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
Archive Real-Time Chat Logs (timestamp, entries/exits, position size): http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewforum.php?f=20
Accolades (Testimonials): http://www.thestrategylab.com/Accolades.htm
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader (24/7)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Disclaimer: Today's trading performance is not an indication of my future performance and not an indication of the future performance for any trader that decides to learn/apply WRB Analysis.

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

Today's Trade Log: All of my live trades are posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room. The live trade is posted 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation via an auto script to minimize delays in posting of my trades. You can read today's price action trade journal about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit, market analysis) as the trade traversed to its completion. In addition, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), 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=160&t=2452

The free chat room is not a signal calling trading room. I do not mentor (never have) although I get many requests to do mentoring. There is education but only in members private threads at the forum involving members asking questions (help) about their own trading. Thus, the primary purpose of the free chat room is for you to use as your trade journal so that you can use as valuable feedback and for members to help each other...as in more eyes on the market. Also, you can use the free chat room to ask real-time WRB Analysis questions. Yet, please do not post your brokerage statements in the free chat room. Instead, its highly recommended that you only post your brokerage statements in your private thread for security reasons. The free chat room is on IRC via users request because the IRC servers are located in many different countries, software in many different languages and many different types of social media software can be used to log in. I'm the moderator of the free chat room. Thus, I keep the peace between members and I keep out the trouble makers so that members can peacefully post their observations about the markets, trades and WRB Analysis commentary.


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 trading room. Access instructions for chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

Price Action Analysis via Advance WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm and there's a free study guide of the WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1, 2 and 3 @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=718

Analysis -----> Trade Signals

Trade Signal Strategies via Volatility Trading Report (VTR) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm and there's a free trade signal strategy @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=89 so that you can freely test drive one of our price action trade strategies with support (answering your questions) prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR). All WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1 - 12 are included in the purchase of the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Daily Trading Plan Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=312&t=3290 contains brief information about trading plan, market context, brokers, trading time frames, position size management and other discussions.

-----------------------------

Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/BOE/IMF actions or any important global economic events (e.g. Eurozone, MarketWatch.com) that had an impact on today's price action in many trading instruments I monitor during the trading day. Simply, I'm a strong believer that key market events causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility resulting in trade opportunities (swing points and strong continuation price actions) that reach profit targets. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events, intermarket analysis (e.g. Forex EurUsd, EuroFX 6E futures, Gold GC futures, Light Crude Oil (WTI) CL & Brent Oil futures, Eurex DAX futures, Euronext FTSE100 futures, Emini ES futures, Emini 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 PnL statements alone. Further, most financial websites remove (delete) their archives after a few years to make room for new content. Therefore, I maintain my own archives of the news content so that I have it available for me when financial websites no longer archives their content.


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


4:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages opened the shortened week on a losing note, succumbing to profit-taking activity in the face of some political angst. The S&P 500 finished Tuesday's session 0.3% lower, while the Nasdaq (-0.6%) and Russell 2000 (-1.4%) underperformed, weighed down principally by losses in the financial, semiconductor, transportation, and biotech groups.

Over the weekend, President-elect Trump may have instilled a sense of doubt about his administration's ability to smoothly implement the pro-growth policies that the stock market has rallied around. Mr. Trump's comments raised some concerns that he and the GOP could be on different pages regarding tax policy and the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.

The President-elect also restated his claim that drug companies will have to negotiate with the government on prices for drugs in Medicare and Medicaid. That view prompted a pullback in drug stocks, like Merck (MRK 61.48, -0.86, -1.4%) and Pfizer (PFE 32.06, -0.46, -1.4%), as well as many biotech issues, which could be seen in the underperformance of the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 274.52, -5.49). The S&P 500 health care sector closed the day 0.5% lower.

On the other hand, the retail space received a nice bump after Mr. Trump voiced his thoughts on a potential border tax, stating that the current GOP plan is too complicated. Retailers, many of which source their goods overseas, pushed the SPDR 500 Retail ETF (XRT 44.36, +0.35) 0.8% higher on the hope that a punitive border tax on imported goods won't come to fruition as feared. Naturally, the consumer discretionary sector also benefited, posting a 0.2% gain for the day.

