TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
questions@thestrategylab.com (24/7)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $920.00 dollars or +9.20 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $2,812.50 dollars or +56.25 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 @ $3,732.50 dollars

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
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

In addition, all of my trades were posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab chat room. You can read today's price action trading information about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit) as the trade traversed to its completion. Also, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), Tutorial Chapters 2 & 3, WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility. Its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=1857


Also, posted below 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.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. Members and I use the chat room to post WRB Analysis commentary, real-time trades and to post anything else related to trading. The chat room helps me tremendously in my own trading because I use it to document (journal) general volatility analysis involving WRB Analysis so that I can easily review at a later date my thoughts as I interacted with the markets...info I can not get from my broker statements. Also, this is not a signal calling chat room where a head trader tells you when to buy or sell and I do not have the time/energy/resources to manage a signal calling chat room. Access instructions for chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

Price Action Analysis via 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=119&t=718

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).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=244&t=2455

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Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney, 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 TF 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 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 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.

Stocks Eke Out Tiny Gains


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
At least Wall Street avoided another scary sell-off.

Stocks inched just fractionally higher on Wednesday, shaking off early jitters caused by more trouble overseas.

1. Retreat mode? Just a few weeks ago the S&P 500 appeared to be on a path to break through the 2,000 mark for the first time ever. Now the index of U.S. stocks is having trouble keeping its head above 1,900 (it closed at 1,920 today). Similarly, the Dow, which crossed 17,000 for the first time in early July, is stuck below 16,500.

Things looked gloomy on Wednesday morning as stocks extended their Tuesday tumble, which was fueled largely by tensions with Russia.

But stocks bounced off their early lows, leaving the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all slightly higher on the day.

2. Sea of red overseas: European markets tumbled overnight amid fresh evidence of the pain being inflicted by the crisis in Ukraine and slow growth in general. But the major indexes trimmed their losses in recent action.

Germany's Dax index fell almost 1% before rebounding somewhat as a new report showed factory orders unexpectedly fell 3.2% in June. The government blamed "geopolitical developments and risks" for the slump.

Italy's stock market dropped 2.7% on new data revealing the country's economic fall back into contraction mode during the second quarter.

Related: Russian chill gives Europe the shivers

"Global markets are in churn and burn mode this morning as European data has drastically under-delivered and the specter of conflict in the Ukraine hangs dark over the continent," analysts at Bespoke Investment Group wrote in a note to clients.

Meanwhile, nearly all Asian markets ended the day with losses. Japan's Nikkei fell 1% Wednesday -- leading the index to a full 3.1% drop over the last five trading days. China stocks were steadier, as they continue to bounce back from first half losses.

3. Late breaking: After the cling bell, Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) reported solid earnings that beat expectations and reiterated a bright forecast for the rest of the year. But the stock retreated over 4.5% in after-hours trading because revenues weren't as strong as hoped.

Related: Coke should buy Keurig Green Mountain

4. M&A winners and losers: Shares of Walgreen (WAG) plummeted 14% after the company confirmed it's taking full control of the U.K.'s Alliance Boots but will not move headquarters out of the U.S. That news disappointed investors, who hoped the pharmacy chain would shift its base to the U.K. to save money on taxes in a controversial deal known as an inversion.

Video - Walgreen stays in U.S. -- investors are angry

Time Warner (TWX) plunged over 13% after Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox (FOX) announced it has given up on pursuing a takeover of the owner of TBS, HBO, CNN and CNNMoney.

Related: Time Warner earnings beat forecasts

Time Warner shares remained under heavy pressure even after logging earnings that crushed expectations amid continued HBO strength.

Fox reported good earnings after Wednesday's closing bell. The stock is relatively flat in after-hours trading.

A tie-up between Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) is also now off the table. Shares of both companies tumbled on the news. That could leave French telecom company Iliad as the frontrunner to buy T-Mobile.

