TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Key WRB Price Action

3min Regular Session Chart - The price action (key change in supply/demand) that had the most impact on today's price action ocurred @ 1154am est via providing support and confirmation of two Long signals later in the p.m. trading session.

FYI - The above discussion is about one key WRB price action even though there were other key WRB price actions that occurred during the trading day that could be used to confirm entry signals, exit signals, profit targets et cetera.

Simply, knowledge of different types of key WRB's is what results in a complete understanding of the price action being traded as it is occurring in real-time.

http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm

http://www.thestrategylab.com/TradeStrategies.htm

Today's trades that were posted in real-time in #FuturesTrades chat room via my IRC user name NihabaAshi. You can review each trade from entry to exit along with commentary and an occasional trading tip because its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=224

My Trading Performance: +7.50 Emini ES points


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Dow and S&P 500 Down On Day, Week
Wall Street struggles as investors eye economic reports, sliding oil prices, a weaker dollar.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: June 26, 2009: 6:12 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Dow and S&P 500 slipped Friday and closed lower for the second week in a row, while the Nasdaq ended higher on the day and week.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 34 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 1 point, or 0.1% and the Nasdaq (COMP) gained 8 points, or 0.5%.

Stocks bounced back Thursday, after sliding for most of the week. But they failed to extend that recovery attempt Friday, as the spring surge that pushed the S&P 500 up by 40% continues to lose steam.

The Dow and S&P 500 have now closed lower for the last two weeks, while the Nasdaq managed to post slim gains for the week.

Bets that the economy is closer to stabilizing gave the rally some fuel, but a mixed batch of recent reports has caused worries that the market has gotten ahead of any recovery.

Friday's economic news added to those concerns, after a government report showed personal income surged, but so did savings, as investors opted to sit out the recession rather than spend.

With consumer spending fueling two-thirds of economic growth, the steadily rising savings rate has been a cause of concern for economists.

Economy: May personal income rose 1.4%, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would be up just 0.3% after climbing a revised 0.7% in April.

But the gain in personal spending was more modest, the government said. Spending rose 0.3% in May, in line with forecasts, after falling 0.1% in April.

Rather than spend, consumer beefed up their savings. Personal saving as a percentage of income rose to 6.9% in May from 5.6% in April. The rate was the highest level in more than 15 years.

The PCE deflator, the report's inflation component, showed that pricing pressures remain moderate. PCE rose 0.1% after rising 0.3% in April, versus forecasts for a rise of 0.2%.

A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment rose to 70.8 in June from an earlier reading of 68.7. Economists thought it would increase to 69.

Corporate news: KB Home (KBH) reported a narrower fiscal second-quarter loss that was worse than expected. The homebuilder also said that it sees signs that certain negative trends are moderating. Shares plunged 9% Friday.

Similarly, on Thursday, homebuilder Lennar (LEN) reported a big drop in fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings versus a year ago, but said new home sales and orders picked up versus the first quarter.

In other company news, Palm (PALM) reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss late Thursday, due partly to strong demand for its new Pre smartphone. Shares rallied nearly 16%.

Market breadth was positive and volume was heavy, due to the annual rebalancing of the Russell indexes. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by three to two on volume of 2.35 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners two to one on volume of 3.65 billion shares.

Bonds: Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 3.54%, roughly where it stood late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trade, Asian markets ended higher and European markets ended mixed.

COMEX gold for August delivery settled up $1.50 to $941 an ounce.

U.S. light crude oil for August delivery settled down $1.07 to $69.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.



Yahoo! Finance

4:20 pm : Stocks attempted to reverse modest losses in the final minutes of trading, but the effort failed, which made for an anticlimactic finish to what was already a choppy and listless session.

Stocks spent the entire session struggling to find direction. The seesaw action came amid the annual reconstitution of the Russell indices and some typical end-of-quarter window dressing. Those themes likely added to the session's volatility, but they didn't stimulate trading volume until the final few minutes of the session, when volume on the NYSE more than doubled to finish with 2.35 billion shares trading hands. That's the largest amount in three months.

