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 Post subject: March 4th Thursday 2010 Emini TF ($TF_F) points +6.70
PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 4:54 pm 
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Written By M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis)

Trade journals are crucial in preventing us traders from becoming complacent or content with our trading plan or the markets because without having the ability to review archives of past trading days in a forever changing market...we won't know it's time to adapt when change occurs in the markets because broker statements alone doesn't help us keep that edge in comparison to a trade journal. In addition, although this journal contains advertisements involving my trade methods, it does contain useful trading tips a few times per week. Thus, if you're looking for trading tips that can improve your trading and understand that profitable trading involves more than just entry signals...consistently read this trade journal and the #FuturesTrades chat room logs where I post my trades in real-time from entry to exit (see link below) via my IRC user name wrbtrader that's the same as my user name on twitter.

Today's #FuturesTrades chat room logs is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=462.

Quote:
Today's results are 7 wins : 3 losses. I don't have any thing to say today about my trading other than that I miss a few trade opportunities that would have easily given me my profit goal for the day.

Trading Tip: Position size management can easily improve your profits without making any changes to your entry signals or exit signals.[/urlnew]


FYI - You can ask me questions here at the forum or you can tweet me on twitter about anything related to today's trading or related to your own trading.

Image@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader

In addition, posted below are direct links about my trade methodology or trading approach 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 analysis).


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

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

Also, if you're interested in having free access to one of my profitable trade strategies along with earning extra income with little effort...join my referral program @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ReferralProgram.htm

My Trading Performance: +6.70 points in the ICE Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures
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Dow Positive For 2010
By Alexandra Twin, senior writer
March 4, 2010: 6:21 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks ended a volatile session higher Thursday as investors welcomed improved retail sales and a report showing that the pace of job losses is slowing, ahead of Friday's big government employment report.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 47 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 index (SPX) added 4 points or 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 11 points or 0.5%.

The major indexes rose in the morning, flattened out around midday and managed gains again in the afternoon.

The strong dollar dragged on dollar-traded commodities as well as on shares of companies that do a lot of business overseas, and therefore benefit from a weaker dollar.

Wall Street ended little changed Wednesday as investors remained cautious over the jobs outlook and the strength of the recovery. That caution remained in place Thursday.

"We had some good news this morning with the jobs numbers and the retail sales, but I think the market is really waiting for tomorrow," said Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer at Cozad Asset Management.

The government releases its February jobs report before the start of trading Friday. The payrolls number is expected to show that employers cut 65,000 jobs in February, after cutting 20,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, is expected to have risen to 9.8% from 9.7% in the previous month.

"Unless the actual payrolls number is way off-base, you're not going to see a big stock market reaction beyond the early morning," Kiddoo said.

But the report overall is key for the direction of the stock market beyond just Friday's session, he said, as investors look for signs that an economic recovery has legs.
World's most-admired companies

Jobs: Ahead of Friday's big non-farm payrolls report, investors digested the government's weekly tallies.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 469,000 last week from a revised 498,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought claims would fall to 470,000.

Continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to 4.5 million from a revised 4.634 million in the previous week. Economists thought claims would only drop to 4.6 million.

On Wednesday, reports from payroll services firm ADP and outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed the pace of job cuts is slowing as the labor market begins to stabilize. The nation's smallest companies may already be beginning to boost their employee rolls.
0:00 /3:53Apple three-peats as Most Admired

Home sales slump: The January pending home sales index plunged 7.6% -- far worse than expected -- as brutal storms on the East Coast kept potential buyers on the sidelines.

The report from the National Association of Realtors was a surprise to economists, who were expecting sales to rise 1%, on average, after rising a revised 0.8% in December.
Good job news: Wages are rising. Really.

Retail sales rise: Despite massive snow storms, shoppers picked up the pace in February, boosting total retail sales by 4%, according to sales tracker Thomson Reuters.