5. Notable movers -- Groupon, Molson, AOL: Groupon (GRPN) investors are holding a fire sale. The daily deals site plummeted 13% after alarming investors with a wider quarterly loss than expected and a gloomy outlook for the rest of the summer.

On a more positive note, AOL (AOL, Tech30) popped 7.5% as Wall Street cheered a 12% jump in second-quarter revenue that easily beat expectations.

Investors also chugged shares of Molson Coors Brewing (TAP). The brewer sold less beer during the second quarter but grew profits by hiking prices.





4:15 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages spent some time on both sides of their flat lines on Wednesday before ending little changed. The S&P 500 settled on its flat line with six sectors finishing in the red, while the Russell 2000 (+0.3%) displayed relative strength throughout the session.

Although stocks finished on a flat note, the early indication suggested the market could be in for a rough day as economic data from the eurozone and domestic corporate news weighed.

On the economic front, Germany reported its second monthly decline in factory orders (-3.2% versus expected 1.0%; prior -1.6%), while the Italian economy slipped into recession following its second consecutive quarterly GDP contraction (-0.2%; previous -0.1%).

Back at home, two potential acquisitions were called off with 21st Century Fox (FOXA 32.33, +1.03) terminating its pursuit of Time Warner (TWX 74.24, -10.95) and Sprint (S 5.90, -1.38) withdrawing its offer for T-Mobile (TMUS 31.06, -2.85).

In addition, shares of Walgreen (WAG 59.21, -9.91) plunged 14.3%, which also contributed to the early weakness. The drugstore operator said it will acquire the remaining 55.0% stake in Alliance Boots that it does not currently own and that it will not move its corporate headquarters out of the United States.

Despite the opening weakness, the S&P 500 was quick to find support at its 100-day moving average. The index breached that level for the first time since mid-April, but was able to claw back to its flat line in short order. However, extending the rebound proved challenging as a handful of influential sectors like consumer discretionary (-0.3%), health care (-0.1%), industrials (-0.5%), and technology (-0.2%) weighed.

Notably, the industrial sector lagged throughout the session amid weakness in defense contractors and transport stocks. The PHLX Defense Index lost 1.0%, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 0.6% to extend its week-to-date loss to 1.4%. Almost all 20 components of the bellwether complex posted losses with the lone bright spot appearing among airlines. Alaska Air (ALK 42.94, +0.22) and JetBlue (JBLU 10.92, +0.14) added 0.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

Elsewhere, the health care sector posted a slim loss, while biotech stocks displayed some intraday volatility. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 251.82, +0.18) ended just above its flat line after alternating between gains and losses during the session.

On the upside, yesterday's weakest sector-energy (+0.4%)-seized the lead at the open, but surrendered a significant portion of its gain during the afternoon.

Outside of energy, financials (+0.4%), materials (+0.7%), and consumer staples (+0.9%) were the only sectors to register gains. The materials space drew strength from mining stocks. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 26.69, +0.59) gained 2.3%, whereas gold futures jumped 1.8% to $1308.30/ozt.

Treasuries held gains throughout the session, but the 10-yr note relinquished roughly two-thirds of its advance by the close. The benchmark 10-yr yield slipped two basis points to 2.47%.

Participation was a bit below average with fewer than 680 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to the June Trade Deficit and the MBA Mortgage Index:
Related Stories

Stocks Close Higher But Volume Declines Investor's Business Daily
Stocks close lower, Dow posts triple-digit drop CNBC
InPlay from Briefing.com Briefing.com
U.S. Stocks End Lower The Wall Street Journal
Indexes Close Flat After Seesaw Session Investor's Business Daily

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $41.50 billion in June from an upwardly revised $44.70 billion (from $44.40 billion), while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to $45.20 billion
According to the advance estimate for Q2 2014 GDP, the BEA assumed the trade deficit widened to roughly $45.10 billion in June. The fact that the deficit was much smaller than the BEA expected suggests that the new trade balance will contribute positively in the second estimate
The goods deficit fell to $60.30 billion in June from $63.30 billion in May
The services surplus remained at $18.70 billion
Exports increased by 0.1% in June, while imports declined 1.2%
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 1.6% to follow last week's 2.2% decline

Tomorrow, weekly initial claims (Briefing.com consensus 308K) will be released at 8:30 ET, while the Consumer Credit report for June (consensus $15.80 billion) will cross the wires at 15:00 ET.

