloody nose" attack on North Korea, which would be meant as a show of force. The latest policy meeting minutes from the Reserve Bank of India showed concern among all policymakers about rising inflation and uncertain growth.

In economic data:
Hong Kong's November CPI +1.6% year-over-year (last 1.5%)
New Zealand's Q3 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.5%; last 1.0%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 2.3%; last 2.8%)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei shed 0.1%. Familymart, Ricoh, Fast Retailing, Isuzu Motors, Alps Electric, Trend Micro, and Nikon posted losses between 0.9% and 2.5%. On the upside, SUMCO, Showa Denko, TOTO, Japan Steel Works, and Olympus gained between 1.5% and 4.3%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% amid gains in half of its components. Ping An Insurance, Geely Automobile, China Life Insurance, Citic Pacific, China Overseas, and New World Development rose between 0.6% and 3.3%.
China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%. Caihong Display Devices, Huaxin Cement, Xinyu Iron & Steel, and Shanghai Mechanical & Electrical Industry advanced between 5.0% and 5.7%.
India's Sensex slipped 0.1%. Mahindra&Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, and Tata Motors lost between 0.4% and 3.7%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro, Hero MotoCorp, and Infosys gained between 0.8% and 1.9%.

Major European indices trade near their flat lines with participation running on the low side ahead of Christmas. Catalan residents are voting for a new parliament today with the first exit polls expected around 8:00 p.m. local time. Germany's government formation process has now taken more than 86 days, which represents a new record. The latest reports indicate that official talks on starting a new SPD-CDU/CSU grand coalition will begin on January 7.

In economic data:
UK's November Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP8.12 billion (expected GBP8.30 billion; last GBP7.25 billion)
France's December Business Survey 112 (expected 112; last 113)
Swiss November trade surplus CHF2.63 billion (expected CHF2.84 billion; last CHF2.45 billion)

---Equity Markets---

France's CAC has shed 0.1%. Financials like Unibail Rodamco, AXA, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale are down between 0.2% and 0.7%. On the upside, Kering, Carrefour, STMicroelectronics, and Renault hold gains between 0.5% and 2.9%.
Germany's DAX trades little changed. Fresenius SE, Infineon, Heidelbercement, and Prosiebensat outperform with gains between 0.8% and 1.3% while Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are both down near 1.5%.
UK's FTSE has added 0.6%, nearing this year's high. Consumer names like Next, Dixons Carphone, Tesco, British American Tobacco, and InterContinental Hotels sport gains between 0.9% and 3.0%.

08:32AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.10.

The S&P 500 futures trade five points above fair value.

Just in, the third estimate of third quarter GDP pointed to an expansion of 3.2%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 3.3%. The second estimate came in at 3.3%.

Separately, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 245,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 236,000. Today's tally was above the unrevised prior week count of 225,000. As for continuing claims, they increased to 1.932 million from the revised count of 1.889 million (from 1.886 million).

The Philadelphia Fed Survey for December improved to 26.2 from an unrevised 22.7 in November while economists polled by Briefing.com expected a reading of 21.0

07:51AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.90.

U.S. equity futures point to a modestly higher start to the Thursday session with the S&P 500 futures trading roughly five points above fair value.

With the tax vote in the rear-view mirror and Christmas on the immediate horizon, it would not be a surprise to see a decline in daily trading volume. Reduced pre-holiday participation has already been visible in Europe, where the key indices trade near their flat lines.

Market participants will receive a set of economic reports today, including Q3 GDP, but a limited reaction is expected since this will mark the third estimate of Q3 growth (Briefing.com consensus: 3.3%).

Besides the Q3 GDP report, the Philadelphia Fed Index for December (Briefing.com consensus: 21.0) and weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus: 236K) will be reported at 8:30 ET while the FHFA Housing Price Index for October (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) will be released at 9:00 ET.

U.S. Treasuries have edged higher with the 10-yr yield dipping two basis points to 2.48%.

In U.S. corporate news:

Accenture (ACN 154.00, +2.25): +1.5% in reaction to better than expected results and upbeat guidance
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY 23.40, -1.17): -4.8% as cautious guidance outweighs above-consensus earnings and revenue
CarMax (KMX 66.71, -1.76): -2.6% despite reporting in-line earnings on above-consensus revenue
Finish Line (FINL 12.69, +1.00): +8.6% after beating third quarter estimates and issuing in-line guidance

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.4%
In economic data:
Hong Kong's November CPI +1.6% year-over-year (last 1.5%)
New Zealand's Q3 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.5%; last 1.0%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 2.3%; last 2.8%)
In news:
The Bank of Japan voted 8-1 to maintain its policy stance with Goushi Kataoka dissenting for the third straight meeting. Mr. Kataoka wanted to see more accommodation, arguing that CPI is unlikely to reach the 2.0% target.
The Telegraph reported that the U.S. is studying the possibility of a "bloody nose" attack on North Korea, which would be meant as a show of force.