It was the sixth month in a row that same-store sales rose and the best monthly gains since November 2007, a month before the official start of the recession. Same-store sales is a retail industry metric that refers to sales at stores that have been open for a year or more.

Among the standouts, clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) reported that same-store sales rose 5% versus forecasts for a decline of 6.1%. Shares rallied 14%.

Factory orders: Factory orders climbed 1.7% in January, just shy of forecasts for a rise of 1.8%, the Commerce Department reported. Orders rose a revised 1.5% in the previous month.

Financials: Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit thanked taxpayers for the $45 billion bailout received during the height of the financial crisis, but offered few details on why Citi needed a second bailout so quickly after the first one.

Pandit, speaking before a Congressional panel, said "irrational markets" and "short sellers" caused the company's stock to plunge and the bank to need an additional $20 billion within weeks of the original $25 billion.

Citi (C, Fortune 500) shares gained less than 1%.

Separately, the government said Thursday that it will make more than $1.5 billion from selling warrants it received as part of its 2008 bailout of Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).

World Markets: In overseas trading, European markets were little changed after the European Central Bank held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1% and the Bank of England held its rate steady at 0.5%. Both decisions were in line with expectations.

The London FTSE lost 0.1%, the German DAX lost 0.4% and the French CAC 40 lost 0.4%.

Asian markets ended lower, although the Japanese Nikkei rose 0.3%.

The dollar and commodities: The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen, pressuring dollar-traded commodities.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell 66 cents to settle at $80.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for May delivery lost $11.50 to settle at $1,132.40 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.60% from 3.61% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by a narrow margin on volume of 961 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers edged decliners by five to four on volume of 2.15 billion shares.

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Yahoo! Finance

4:35 pm : Trade was subdued for most of the session as participants exercised caution ahead of the February nonfarm payrolls report on Friday and a stronger dollar acted as an overhang. However, financial issues helped lift the broader market to a modest gain late in the session.

With the government's official jobs report scheduled for tomorrow morning, participants paid little attention to news that initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 27 totaled 469,000, which was in-line with the consensus call for 470,000 initial claims. Continuing claims dropped more than expected to 4.50 million.

In other economic news, pending home sales for January fell 7.6% month-over-month. A 1.0% monthly increase had been expected.

Factory orders for January increased 1.7%, which was in stride with the 1.8% increase that had been widely expected.

Nonfarm productivity during the fourth quarter spiked 6.9%, according to the final reading. The surge exceeded the 6.3% increase that had been forecast. It was helped by a 5.9% plunge in unit labor costs, which were expected to fall 4.5%.

Retailers dominated corporate news flow with the release of February same-store sales figures. Overall results surpassed Wall Street's expectations to give the group a 1.3% gain. While Wal-Mart (WMT 53.96, +0.30) didn't report a monthly number, the company won favor with news that it hiked its annual dividend by 11% to $1.21 per share.

Given their weight in the broader market, financials led the stock market's advance into the close, though. Financials finished the session with a collective gain of 0.9%. Shares of investment banks and brokerages provided the most support -- they advanced 3.3% as Goldman Sachs (GS 163.61, +4.68) advanced to a one-month high in its best single-session percentage advance in months.

Strength among financials helped the broader market shrug off a stronger dollar, which gained 0.7% against competing currencies. The greenback's gain was helped by a weaker euro, which was pressured in the wake of the decision by both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to keep target interest rates unchanged. The Bank of England also kept its quantitative easing measures unchanged.

Still, the greenback's gain hurt commodity prices. Specifically, oil futures prices fell 0.8% to $80.21 per barrel, while natural gas prices plummeted 3.8% to close at $4.57 per MMBtu. Pressure against natural gas was exacerbated by a smaller-than-expected weekly inventory draw. Weaker energy prices undercut energy stocks, which finished with a 0.4% loss.

Health-care stocks were also weak. They finished with a 0.2% loss as insurers lagged amid ongoing efforts by President Obama to pass new health care legislation.