There weren't any leaders to speak of this session. Retailers traded with strength for virtually the entire session before succumbing to selling pressure as the closing bell approached. Retailers finished fractionally lower.

Financial stocks made a modest rally into the close after spending nearly the entire session showing weakness. Thanks to strength in investment banking and brokerage stocks (+1.7%) and diversified financial services stocks (+1.8%), the financial sector finished 0.6% higher.

Health care (+0.1%) and telecom (+0.1%) were the only other two sectors to finish with a gain.

Though the tech sector, as a whole, finished 0.1% lower, large-cap tech showed strength. Strength in such names as Google (GOOG 425.25, +9.48) and Apple (AAPL 142.44, +2.58) helped the Nasdaq Composite outperform its counterparts.

Overall news flow was slow this session, but participants did get some additional insight into how second quarter GDP is shaping up with the release of personal income and spending data for May. Income made a surprisingly strong 1.4% increase, but spending for increased 0.3%, as expected. Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.1% month-over-month, as expected.DJ30 -34.01 NASDAQ +8.68 NQ100 +0.3% R2K +0.8% SP400 +0.2% SP500 -1.36 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1714/3.65 bln/937 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1833/2.35 bln/1170

3:30 pm : The S&P 500 recently made a charge toward positive ground, but was rebuffed upon reaching the unchanged mark. The stock market is now back on the backslide.

Financial stocks have managed to jump ahead to a 0.4% gain, however. The sector had been in positive ground during the early going, but hasn't been able to make its way back into the green until now. Investment banking and brokerage stocks (+1.8%) and diversified financial services stocks (+1.6%) were the driving forces behind the financial sector's upward push.

Meanwhile, materials stocks (-0.2%) have had a rather volatile session. The sector's swings come as commodities log a mixed session.

Precious metals made modest gains amid a weaker dollar. Gold futures prices advanced just 0.1% to $940.60 per ounce. Silver prices improved 0.6% to settle pit trading at $14.09 per ounce.

Natural gas for July delivery concluded their final session of pit trade with the stuff priced at $3.98 per contract, up 3.6%. Contracts for August were priced at $4.11 each, up 2.9%.

As for crude oil, the stuff settled at $69.17 per barrel, down 1.5%.DJ30 -29.25 NASDAQ +4.70 SP500 -1.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1542/1.73 bln/1068 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1704/691 mln/1275

3:00 pm : The S&P 500 has slowly pared some of its losses during the last hour. However, it remains off of its session highs, which were reached in the early going when it threatened to climb into positive territory.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 is sporting a solid gain of 0.4% as large-cap tech stocks continue to outperform.

Trading volume is exceptionally low in the NYSE. With only an hour remaining in the session trading volume is less than half of the levels seen during the past 50 sessions.DJ30 -33.41 NASDAQ +3.90 SP500 -2.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1415/1.54 bln/1183 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1663/604 mln/1297

2:30 pm : Stocks are trading sideways in a very narrow range. Action remains lackluster and listless.

Overall news flow remains slow, but Dow Jones reports that the Fed's Fisher stated that U.S. economic growth is likely to restart in the second half of this year. He also indicated that while the economy is not out of the woods yet, signs are encouraging.DJ30 -53.96 NASDAQ +1.71 SP500 -3.76 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1358/1.41 bln/1220 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1524/536 mln/1439

2:00 pm : The Nasdaq continues to outperform its counterparts in what has become a sluggish, summer Friday afternoon of trade.

Despite broad weakness in the U.S., the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index is up a healthy 0.8%. Most of that gain comes from gains that were registered in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 1.8% higher.

The major European indices all finished lower. In South America, Brazil's Bovespa is currently up 0.5%.DJ30 -51.55 NASDAQ +2.31 SP500 -3.83 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1390/1.29 bln/1192 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1539/493 mln/1415

1:30 pm : The stock market has pared some of its losses. Weakness, though not severe, is still widespread.

All 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 are trading with losses. Their declines range from a fractional loss in the tech sector to a 1.0% loss in the energy sector.