S&P 500 +3.9% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +4.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.8% YTD
Russell 2000 -3.1% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Dec gold rose for the first time this week despite strength in the dollar index. The move higher came on increased tension between Ukraine and Russia as headlines indicated that Russia may be building up troops on its border with eastern Ukraine in a prelude to a possible invasion.
The yellow metal extended overnight gains as it rose from a session low of $1296.80 per ounce and consolidated slightly above the $1306.00 per ounce level in afternoon action. It eventually settled with a 1.8% gain at $1308.30 per ounce.
Sep silver also traded higher, rising as high as $20.14 per ounce in morning action. It spent the remainder of the session trading near the $20.05 per ounce level and settled with a 1.0% gain at $20.03 per ounce.
Sep crude oil extended yesterday's losses as investors reacted to today's release of EIA inventory data. For the week ending Aug 1, crude oil inventories had a draw of 1.756 mln barrels while consensus called for a draw of 1.6-1.9 mln barrels. The energy component pulled back into negative territory after trading as high as $98.13 per barrel in morning action. It brushed a session low of $96.69 per barrel and settled with a 0.4% loss at $96.94 per barrel.
Sep natural gas slipped to a session low of $3.88 per MMBtu in early morning action but quickly recovered back into positive territory. It rose to a session high of $3.94 per MMBtu and settled at $3.93 per MMBtu, or 0.8% higher.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades flat with one hour remaining in the trading day. Once today's closing bell rings, market participants will receive quarterly earnings from nearly 170 companies.

Most notably, investors will hear from 21st Century Fox (FOXA 32.50, +1.20), Symantec (SYMC 23.78, -0.14), and Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR 118.12, +0.38), among others.

Another batch of results will cross the wires tomorrow morning with Duke Energy (DUK 69.65, -1.33), Novo Nordisk (NVO 45.36, -0.44), and Mylan Group (MYL 47.90, -0.57) headlining the list.

Meanwhile, tomorrow's economic data will be limited to weekly initial claims (Briefing.com consensus 308K), which will be released at 8:30 ET, and the Consumer Credit report for June (consensus $15.80 billion), which will be reported at 15:00 ET.

2:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 remains anchored to its flat line after slipping to this level during the past 45 minutes. With the midweek session nearing the close, the benchmark index is on track to hold its slim week-to-date loss of 0.2%. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is also lower on the week (-0.3%), while the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 have shown relative strength.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq sports a slim gain of 0.2% since last Friday, while the Russell 2000 has outperformed with a 1.0% rise. Despite the recent strength in the Russell 2000, the index has yet to reclaim its 200-day moving average (1145) after sliding below that level on July 31.

2:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the S&P 500 return below its flat line. The benchmark index, which notched a session high just after 12:00 ET, has been inching lower during the past two hours, while the Russell 2000 (+0.4%) continues holding a modest gain.

Notably, health care (-0.3%) and technology (-0.2%) traded largely in line with the S&P 500 at midday, but both groups now trail the broader market. Top-weighted tech components like Apple (AAPL 94.96, -0.16) and Microsoft (MSFT 42.84, -0.24) have contributed to the weakness, while high-beta chipmakers continue showing relative strength (PHLX Semiconductor Index +0.5%).

Meanwhile, the health care sector has been pressured by biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 251.02, -0.62) is now lower by 0.3% after showing earlier strength. Given the current level, the biotech ETF is back below its 50-day moving average (251.69).

1:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Given the tone of the leading headlines this morning, one had ample reason to think that today wasn't going to be a very good day for the stock market. Heck, one might have even concluded it was going to be a very bad day for the stock market.