Participation was paltry once again as fewer than 1 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE this session. The lack of participation is tantamount to lack of conviction, but also indicative of caution as many remain wary of tomorrow morning's jobs report, which is almost always a key catalyst for trade.

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (+1.0%), Financials (+0.9%), Tech (+0.5%), Industrials (+0.4%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Telecom (+0.3%), Materials (+0.3%), Utilities (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-0.4%), Health Care (-0.2%)DJ30 +47.38 NASDAQ +11.63 NQ100 +0.4% R2K +0.5% SP400 +0.1% SP500 +4.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1547/2.15 bln/1090 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1779/950 mln/1253

3:35 pm : Stocks are setting fresh afternoon highs after briefly pulling back. Notably, energy is the worst performing sector. It is currently down 0.6%.

The commodities space traded 1.0% lower this session as the dollar index displayed strength amid a weak euro.

Energy commodities were also weak this session. They traded 1.3% lower, collectively. A smaller-than-expected draw in natural gas inventories sent natural gas prices sharply lower this morning. After hitting a session low at $4.56 per MMBtu soon after the release of the inventory data, April natural gas traded relatively flat for the rest of the session. It closed 3.8% lower at $4.57 per MMBtu. April crude oil futures also traded lower. They were able to hold above the $80 level, however, and close down 0.8% at $80.21 per barrel.

Precious metals were weak primarily due to the strong dollar. April gold lost 0.9% to close at $1133.10 per ounce. May silver also lost 0.9% this session. It closed at $17.18 per ounce.DJ30 +34.23 NASDAQ +9.03 SP500 +3.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1432/1.75 bln/1193 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1650/674 mln/1356

3:00 pm : Stocks have gradually made their way up from their recent trading range so that they now sit at afternoon highs. Still, overall gains remain modest.

The afternoon advance has been rather broad based with many of the major sectors participating in the move. However, the best gains continue to come from financials, which are up 0.9%, and consumer discretionary stocks, which are up 0.8% with help from retailers (+1.3%).

Small-cap stocks and mid-cap stocks are lagging, though. A such, the Russell 2000 is up just 0.1% and the S&P 400 is down 0.1%. DJ30 +31.06 NASDAQ +5.87 SP500 +2.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1331/1.58 bln/1288 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1568/604 mln/1433

2:30 pm : Trading volume on the NYSE remains paltry as participants refuse to take on new positions ahead of Friday's jobs report. The lack of participation has made for a subdued mood that has translated into little action in the stock market.

Though overall trading volume is light, Citigroup (C 3.46, +0.06) and Bank of America (BAC 16.40, +0.03) are among the most actively traded names by volume. Shares of C are among the financial sector's leaders, but BAC has been a steady laggard. Citigroup's CEO, Vikram Pandit, told CNBC that Citie's return to profitability depends on the U.S. economy, but that he is optimistic. DJ30 +17.68 NASDAQ +4.57 SP500 +1.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1285/1.46 bln/1317 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1509/560 mln/1477

2:00 pm : Energy stocks have retreated deeper into the red. The sector now trades at a fresh session low with a 0.8% loss, which is worse than any other major sector. Within the sector, oil well services and equipment outfits are especially weak; in particular, National Oilwell Varco (NOV 43.03, -1.31) and Nabors Industries (NBR 22.51, -0.69) are down 3.0%.

Energy commodities remain weak, too. Crude oil prices were last quoted 0.9% lower at $80.15 per barrel, while natural gas is back near its session low with a 3.9% loss at $4.57 per MMBtu. DJ30 +17.99 NASDAQ +2.34 SP500 +0.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1262/1.36 bln/1317 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1492/520 mln/1484

1:30 pm : The stock market remains stuck in a tight trading range. The lackluster action comes as participants take a cautious position ahead of the always-key nonfarm payrolls number, which is due tomorrow morning. On average, economists expect that February nonfarm payrolls fell by 65,000 after a 20,000 drop in January.

