Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
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I was a little more aggressive in my trading today but it didn't get me near my profit goals for the day and I exceeded my average daily commission costs. Basically I didn't make much money today and I'll leave it at that. If you have any questions about my trading, want more details about the trade signal behind a particular trade or want to reply about something stated in this message post...click here.
Trade Performance for Today: +3.80 points or $380.00 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures.
Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures - 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE.
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures - 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup.
In addition, today's #FuturesTrades trading chat room logs provides details about each trade from entry to exit along with commentary as the trade traversed...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=805.
Also, posted below are direct links to information about my 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).
WRB Analysis Tutorials @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm and there's a free study guide of the WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1, 2 and 3 @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=180. 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 trade strategies with support prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR). Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=1015 -----------------------------
Market Summaries The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED actions, global economics that had an impact on today's price action. Simply, I'm a strong believer that many variables causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility that's arguably just as important as my technical analysis.
CNNMoney.com - Stocks Close Higher On Tech Strength Attachment:
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By Ben Rooney, staff reporter
April 6, 2011: 5:05 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as strength in the technology sector offset weakness in energy producers and industrial companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 33 points, or 0.3%, to close at 12,426; the S&P 500 (SPX) added 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,335; the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) gained 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2,799.
Tech stocks were among the best performers with Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) leading gainers on the Dow. Shares of financial services companies were also strong, with American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) both up more than 2%.
Energy stocks came under pressure after the government's weekly inventory report showed smaller-than-expected declines in U.S. supplies of oil and gasoline, raising fears that energy demand is waning.
Monsanto fell sharply after the farm products company reported quarterly sales that disappointed some investors, even as profits rose.
After the market closed, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY, Fortune 500) surged 8% after the homeware retailer reported quarterly earnings and sales that beat analysts expectations.
Gold prices settled at a nominal all-time high on a combination of a weaker dollar, geopolitical turmoil and general fears about inflation. Oil prices closed higher after rising above $109 a barrel earlier in the session.
"It's been a pretty mixed day with not much to react to," said Kate Warne, chief investment strategist with Edward Jones. "I think that's going to be the case until we start to start to get first-quarter earnings, which will be the main driver next week."
The first-quarter reporting period unofficially starts Monday when Dow-stock Alcoa reports results. Overall, earnings for the companies in the S&P 500 are expected to be up 11% versus last year, according to Thomson Reuters.
Meanwhile, investors continue to keep an eye on budget negotiations in Washington and political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa.
Congress risks a federal government shutdown if it fails to approve a spending bill by Friday. And market strategists polled by CNNMoney say escalating political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa and its impact on oil prices is the biggest threat to the market over the long term.
Stocks ended little changed Tuesday as investors focused on the outlook for interest rates after meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve revealed that policymakers at the central bank are divided over inflation.
* Video - Ryan: Obama's path leads to crisis
Looking ahead, the European Central Bank is widely expected to announce plans to hike interest rates when it meets Thursday. In addition, economic reports due Thursday include March same-store sales figures from leading retailers, weekly unemployment claims and wholesale inventories.
Could oil, housing, and spending cuts derail the economy?
Companies: Bed Bath & Beyond said it earned $283.5 million, or $1.12 per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter. That's up about 30% from last year and better than the 97 cent per share profit analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast.
The company said it expects earnings to be somewhere between 58 cents and 61 cents per share in the second quarter. The consensus forecast was 60 cents.
Monsanto (MON, Fortune 500) reported quarterly earnings of $1.87 a share, slightly higher than analysts were expecting. Despite the strong results, shares of the agricultural products giant fell 3%.
Dish Network (DISH, Fortune 500) announced Wednesday that it won ownership of Blockbuster for $320 million in a bankruptcy court auction. Blockbuster put itself up for sale in February after filing for bankruptcy last fall.
Ranked in the last spot on last year's Fortune 500 list, Blockbuster shares now trade on the pink sheets -- at less than 8 cents a piece.