Major European indices trade near their flat lines. France's CAC -0.1%, Germany's DAX UNCH, and UK's FTSE +0.4%
In economic data:
UK's November Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP8.12 billion (expected GBP8.30 billion; last GBP7.25 billion)
France's December Business Survey 112 (expected 112; last 113)
Swiss November trade surplus CHF2.63 billion (expected CHF2.84 billion; last CHF2.45 billion)
In news:
Catalan residents are voting for a new parliament today with the first exit polls expected around 8:00 p.m. local time.
The latest reports from Germany indicate that official talks on starting a new SPD-CDU/CSU grand coalition will begin on January 7

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.00.
05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...22866...-25.60...-0.10%

Hang Seng...29367...+133.00...+0.50%

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7547.95...+22.70...+0.30%

DAX...13054.07...-15.10...-0.10%

04:20PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] U.S. equities ticked lower on Wednesday as investors contemplated their next move following the passage of tax reform.

The S&P 500 (-0.1%), the Nasdaq Composite (unch), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) each finished a tick below their flat lines. Small caps outperformed, evidenced by the Russell 2000, which ended the day higher by 0.2%.

The Senate passed the GOP's tax reform bill shortly after midnight, giving equities a boost at Wednesday's opening bell. However, the early gains didn't last for long as the technology sector (-0.1%) began trending downwards, with Red Hat (RHT 122.00, -6.86) pacing the retreat. RHT finished lower by 5.3% despite reporting above-consensus earnings and revenues.

Technology shares eventually trimmed their losses a bit, thanks in large part to the outperformance of chipmakers, which pushed the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 0.7%. Micron (MU 45.75, +1.77) led the semiconductor rally, adding 4.0%, after beating both profit and sales estimates and issuing upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Congress came back into focus in the early afternoon as the House of Representatives took up tax reform, once again, as procedural rules in the Senate forced minor changes to the bill, nullifying yesterday's passage in the House. The measure was approved, as expected, sending the bill to the White House for a final endorsement.

President Trump likely won't sign the bill into law before the new year as the White House's review process typically takes about seven business days to complete. Regardless, tax reform, which has been a significant factor in this year's equity rally, is essentially a done deal.

Back on Wall Street, the energy sector (+1.4%) had a positive showing, extending its week-to-date gain to 2.2%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 0.9% to $58.08 per barrel, helping to fuel the energy rally, after the Energy Information Administration reported a draw of 6.5 million barrels for the week ended December 15.

The energy space's advance more than doubled the gain of the second-best performing group--telecom services (+0.6%). AT&T (T 38.55, +0.50) carried the lightly-weighted telecom group, adding 1.3%, after reaffirming its plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the U.S. next year in light of the new tax code.

The industrial space (+0.3%) also outperformed, underpinned by transports, which rallied around FedEx's (FDX 251.07, +8.53) better-than-expected earnings report and upbeat guidance. FDX shares added 3.5%, settling at a new all-time high, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average advanced 0.9%--also finishing at a new record.

On the flip side, the utilities and real estate sectors were the weakest groups, losing 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively. No other sector lost more than 0.4%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries finished mostly lower in a curve-steepening trade that pushed the 2yr-10yr spread higher by five basis points. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note climbed four basis points to 2.50%, which marks a nine-month high, while the 2-yr yield slipped one basis point to 1.85%.

Elsewhere, equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region finished Wednesday little changed, while the Euro Stoxx 50 settled with a loss of 0.9%.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included November Existing Home Sales and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

Existing home sales increased 5.6% in November to an annualized rate of 5.81 million units (Briefing.com consensus 5.56 million). The October reading was revised to 5.50 million from 5.48 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that notable supply constraints remain, which will continue to act as a drag on overall sales due to the limited inventory and the high prices on available inventory that is crimping affordability, particularly for first-time buyers.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 4.9% to follow last week's 2.3% decline.

On Thursday, investors will receive the third estimate of third quarter GDP (Briefing.com consensus +3.3%), the Philadelphia Fed Index for December (Briefing.com consensus 21.0), and weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 236K) at 8:30 ET, followed by the October FHFA Housing Price Index (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) and the November Leading Economic Index (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%), which will cross the wires at 9:00 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

Nasdaq Composite +29.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +25.1% YTD
S&P 500 +19.7% YTD
Russell 2000 +13.5% YTD

Dow: -28.10… | Nasdaq: -2.89… | S&P: -2.22…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1406/1332. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1462/1463.

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 and data will be useful for you. gm

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Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no indicators)
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
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