Caution is also reflected in the lack of participation during the course of the past few sessions. The lack of participation has manifested in light trading volume; at its current pace, trading volume is unlikely to break 1 billion shares on the NYSE this session. DJ30 +23.65 NASDAQ +2.54 SP500 +1.31 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1258/1.25 bln/1316 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1487/478 mln/1468

1:05 pm : Retailers and financial players have put together strong gains, but a stronger dollar has hampered the broader equity market this session.

Shares of retailers are up an enviable 1.0% after a raft of upbeat same-store sales results for February hit news wires. Of the 25 retailers that Briefing.com covers, 20 reported better-than-expected results.

Financials have also found favor among market participants. Goldman Sachs (GS 162.40, +4.68) has led the sector to a 0.7% gain. According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman has drawn attention for debt swaps that enabled the Greek government to use favorable exchange rates to record some of its debt, which was offered as part of Greece's efforts to strengthen its fiscal condition.

Meanwhile, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their benchmark interest rates unchanged, as expected. Bank of England also kept its quantitative easing measures unchanged. Europe's chief currency, the euro, has lost ground in the wake of the announcements and, in turn, helped the dollar advance 0.7% against a basket of competing currencies.

The greenback's gain pulled the broader stock market back to the flat line after it had been up modestly in the early going.

The dollar's advance has exacerbated pressure against energy stocks (-0.6%), which have also been hurt by softer commodity prices. Oil prices were last quoted 0.5% lower at $80.45 per barrel, while natural gas is down 3.6% to $4.58 per MMBtu. Natural gas prices have been unable to recover from a disappointing weekly inventory report.

Materials stocks have collectively made their way back to the unchanged mark, but gold stocks continue to lag as prices for the yellow metal trade 0.9% lower at $1133 per ounce. An earnings miss from Yamana Gold (AUY 10.60, -0.54) hasn't helped.

Economic data did little to stir action among participants this morning, but that is largely because of the impending nonfarm payrolls number, which is due tomorrow morning.

Still, participants took note that initial claims for the week ended Feb. 27 totaled 469,000, which was in-line with expectations. Continuing claims made a surprise drop to 4.50 million.

Pending home sales for January dropped 7.6% month-over-month in a surprise decline.

Separately, the final fourth quarter nonfarm productivity reading showed an increase of 6.9%, which was sharper than expected, while a 5.9% plunge in unit labor costs was steeper than expected.

Meanwhile, factory orders for January increased 1.7%, which was on par with what had been expected. DJ30 +20.93 NASDAQ +2.02 SP500 +0.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1249/1.15 bln/1318 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1497/440 mln/1452

12:30 pm : The stock market continues to trade sideways along the neutral line as its underlying components divide evenly between gainers and decliners.

Meanwhile, commodities remain weak. In turn, the CRB Commodity Index is down 1.1%.

Both stocks and commodities have been hampered by a stronger dollar, which is up 0.7% against a basket of foreign currencies. DJ30 +20.48 NASDAQ +0.72 SP500 +0.92 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1259/1.04 bln/1290 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1511/399 mln/1429

12:00 pm : The broader market remains flat, but financials continue to trade with outsized gains. The sector is up 0.7% to trade near its session high. Its strength is primarily owed to shares of investment banks and brokerages (+2.5%), like Goldman Sachs (GS 162.37, +4.65).

Global investment services outfit Deutsche Bank (DB 67.40, +0.84) is also displaying strength, even though the company was recently hit with a downgrade by credit analysts at Moody's. Moody's put a long-term deposit and senior debt rating of Aa3 on the company, down from Aa1. Deutsche Bank's bank financial strength rating was lowered to C+ from B.