World markets: European stocks rose. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6%, the DAX in Germany rose 0.6%, and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1%.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to hike interest rates by a quarter point when it meets Thursday. China raised interest rates for the fourth time in six months early Tuesday, in an attempt to cool inflation.
Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.1%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.6% after a two-day holiday shutdown. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.3%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell versus the euro and the British pound but rose against the Japanese yen.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $6 to close at a nominal record high of 1,458.50 an ounce. Silver broke a 31-year high of $39.71 an ounce earlier in the morning.
Oil for May delivery gained 30 cents to settle at $108.65 a barrel. The nation's supplies of crude rose by 2 million barrels last week, according to the government's weekly inventory report. The increase matched forecasts from energy research firm Platts.
However, gasoline stocks fell by 400,000 barrels. Analysts had expected gas supplies to have fallen by 2 million barrels. Distillate supplies fell by 200,000 barrels, versus a forecasted decline of 1.5 million.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.52% from 3.49% late Tuesday.
Yahoo! Finance - Market Update 4:30 pm : The major equity averages surrendered early gains to trade flat in early afternoon action, but leadership from the financial sector helped the broader market settle in positive territory.
Early support was helped by gains abroad, where participants in China took yesterday's news of another 25-basis point rate hike in stride upon their return from holiday. News of a successful debt offering by Portugal also helped perpetuate a positive tone. Much later in the day Portugal announced plans to request foreign financial aid.
The generally positive tone to morning trade benefited both blue chips and riskier small-cap stocks. In fact, the Dow extended its two-year high with help from Cisco (CSCO 18.07, +0.85), which scored its best single-session gain in nearly nine months. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index achieved a record high with help from La-Z-Boy (LZB 10.92, +1.08) following an analyst upgrade, but fellow small-cap issue American Superconductor (AMSC 14.47, -10.41) plummeted more than 40% after the company cut guidance and announced that a key customer refused product delivery from the firm.
However, broad market buying interest wasn't strong enough to take the S&P 500 back through resistance at the 1340 line. That left stocks to drift lower before securing support near the neutral line.
Financials proved pivotal in lifting the broader market up from the flat line in afternoon trade. The sector achieved a 1.1% gain. NYSE Euronext (NYX 39.81, +0.83) was a top performer in the sector after it was reported that the firm has no interest a counter bid for Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ 28.83, +0.83), but gains among diversified financial plays had the most impact, due to their collective weight.
Even amid leadership from the highly influential financial sector, the overall market still achieved only a modest gain for the session. As a result, action this week continues to be largely range bound.
Despite the broader market's drift, Treasuries continue to come under pressure. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is nearly at a one-month high of 3.55%.
Advancing Sectors: Financials (+1.1%), Utilities (+0.8%), Tech (+0.7%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.2%), Industrials (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (-0.2%), Telecom (-0.6%), Materials (-0.8%), Energy (-0.9%)DJ30 +32.85 NASDAQ +8.63 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +0.1% SP400 +0.0% SP500 +2.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1520/2.00 bln/1094 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1690/884 mln/1270
3:30 pm : Industrials (+1.3%) helped the CRB Commodity Index post gains today despite the fact that four of the six sectors posted losses on the session. Livestock (-1.5%) was the largest decliner.
Precious metals added 0.8% in session that saw gold trade to a new all-time high at $1467.40 per ounce, and silver trade to yet another 31 yr high at $39.785. Weakness in the dollar and the flight to safety pushed the metals higher today. June gold ended up 0.8% to $1436.90 per ounce, while silver closed higher by 0.7% to $37.85 per ounce.