Treasuries are having a relatively quiet, but positive session of their own. The 10-year Note is steadily holding on to a modest gain of 7 ticks, which has the yield on the 10-year Note at 3.51%.DJ30 -50.71 NASDAQ +3.35 SP500 -2.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1403/1.17 bln/1162 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1562/449 mln/1371

1:00 pm : Action has been choppy ahead of the annual reconstitution of the Russell indices, which takes place at the close of trading. End-of-quarter window dressing is likely adding to the session's volatility, too.

Trading has generally been listless. However, retailers (+0.6%) are building on the previous session's hefty advance. With personal income data for May showing a surprisingly strong 1.4% increase some anticipate that a pickup in consumer spending could follow. Personal spending for May increased 0.3%, as expected, while personal consumption expenditures increased 0.1% month-over-month, as expected.

Large-cap tech is showing relative strength, though its gains remain restrained. Nonetheless, it has helped the Nasdaq make its way into positive territory, while the Dow and S&P 500 are mired in the red.

Still, not all tech issues are showing strength. Semiconductor company Micron (MU 5.13, -0.17) is down even though it reported a less severe than expected third quarter loss.

In other earnings news, Accenture (ACN 32.96, +1.32) is up markedly after reporting better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter and raising its full-year outlook.

Steel stocks (+1.9%) are helping drive the materials sector to a 0.2% gain. The rest of the materials sector is showing weakness, though.DJ30 -37.49 NASDAQ +4.54 SP500 -2.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1336/1.06 bln/1190 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1567/405 mln/1356

12:30 pm : The Nasdaq Composite has made its way into positive ground, thanks to strength in large-cap tech outfits. Shares of Apple (AAPL 142.04, +2.18), Research in Motion (RIMM 70.91, +1.61), and Amazon.com (AMZN 83.89, +1.69) are all trading with enviable gains.

Despite strength among large-cap tech stocks, many other tech issues are under pressure and, in turn, are diffusing gains in the broader tech sector. As a group, technology stocks are up an unimpressive 0.1%.DJ30 -53.21 NASDAQ +2.45 SP500 -4.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1286/954 mln/1221 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1449/370 mln/1440

12:00 pm : The major indices trade flat or with modest losses. Energy (-1.1%) continues to be the worst performing sector.

In Europe, the major bourses all closed lower, with losses ranging from 0.3% to 1.1%.DJ30 -50.79 NASDAQ +0.45 SP500 -4.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1218/857 mln/1243 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1382/335 mln/1491

11:30 am : Action remains rather volatile, but trading volume is a bit light. Many market watchers were expecting both high volume and seesaw trading this session, given the annual reconstitution of the Russell indices at the close and the typical end-of-quarter window dressing efforts of portfolio managers.

The overall tone, though, remains rather downbeat. All 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 are in the red and 23 of the 30 Dow components are trading with losses.DJ30 -55.55 NASDAQ -3.34 SP500 -5.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1145/728 mln/1285 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1322/291 mln/1525

11:00 am : Trading is choppy and listless, which has been the case since the opening bell.

Materials stocks make up the only major sector in the S&P 500 to trade with a gain. The sector is up 0.1% despite a drop in commodities prices, which has taken the CRB Commodity Index down 0.5%.

The drop in commodities comes in the face of a weaker U.S. dollar, which has the Dollar Index down 0.5%.DJ30 -54.80 NASDAQ -3.47 SP500 -4.85 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1113/606 mln/1267 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1245/244 mln/1556

10:35 am : August crude oil was modestly higher premarket, but declined at the open. Crude continued to extend losses in recent trading activity and is trading around $69.30 per barrel, down 1.2%, just above session lows of $69.10 per barrel.

Natural gas fell alongside crude this morning, but popped off early morning lows. However, natural gas could not hold the upward move and is now trading around $3.79 per contract, down 1.4% near its morning low.

Precious metals are modestly higher this morning, while the dollar is lower. Gold is trading around 0.4% higher at $943.00 per ounce, while July silver is at $14.14 per ounce, up 1.1%.DJ30 -25.93 NASDAQ -0.53 SP500 -2.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1172/444 mln/1180 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1333/181 mln/1385

10:00 am : Sellers have redoubled their efforts following a recent move by stocks toward positive ground. The push-pull action has made for a choppy start.