According to Moody's, the downtrad reflects three factors. First, continuing preponderance of capital market activities and ensuing challenges for risk management potentially expose the bank to earnings volatility. Second, the delay in the acquisition of Deutsche Postbank AG is set to defer the possible benefits of the acquisition beyond what was initially anticipated. Last, Deutsche Bank's other businesses, which had been expected to provide a more stable earnings anchor, have shown a greater degree of earnings volatility than Moody's had previously expected.DJ30 +15.26 NASDAQ +1.22 SP500 +0.70 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1272/942 mln/1241 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1495/362 mln/1414

11:30 am : Materials stocks, which have been leaders in the three previous sessions, are under a bit of late-morning pressure. As such, the sector trades with a 0.2% loss.

Weakness in the materials sector stems largely from a drop in gold stocks, which are down 2.5%, collectively. The decline among gold stocks comes as bullion prices push a sharp 1.0% lower to $1131.60 per ounce. An earnings miss from Yamana Gold (AUY 10.68, -0.46) has also hampered gold plays. Despite their weakness this session, gold stocks are still up some 7% since the start of the new year. DJ30 +24.11 NASDAQ +2.14 SP500 +1.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1243/820 mln/1225 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1489/315 mln/1372

11:00 am : The dollar has extended its morning advance so that it now trades with a 0.6% gain against a basket of foreign currencies. The greenback's gain has been met with selling by equity market participants, who have sent the stock market back to the neutral line after it had traded with a modest gain.

Despite the broader market's pullback, shares of retailers remain strong. The group is up a collective 0.8%, thanks to strength that has stemmed from a large batch of better-than-expected same-store sales results for February.

Financials have also held up rather well against the recent decline. Collectively, financial stocks are up 0.6%. Insurance giant AIG (AIG 25.80, +0.92) is a primary leader among financial issues. DJ30 +7.40 NASDAQ -1.65 SP500 -0.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1140/665 mln/1284 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1294/261 mln/1529

10:30 am : The US Dollar Index hit new session highs in recent trade to around 80.472, which is pushing most commodities back near today's lows.

April crude oil fell back into negative territory and to new session lows of $80.05 per barrel when pit trading began. Moments ago crude hit fresh session lows of $79.70 per barrel and is currently trading at $79.91 per barrel, down $0.96.

April natural gas fell back into negative territory on strength in the dollar and was just above morning lows of $4.711 ahead of inventory data. Following the data, which showed a draw of 116 bcf compared to analyst expectations of 126 bcf, natural gas sold off to lows of $4.65, now off $0.095 at $4.662 per MMBtu.

April gold has been in negative territory all session, while lows of $1132.50 per ounce were hit overnight. Gold attempted to trim its losses as it moved up to today's highs of $1142.30 per ounce this morning, but couldn't hold its momentum and pulled back near lows and is currently down 0.9% at $1133.30 per ounce. May silver broke into positive territory around 6:30am ET, but that was short-lived as the precious metal is back in the red. Silver hit lows of $17.055 per ounce overnight, around the same time gold did, and is currently trading 0.9% lower at $17.17 per ounce.DJ30 +19.80 NASDAQ +0.80 SP500 +1.78 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1184/477.9 mln/1157 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1455/185.0 mln/1312

10:00 am : Stocks have pulled back from morning highs in the wake of the latest economic news. Modest, broad-based gains remain, though.

Pending home sales for January dropped 7.6% month-over-month in a surprise decline -- the consensus called for a 1.0% monthly increase. Despite the monthly decline, pending home sales for January were up 8.8% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, factory orders increased 1.7% in January. A similar increase of 1.8% had been expected. DJ30 +39.45 NASDAQ +5.23 SP500 +4.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1317/318 mln/967 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1752/120 mln/960

09:45 am : In the first few minutes of trade the Dow and the S&P 500 have made their way up to a modest gain, but the Nasdaq Composite has held back a bit as large-cap tech plays like Apple (AAPL 209.31, -0.02), Microsoft (MSFT 28.42, -0.04), and Cisco (CSCO 24.80, -0.04) lag.