It still could be, but thus far the stock market has shown bullish investors some reassuring resilience to selling efforts that kicked in when the opening bell rang.

The initial downside move was arrested with a re-test of the 100-day moving average for the S&P 500. That has effectively been a line of defense for bullish participants and they have held that line. Their stand, however, has run into some resistance in the 1926/1928 area, which marked Tuesday's breakdown zone.

The major indices are currently off their best levels of the day, but have retained a positive disposition, aided by the outperformance of the energy (+0.9%), consumer staples (+0.8%), materials (+0.7%), and financial sectors (+0.5%).

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hold midday gains with the small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.7%) in the lead. For its part, the S&P 500 is higher by 0.2% with seven sectors showing gains.

Equities began the trading day on the defensive amid disappointing data from overseas and some corporate news that pressured the underlying stocks.

In Europe, Germany reported its second monthly decline in factory orders (-3.2% versus expected 1.0%; prior -1.6%), while Italy's economy slipped into recession following its second consecutive quarterly GDP contraction (-0.2%; previous -0.1%).

Back in the U.S., the sentiment took another hit after 21st Century Fox (FOXA 32.89, +1.59) abandoned its pursuit of Time Warner (TWX 74.77, -10.42), while Sprint (S 5.92, -1.36) decided against making efforts to acquire T-Mobile (TMUS 31.64, -2.28).

The opening losses pressured the S&P 500 below its 100-day moving average (1913) for the first time since mid-April, but the benchmark index has been very resilient. The S&P notched its low during the first five minutes of action and reclaimed its losses in short order.

Seven of ten sectors trade in the green at this juncture with yesterday's laggard-energy-in the lead. The sector trades higher by 0.7% even as crude oil holds a loss of 0.2% at $97.20/bbl.

Meanwhile, the other commodity-linked sector-materials (+0.7%)-follows not far behind with help from mining stocks. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 26.63, +0.53) has added 2.0%, while gold futures trade up 1.8% at $1308.50/ozt.

Elsewhere, top-weighted sectors remain somewhat mixed as financials (+0.6%) outperform, while consumer discretionary (+0.1%) and technology (+0.1%) trade just behind the broader market. Also of note, the industrial sector (-0.4%) is the weakest performer among cyclical groups. Transport stocks have contributed to the loss as the Dow Jones Transportation Average trades lower by 0.5% with 16 of its 20 components in the red.

On the fixed income side, Treasuries entered the session near their highs, but have surrendered roughly half of their gains. The 10-yr yield is lower by three basis points at 2.46%.

Economic data was limited to the June Trade Deficit and the MBA Mortgage Index:

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $41.50 billion in June from an upwardly revised $44.70 billion (from $44.40 billion), while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to $45.20 billion
According to the advance estimate for Q2 2014 GDP, the BEA assumed the trade deficit widened to roughly $45.10 billion in June. The fact that the deficit was much smaller than the BEA expected suggests that the new trade balance will contribute positively in the second estimate
The goods deficit fell to $60.30 billion in June from $63.30 billion in May
The services surplus remained at $18.70 billion
Exports increased by 0.1% in June, while imports declined 1.2%
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 1.6% to follow last week's 2.2% decline

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have spent the better part of the past hour near their current levels, but a peculiar move has taken place in the foreign exchange market.

Specifically, the Japanese yen surged to highs against other major currencies in a move that sent the dollar/yen pair all the way down to 101.80 after trading near 102.35 just a few minutes earlier. The pair has climbed of its low and now trades near 102.00. The move appears to have taken place in the absence of any new macroeconomic developments, and has pressured the Dollar Index (81.47, +0.14) to its lowest level of the day.

Elsewhere, the Treasury market strengthened a bit, but the 10-yr note remains in a narrow range. The benchmark yield is currently lower by three basis points at 2.46%.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.3%) remains near its best level of the session, which is also the case with the majority of the ten economic sectors.

Out of the ten groups, seven hover near their highs, while telecom services (-1.5%) and utilities (-1.3%) have not been able to distance themselves from their respective lows. Elsewhere, the consumer staples sector (+0.8%) remains near the middle of its trading range.