Retailers are holding on to their gains, though. The group is up 0.5% as Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 26.43, +0.33) and Lowe's (LOW 19.40, +0.53) show leadership.

Of the 10 major sectors in the S&P 500, only industrials are trading higher. The sector is up 0.1% as shares of Illinois Tool Works (ITW 37.53, +1.04) push higher. Analysts at Credit Suisse raise their target for ITW shares, while analysts at Wachovia upgraded the stock.DJ30 -43.54 NASDAQ -7.04 SP500 -4.78 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 888/276 mln/1343 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1076/121 mln/1574

09:45 am : The major indices are paring their initial losses, but overall action remains a bit mixed.

Shares of retailers are building on the previous session's near 4% advance by tacking on another 0.9%. Though their gains aren't as impressive, financials (+0.1%), consumer discretionary stocks (+0.1%), industrials (+0.2%), and tech stocks (+0.2%) are also in positive ground.DJ30 -7.33 NASDAQ +2.37 SP500 -0.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1027/147 mln/1123 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1347/76 mln/1236

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.30. Stock futures are trading near morning lows after failing to hold on to a sharp spike that followed a suprisingly strong increase in personal income for May. Personal spending and core personal consumption expenditures both increased in-line with expectations. Trading this session could see added volume and volatility since the annual reconstitution of the Russell indices takes place at session's close. That will have plenty of traders and index funds juggling their holdings.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.80. Trading overseas is becoming mixed as European stocks surrender earlier gains. France's CAC is currently trading with a 0.5% loss. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is a primary laggard, while energy giant Total (TOT) is providing support. In Germany, the DAX is down fractionally. Automakers Daimler (DAI) and Volkswagen are providing support, though. Shares of Volkswagen are being helped along by reports indicating that the company is interested in a tie-up with Suzuki Motor. Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE is unchanged, despite leadership from global banking giant HSBC (HBC). Xstrata is also providing support, but fellow mining giant Rio Tinto (RTP) is a laggard. In Asia, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index closed 1.6% higher, while Japan's Nikkei tacked on 0.8%. Suzuki Motor jumped after amid reports that Volkswagen is interested in a tie-up. After the close, Japan's Daiwa Securities said that it will raise about 240 billion yen in a share issue. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng advanced 1.8%. Property and bank stocks continued to climb, thanks partly to news that new lending could reach 1.2 trillion yuan this month. However, Standard Chartered faltered after indicated that it remains cautious on its outlook. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite eked out a 0.1% gain. Banks and real estate stocks were also strong there.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.80. Personal income for May increased 1.4%, which is well above the 0.3% increase that was widely expected and is the largest jump since a 1.8% increase in May 2008. Personal spending for May increased 0.3%, as expected. Data for April was revised higher to show a 0.7% increase in income and a flat reading for spending. Meanwhile, May personal consumption expenditures increased 0.1% month-over-month, as expected. April's core PCE showed a 0.3% month-over-month increase. Stock futures spiked on the data as participants reacted to the prospect that the unexpectedly large jump in personal income will ultimately drive consumer spending, which accounts for some 70% of GDP. Futures have since pulled back to indicate a flat-to-lower start for the session.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.30. Stock futures for the major indices are trading modestly lower ahead of May personal income and spending data (8:30 AM ET). Economists expect a 0.3% increase for both measures. The data will help provide insight into second quarter GDP since personal consumption expenditures represent more than two-thirds of economic activity. While the broader market is showing a mild fit of weakness, shares of consulting and services firm Accenture (ACN) are up nearly 5% to $33.19 per share in premarket action, following better-than-expected third quarter earnings of $0.68 per share. Though the company issued downside revenue guidance for the fourth quarter, Accenture raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2009. The company now sees earnings from $2.67 to $2.70 per share, up from $2.60 to $2.67 per share.

06:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -2.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.00.

06:35 am : Nikkei...9877.39...+81.30...+0.80%. Hang Seng...18600.26...+325.20...+1.80%.

06:35 am : FTSE...4261.38...+8.80...+0.20%. DAX...4809.59...+8.90...+0.20%.

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