This morning's inventory data sent May crude oil, which settled higher by 0.5% to $108.83, lower throughout the morning. It was able to rebound off its intraday lows to finish the day in positive territory. May natural gas ended lower by 1.9% to $4.15 per MMBtu, marking its fourth consecutive selloff. DJ30 +34.89 NASDAQ +8.10 SP500 +2.85 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1499/1.6 bln/1092 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1639/582.7 mln/1293
3:00 pm : Financials continue to drive the stock market's move up from the flat line. Although the financial sector is now up 1.0%, the broad market is only up slightly.
Stocks may be gaining upward momentum, but participation remains unimpressive. As such, only a little more than a half billion shares have exchanged hands this session and only an hour remains in today's trade. DJ30 +33.45 NASDAQ +9.96 SP500 +3.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1517/1.50 bln/1067 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1668/532 mln/1259
2:30 pm : The stock market has started to lift up from its recent trading range. The effort has taken the S&P 500 to a modest gain and its highest level since this morning.
Financials have been a key source of leadership, although the sector struggled to attract followers around midday. The financial sector is now up 0.7%, which puts it at its best level of the day. Banks are among the best plays in the financial space. As such, the SPDR KBW Bank ETF (KBE 26.31, +0.28) is up in excess of 1%. DJ30 +18.05 NASDAQ +6.05 SP500 +0.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1478/1.38 bln/1095 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1644/484 mln/1261
2:00 pm : Small-cap stocks have slipped to a 0.2% loss, as measured by the Russell 2000. The Russell 2000 actually set a record intraday high in the early going.
Among the Russell 2000's sharpest movers, La-Z-Boy (LZB 10.78, +0.94) is a top performer following an analyst upgrade. American Superconductor (AMSC 14.63, -10.25) is the worst performer in the space after the company slashed its guidance and announced that a customer that has historically accounted for about three-quarters of business refused delivery of goods from AMSC. DJ30 +25.92 NASDAQ +4.76 SP500 +1.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1365/1.29 bln/1200 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1552/445 mln/1333
1:30 pm : The broader market continues to hover near the neutral line. Despite its inability to sustain a gain, Treasuries remain mired in the red with a modest loss. Pressure against Treasuries continues to keep the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note above 3.50%. Meanwhile, the yield on the 2-year Note is largely unchanged at 0.82%.DJ30 +25.47 NASDAQ +2.30 SP500 +0.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1312/1.19 bln/1245 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1519/411 mln/1375
1:00 pm : Varied gains abroad helped bring about an early bid for stocks, but dwindling support has left stocks to slide back to the neutral line.
News of a successful debt offering by Portugal helped lift Europe's major bourses. Asia's major averages were led by a 1.1% spike in the Shanghai Composite, although Japan's Nikkei suffered a modest loss. General strength among the overseas averages added a positive backdrop to premarket trade that had not been seen in this week's first two sessions, but there haven't been many other catalysts for participants to track.
Early buying was broad based, but tech provided the most leadership in the first hour of trade. Even though the sector has since been backed down so that it trades with a 0.4% gain, names like Cisco (CSCO 17.97, +0.75) continue to offer support. Tech stocks also attempted to provide leadership in the prior session before it succumbed to selling pressure and then logged a narrow loss.
Financials and utilities have been holding on to steady gains, however. Both sectors are just off of session highs as they sport gains of 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. Still, that hasn't made much of a difference to the broader market that has been unable to attract any sustainable buying interest in the absence of any meaningful headlines -- economic or corporate.
The stock market's struggle to extend last week's gains combined with a steady bid near the neutral line has left stocks to spend the past few sessions stuck in a tight trading range. DJ30 +21.72 NASDAQ -1.24 SP500 -0.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1317/1.10 bln/1233 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1541/375 mln/1330
12:30 pm : Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite have stabilized at the flat line after a recent dip into negative territory. Meanwhile, the Dow continues to cling to a narrow gain. Blue chips continue to be led by Cisco (CSCO 17.92, +0.70). Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 41.14, +0.85) has also provided support.