The slow climb has led some participants to reducing their volatility protection. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.77, -1.10) is near its lowest level of the day and has erased the bulk of yesterday's advance.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have continued inching higher with the Russell 2000 now up 0.5%.

In addition to boosting the Russell 2000, the relative strength of small cap names has also helped health care (+0.1%) and technology (+0.1%) sectors climb off their lows. In the tech sector, the PHLX Semiconductor Index is higher by 0.6% with all but three components showing gains. Applied Materials (AMAT 21.17, +0.33) is the top performer, trading higher by 1.6%.

Elsewhere, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 252.12, +0.48) is higher by 0.2% after reclaiming its 50-day moving average (251.72).

However, the industrial sector (-0.3%) represents one area where high-growth names remain weak. The Dow Jones Transportation Average holds a loss of 0.5% with 16 of 20 components on the defensive.

10:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow (+0.2%), Nasdaq (+0.2%), and S&P 500 (+0.2%) have reclaimed their opening losses, but the three indices have yet to pull away from their respective flat lines.

Six sectors continue trading in the red, but influential consumer discretionary (unch), technology (unch), and health care (-0.1%) sectors have been able to put notable dents in their early losses. For its part, the industrial sector (-0.4%) continues showing relative weakness.

On the upside, yesterday's laggard-energy-has continued its rebound and now trades higher by 1.3%, while crude oil sports an increase of 0.6% at $97.92/bbl. Similarly, the other commodity-related sector-materials (+0.4%)-also trades ahead of the broader market. Miners have provided support with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 26.64, +0.54) up 2.1%.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Commodities are mostly higher this morning despite strength in the dollar index (+0.3% @ 81.59)
Energy is trading higher, metals are mostly up and agriculture futures are mixed
Crude was higher heading into the weekly EIA oil data
Following the data, Sept crude oil fell slightly but remains +0.4% at $97.74/barrel
Gold and silver futures put in a nice rally this morning. Gold rose just over $20.
Dec gold is now +1.9% at $1310.20/oz, Sept silver is +1.1% at $20.06/oz
Copper prices have been sliding lower all day so far and is sitting near its LoD. Sept copper is currently -0.9% at $3.18/lb
Sept nat gas sold off to a new new LoD of $3.88/MMbtu about 45 min ago, but is now back out of the red (+0.4% at $3.91/MMBtu)
Sept corn is +0.8% at $3.59/bushel this morning.

10:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have climbed off their lows, but for the time being the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) is the only index trading in the green. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has narrowed its loss to 0.1%.

Yesterday's weakest sector-energy-leads with an increase of 0.8%, while consumer staples (+0.4%) and financials (+0.3%) follow a bit behind. On the flip side, the industrial sector has widened its loss to 0.9%. The sector has been pressured by defense contractors and transport stocks as evidenced by the Dow Jones Transportation Average (-0.8%) and the PHLX Defense Index (-1.0%).

Despite the early weakness, participants have not rushed in search of volatility protection. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 16.73, -0.14) is lower by 0.9% after ending yesterday at its highest level since mid-March.

9:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the major averages began the session on the defensive with six sectors showing early losses.

The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.3% with countercyclical sectors showing relative weakness as health care (-0.6%), telecom services (-2.2%), and utilities (-0.9%) lag, while the consumer staples sector outperforms with an increase of 0.4%.

On the cyclical side, consumer discretionary (-0.5%), technology (-0.5%), and industrials (-0.7%) lag, while energy (+0.4%) and financials (+0.1%) outperform. Recall that the energy sector fell 2.1% and was the weakest performer yesterday.

On a separate note, the Russian Defense Ministry said that claims about a troop buildup on the border with Ukraine are 'baseless,' according to Interfax.

Treasuries remain near their highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.45%.

9:14 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -20.00. The stock market is on track to extend yesterday's losses in the early going as futures on the S&P 500 trade nine points below fair value.