Meanwhile, retailers (+0.9%) are outperforming the broader market, thanks to a raft of better-than-expected same-store sales results for February. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 39.65, +3.41) is one of the best performers in the group, thanks to a surprise 5.0% increase in monthly comparables. Aeropostale (ARO 37.06, +1.85) is also up solidly; in addition to the company's 7.0% increase in monthly comparables, its shares will undergo a 3-for-2 split, effective March 5, 2010. DJ30 +39.52 NASDAQ +4.20 SP500 +3.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1309/200 mln/865 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1745/82 mln/894

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.80. Stock futures have gradually made their way up from overnight lows so that they now point to a slightly higher start for the session. The latest leg of the move has come even though the dollar has gained ground against competing currencies, such that the Dollar Index is now up 0.3% to a fresh morning high. The greenback's gain has come primarily at the cost of the yen and the euro. The euro has been unable to garner support in the wake of the decision by the European Central Bank to keep its target lending rate unchanged, as expected. The Bank of England also left its target rate unchanged, as expected, and kept its quantitative easing program unchanged. Retailers have been releasing their latest monthly same-store sales results, most of which have exceeded expectations. As for data, weekly jobless claims were in-line with the consensus and the final fourth quarter productivity reading topped what had been widely forecast. Pending home sales figures and factory orders are still to come at 10:00 AM ET.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.30. Stock futures have taken an incremental lead over fair value, but the overall mood among premarket participants remains relatively subdued. As for Europe, its major bourses are a bit mixed after the European Central Bank (ECB) left its benchmark rate unchanged at 1.00%, as expected, and the Bank of England (BOE) left its benchmark rate at 0.5%, as expected. The BOE also left unchanged its quantitative easing program, as expected. According to The Wall Street Journal, economic growth in the 16 countries that use the euro slowed as expected in the fourth quarter as quarterly gross domestic product growth slowed to 0.1% from 0.4% in the prior quarter. In Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index closed 0.7% lower and Japan's Nikkei lost 1.0%. Trade was cautious as investors remained wary ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs data and waited to see how Greece's debt woes will ultimately play out. Mitsubishi Motors tumbled after it and France's PSA Peugeot Citroen failed to agree on terms for a capital alliance. However, the companies indicated that they would continue talks regarding expanding business ties. Other exporters also fell amid a stronger yen. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 1.4%. China Mobile (CHL) led losses, but select banks, like China Construction Bank and ICBC, showed weakness. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 2.4%. Financial shares were among the weakest performers.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +0.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.30. Stock futures remain flat in the wake of the latest weekly jobless claims tally. Initial claims for the week ended Feb. 27 totaled 469,000, which is on par with the 470,000 initial claims count that had been widely forecast. The latest initial claims total is down 29,000 week-over-week. Meanwhile, continuing claims totaled 4.50 million, which is not as bad as the 4.60 million continuing claims that had been expected. Week-over-week, continuing claims decreased by 134,000. Separately, the final fourth quarter nonfarm productivity reading showed an increase of 6.9%, which exceeds the anticipated increase of 6.3%. The increase in nonfarm productivity during quarter was helped by a 5.9% plunge in unit labor costs, which had been expected to show a 4.5% decline.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.00. Both stock futures and the dollar are flat at the moment. The tepid tone comes ahead of the final fourth quarter reading on nonfarm productivity and the latest weekly jobless claims tally, both of which are due at the bottom of the hour. Factory orders for January and January pending home sales follow at 10:00 AM ET. In overseas economic news, both the European Central Bank and Bank of England left their benchmark lending rates unchanged -- Europe's major indices are down modestly after logging strong gains in their previous session. Meanwhile, Asia's major markets, the Nikkei, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite, were especially weak.

06:34 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.80.

06:34 am : Nikkei...10145.72...-107.40...-1.10%. Hang Seng...20575.78...-301.00...-1.40%.

06:34 am : FTSE...5527.25...-6.00...-0.10%. DAX...5790.62...-27.30...-0.50%.

Special thanks to Yahoo! Finance and CNNMoney for their market summaries. gm

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis)
Image@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader

Phone: +1 708 572-4885
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