Outside of the most widely tracked averages, the Dow Jones Transportation Average is currently down 0.4%, but the Dow Jones Utility Average is up 0.6%. Meanwhile, both the S&P 100 and S&P 600 are up 0.1%. DJ30 +21.50 NASDAQ +1.08 SP500 +0.16 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1324/1.00 bln/1206 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1552/340 mln/1295
12:00 pm : Stocks have been grinding lower in recent trade. Pressure has taken pause now that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are at the neutral line. Still, that makes for fresh session lows.
Financials continue to do a good job of providing support to the broad market, but the sector is no longer a top performer no that it trades with a 0.4% gain. The title now belongs to the utilities sector, which is up 0.7% as the likes of Constellation Energy (CEG 31.61, +0.33) and Exelon (EXC 41.10, +0.33) preserve their gains.
Telecom continues to represent the worst performing sector; it is now down 0.8%, but that is actually up from its session low. After surrendering an early gain, energy isn't in much better shape. That sector now trades with a 0.7% loss. DJ30 +7.80 NASDAQ -2.04 SP500 -0.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1305/875 mln/1193 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1523/300 mln/1318
11:30 am : Recent selling pressure took both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite back toward the neutral line, but they have started to retrace the move.
Tech had been a key source of leadership in recent trade, but the sector has since slipped a bit. It still trades with a 0.4% gain, though. Financials are now providing primary support. As a group, financials are up 0.6%. Investment banking issues and specialty finance names have been particularly strong players. DJ30 +30.73 NASDAQ +6.12 SP500 +1.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1341/743 mln/1119 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1569/250 mln/1234
11:00 am : Cisco Systems (CSCO 18.02, +0.80) is among this session's top performers by percent gained. The stock's surge of more than 4% takes shares back to the $18 line after they had been stuck near 52-week lows just beneath $17 per share earlier this week.
Strength among other large-cap tech stocks has helped prop up the tech sector, which currently sports a 0.9% gain. That makes for a strong follow-up to the prior session's fractional finish, which came after the sector had surrendered decent midday gains. DJ30 +45.90 NASDAQ +15.98 SP500 +4.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1592/566 mln/841 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1878/192 mln/887
10:35 am : Oil prices are up just 0.2% at $108.56 per barrel in the wake of the latest weekly inventory data, which showed a 1.95 million barrel build when 2.0 million barrel build had been broadly expected. Earlier this morning oil prices had shaken free from selling pressure to hit $109.15 per barrel, which is oil's highest price in more than two years.
Renewed buying interest among precious metals took gold prices to a new record high of $1462.10 per ounce and silver prices to a new 30-year high of $39.71 per ounce. Silver continues to trade at that point, but gold has eased lower so that it trades with a 0.6% gain at $1461.50 per ounce.
Cotton futures prices climbed $0.07, or 3.6%, in the exchange limit to almost $2.01 per pound. The move comes amid news that unfavorable weather might delay Australia's cotton harvest.
Natural gas has failed to share in the strength of the other commodities. Instead, it is down 0.5% at $4.21 per MMBtu. DJ30 +51.77 NASDAQ +18.32 SP500 +5.13 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1491/398 mln/890 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1769/148 mln/951
10:00 am : Stocks have started to pull back a bit. The slip comes after the S&P 500 came within a point of the 1340 line.
While equities are giving back some of their early gains, oil prices have spiked to new two-year highs. The energy component was recently quoted at $109.15 per barrel.
Advancing Sectors: Tech (+0.8%), Energy (+0.5%), Health Care (+0.5%), FInancials (+0.3%), Industrials (+0.3%), Utilities (+0.3%), Consumer Staples (+0.3%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.3%), Materials (+0.2%)
Declinging Sectors: Telecom (-0.8%)DJ30 +33.54 NASDAQ +19.72 SP500 +4.71 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1590/173 mln/633 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2072/86 mln/585
09:45 am : Stocks are up with solid gains in the first few minutes of trade. The bid has been broad based, but once again telecom stocks (-0.6%) are under pressure after they had outperformed last week.