Index futures rebounded overnight, but the strength was short-lived as futures were back in the red at the start of the European session with additional losses coming shortly thereafter. Once again, disappointing data has weighed on sentiment after Germany reported its second monthly decline in factory orders (-3.2% versus expected 1.0%; prior -1.6%) and Italy's economy slipped into recession following its second consecutive quarterly GDP contraction (-0.2%; previous -0.1%).

Domestically, participants received the weekly MBA Mortgage Index (+1.6%) and the trade deficit for June ($41.50 billion versus expected $45.20 billion), but neither report has elicited a reaction in the market.

Corporate news, however, has weighed this morning. Time Warner (TWX 74.25, -10.94) is on track to open lower by 12.8% after 21st Century Fox (FOXA 33.00, +1.70) abandoned its pursuit of TWX. Similarly, Sprint (S 6.06, -1.22) announced it is no longer looking into an acquisition of T-Mobile (TMUS 31.00, -2.91).

Elsewhere, Walgreen (WAG 58.40, -10.72) is on track to open lower by 15.5% after saying it will purchase the remaining portion of Alliance Boots and that it will not move its headquarters out of the U.S.

Treasuries sit near their best levels of the morning with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.45%.

8:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.00. The S&P 500 futures trade nine points below fair value.

Asian markets ended lower, taking the lead from yesterday's retreat on Wall Street.

In economic data:
Japan's Leading Index rose to 105.5 from 104.8, as expected
New Zealand's Employment Change came in at 0.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.7%, previous 0.9%), while the Labor Cost Index rose 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (consensus 0.4%, prior 0.3%). Separately, the Unemployment Rate fell to 5.6% from 5.9% (expected 5.8%)

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Japan's Nikkei lost 1.1%, falling for a fifth consecutive day to close at levels last seen at the end of June. Heavyweight Softbank slid 3.5% following reports its U.S. subsidiary, Sprint, dropped its bid for T-Mobile US.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.3%, closing on the highs after seeing an early loss of 1.0%. China Unicom Hong Kong tumbled 5.3% after the Sprint takeover of T-Mobile US fell apart.
China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.1%, holding near eight-month highs. Solar stocks outperformed on reports Beijing may soon introduce eco-friendly policies. China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings climbed 6.1% to lead the space higher.

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Italy's MIB -2.5% bringing up the rear. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said there are no indications Russia plans to implement oil and gas embargos, but echoed yesterday's comments from his foreign minister, who said the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased significantly

Participants received several data points:
Eurozone Retail PMI fell to 47.6 from 50.0
Germany's Factory Orders fell 3.2% month-over-month (expected 1.0%, previous -1.6%)
Great Britain's Halifax House Price Index rose 1.4% month-over-month (expected 0.4%, previous -0.4%), while the year-over-year reading jumped 10.2% (consensus 9.6%, prior 8.8%). Also of note, Manufacturing Production ticked up 0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.6%, previous -1.3%) and Industrial Production also increased 0.3% (consensus 0.6%, prior -0.6%)
Italy's GDP contracted 0.2% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.2%, previous -0.1%), while the year-over-year reading declined 0.3% (expected 0.1%, prior -0.4%)

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In France, the CAC is lower by 1.2% with 39 of its 40 components in the red. Carmaker Renault is the weakest performer, down 3.3%. On the upside, Credit Agricole is higher by 0.7%.
Great Britain's FTSE holds a loss of 1.2% with drug makers on the defensive after U.S. Senators called on President Obama to reduce or eliminate tax breaks for companies with overseas headquarters. AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Shire, and Smith & Nephew are down between 2.3% and 4.0%. Hargreaves Lansdown outperforms with a gain of 2.7%.
Germany's DAX is lower by 1.3%. Exporters lag with BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen down between 0.7% and 1.7%. Fresenius Medical Care is the top performer, up 1.9%.
Italy's MIB underperforms with a loss of 2.5% amid notable weakness in financials. Banca di Milano Scarl, BMPS, Mediobanca, UBI Banca, and Unicredit are down between 3.2% and 5.7%.

8:31 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.00. The S&P 500 futures trade eight points below fair value.

The June trade deficit narrowed to $41.50 billion from $44.70 billion, while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to come in at $45.20 billion.

7:59 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.30. U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market lows with futures on the S&P 500 down nine points below fair value. Given the current indication, the benchmark index is on track for a lower open after losing 1.0% yesterday to end eight points above its 100-day moving average (1912). Once again, disappointing data from overseas has contributed to the early weakness. Treasuries, meanwhile, hold gains with the 10-yr yield down almost four basis points at 2.45%.

In U.S. corporate news:

DISH Network (DISH 63.39, +1.24): +2.0% despite missing bottom-line estimates on in-line revenue
Disney (DIS 86.70, -0.05): -0.1% despite beating earnings and revenue estimates
FireEye (FEYE 34.05, -0.70): -2.0% despite beating estimates and guiding full-year earnings and revenue ahead of analyst expectations
First Solar (FSLR 61.70, -1.96): -3.1% in reaction to disappointing earnings and revenue
General Electric (GE 25.21, +0.19): +0.8% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform'
Groupon (GRPN 5.90, -1.17): -16.5% after its revenue miss and cautious guidance overshadowed in-line earnings
Time Warner (TWX 75.75, -9.44): -11.1% after missing revenue estimates. In addition, 21st Century Fox (FOXA 34.00, +2.70) said it is abandoning its pursuit of TWX
Sprint (S 6.26, -1.02): -14.0% announced it will no longer look to acquire T-Mobile (TMUS 31.20, -2.71)
Walgreen (WAG 62.44, -6.68): -9.6% after announcing it will acquire the remaining 55% of Alliance Boots for GBP3.13 billion in cash and roughly 144.3 million shares of common stock

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended lower. China's Shanghai Composite -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%, and Japan's Nikkei -1.1%
In economic data:
Japan's Leading Index rose to 105.5 from 104.8, as expected
New Zealand's Employment Change came in at 0.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.7%, previous 0.9%), while the Labor Cost Index rose 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (consensus 0.4%, prior 0.3%). Separately, the Unemployment Rate fell to 5.6% from 5.9% (expected 5.8%)
In news:
Yesterday's weakness on Wall Street spilled over into the Asian session with participants shying away from equities amid continued talks about a buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine's border

Major European indices trade lower across the board. France's CAC -1.2%, Great Britain's FTSE -1.2%, and Germany's DAX -1.3%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX -1.5% and Italy's MIB -2.5%
Participants received several data points:
Eurozone Retail PMI fell to 47.6 from 50.0 Germany's Factory Orders fell 3.2% month-over-month (expected 1.0%, previous -1.6%)
Great Britain's Halifax House Price Index rose 1.4% month-over-month (expected 0.4%, previous -0.4%), while the year-over-year reading jumped 10.2% (consensus 9.6%, prior 8.8%). Also of note, Manufacturing Production ticked up 0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.6%, previous -1.3%) and Industrial Production also increased 0.3% (consensus 0.6%, prior -0.6%)
Italy's GDP contracted 0.2% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.2%, previous -0.1%), while the year-over-year reading declined 0.3% (expected 0.1%, prior -0.4%)
Among news of note:
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said there are no indications Russia plans to implement oil and gas embargos, but echoed yesterday's comments from his foreign minister, who said the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased significantly

The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 1.6% to follow last week's 2.2% decline.

The June Trade Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$45.20 billion) will be released at 8:30 ET.

6:46 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -10.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.00.

6:46 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...15159.79...-160.50...-1.10%. Hang Seng...24584.13...-64.10...-0.30%.

6:46 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6604.27...-79.00...-1.20%. DAX...9042.38...-147.80...-1.60%.

Bloomberg

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-0 ... fears.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-0 ... -data.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-0 ... orrow.html

Special thanks to Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries.

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

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