Strength among stocks has induced further selling among Treasuries. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is back above 3.50% for the first time in a few weeks. DJ30 +44.96 NASDAQ +22.72 SP500 +6.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1491/39 mln/482 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1743/38 mln/404
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.40. Aside from an upside earnings surprise and a reaffirmed forecast from Monsanto (MON) and downside guidance from American Superconductor (AMSC), it has been a slow news morning, but strength among several major overseas markets has helped provide a positive backdrop to premarket trade. That's been enough to lift stock futures so that a slightly higher start to trade appears to be in order. Commodities are also up this morning. In fact, gold hit a new record high and silver set a new 30-year high. Oil prices are up with only fractional gains ahead of the latest weekly inventory report. There are no economic items of consequence on the agenda, but Atlanta Fed President Lockhart is scheduled to issue comments at noon ET.
09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.20. Commodities have benefited from varied degrees of buying interest this morning. Oil prices have overcome early pressure to trade with a fractional gain at $108.45 per barrel in the first few minutes of pit trade. Gold prices are up 0.5% to $1459.40 per ounce after they set a new record of $1462.10 per ounce. Silver prices are up 1.0% to $39.55 per ounce after they had set a new 30-year high at $39.71 per ounce.
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.00. A successful debt offering from Portugal has helped Europe's major bourses put together some solid gains. Germany's DAX is now up 0.7%. Commerzbank is in play after the company announced plays to repay roughly $20 billion of financial aid that it had received from authorities. In France, the CAC is up a tame 0.2%. Financial outfits BNP Paribas and Societe Generale are primary leaders there, but Electricite de France has dragged along with a sizable loss after French authorities announced a lock on natural gas prices. Britain's FTSE is up 0.8% at the moment. Industrial production in the United Kingdom during February reportedly fell 1.2% after it increased by a downwardly revised 0.3% in the prior month. In broader economic news, the final reading for eurozone fourth quarter GDP showed 0.3% growth, which is unchanged from the preliminary reading.
In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.1% upon its return from holiday. Participants there shrugged off yesterday's news of another 25 basis point increase to one-year lending and borrowing rates by the People's Bank of China, which is the country's central bank. That was the fourth such move in less than six months and takes loan rates to 6.31% and deposit rates to 3.25%. China's latest data featured the HSBC PMI Services Index for March. It came in at 51.7, which is down slightly from the 51.9 that was posted for the prior month. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.6% amid relatively broad support, but Japan's Nikkei slipped to a 0.3% loss amid widespread weakness. Tokyo Electric Power pushed sharply lower once again. Toyota Motor (TM) also logged a loss. Moody's has put the company on review for possible downgrade. Softbank showed strength, but that was undermined by losses in the rest of the market.
08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +6.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.00. Stock futures point to a positive start after finishing flat in each of the past two sessions. During those two days of trade stocks failed to get much support from overseas markets, but action abroad has improved in the latest round of trade. China's Shanghai Composite outperformed other Asian averages as it ascended to a 1.1% gain after a holiday observance. Europe's major bourses are currently up with varied gains. Leadership has also been lacking in the past couple of sessions, although yesterday semiconductors offered support to a tech sector that inevitably surrendered its gain. A handful of semiconductor stocks are seeing renewed interest this morning. In contrast, American Superconductor (AMSC) has dropped precipitously in premarket trade following the firm's downside forecast. Outside of equities, precious metals continue to climb. In fact, earlier this morning gold prices hit a new record high and silver set a new 30-year high. Oil prices are currently down fractionally ahead of the latest inventory report.
06:31 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.00.
06:31 am : Nikkei...9584.37...-31.20...-0.30%. Hang Seng...24285.05...+134.50...+0.60%.
06:31 am : FTSE...6039.66...+32.60...+0.50%. DAX...7224.67...+49.40...+0.70%.
Special thanks to Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries.
Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader and http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader Phone: +1.708.572.4885
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
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