Energy was the only other cyclical sector to finish Tuesday's session in the green, adding 0.6% on the back of an uptick in crude oil. The commodity ended its trading day far below its session high at $52.46/bbl, an increase of 0.2%. The gain came amid a weakening U.S. dollar, which fell 1.2%.

In addition to strength in the eruo and the Japanese yen, the British Pound had a hand in pushing the greenback lower, rallying 3.0% after a Brexit speech from UK Prime Minister Theresa May and a Consumer Price Index report showing the highest year-over-year pace for inflation (+1.6%) for the UK since July 2014. Ms. May confirmed that Britain will leave the single market, but that it is aiming for a flexible and phased Brexit transition, which will be put to a parliamentary vote. For good measure, President-elect Trump also expressed his belief that the dollar is "too strong."

On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley (MS 42.15, -1.66) reported better-than-expected top and bottom line results today, but traded down with the entire financial sector (-2.3%) as the stock saw some profit-taking activity. The negative response to Morgan Stanley's otherwise good news triggered some broader profit-taking efforts in the space. That selling picked up in the afternoon trade and drove the indices to new session lows before some late buying interest helped pare today's losses.

Financials will also headline tomorrow's earnings reports. Both Goldman Sachs (GS 235.74, -8.56) and Citigroup (C 58.38, -1.25) are scheduled to report before the opening bell. Investors will be looking for numbers that validate the sector's huge post-election run, but certainly after today's action, they will be watching more intently to see if Goldman Sachs and Citigroup report better-than-expected results and still trade lower.

In addition to energy and consumer discretionary, only four other sectors finished in positive territory -- utilities (+1.1%), real estate (+0.8%), telecom services (+0.4%), and consumer staples (+1.4%). Those four sectors combined have a roughly 18% weight in the S&P 500, so their gains were not enough to offset selling elsewhere.

The outperformance of the consumer staples sector was forged on the back of British American Tobacco's (BTI 113.10, -2.11) $49 billion offer to acquire the remaining 57.8% of Reynolds American (RAI 57.68, +1.71) that it does not already own, as well as a solid gain in sector heavyweights Walmart (WMT 68.42, +1.29, +1.9%), Procter & Gamble (PG 85.21, +1.20, +1.4%), and CVS Health (CVS 83.92, +1.94, +2.4%).

Reviewing today's lone economic report, the Empire Manufacturing Survey:

The Empire Manufacturing Survey for January fell to 6.5 from the prior month's reading of 9.0. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was pegged at 8.3.

Tomorrow will see a batch of economic data with the most notable reports being December CPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) and December Industrial Production (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%). The two reports will cross the wires at 8:30 am ET and 9:15 am ET, respectively.

Wednesday's remaining economic reports will include the MBA Mortgage Index at 7:00 am ET, the NAHB Housing Market Index at 10:00 am ET, the Fed's Beige Book at 2:00 pm ET, and Net Long-Term TIC Flows at 4:00 pm ET.

Russell 2000 -0.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.3% YTD
S&P 500 +1.3% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +2.9% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

After seeing a morning rally, Feb crude oil prices pulled back, erasing the majority of its gains and finishing the day +0.2% at $52.46/barrel
In other energy, Feb natural gas recovered most of today's losses to end floor trading just 0.3% lower at $3.41/MMBtu.
The dollar index slid lower today and held its losses
Although this didn't do that much for oil futures, precious metals benefitted from the weakness in the dollar
Feb gold ended today's floor session 1.4% higher at $1212.80/oz, while Mar silver rallied 2.3% at $17.15/oz
In base metals, Mar copper slipped 2.6% to close at $2.62/lb

3:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has succumbed to a new round of selling interest in recent action, with the major averages hitting fresh session lows. The S&P 500 is down 0.5% while the Nasdaq (-0.8%) resides deeper in negative territory.

The financial sector (-2.3%), which has been at the bottom of today's leaderboard since the opening bell, has dipped even further in recent action to hit a fresh session low. Large-cap components like JPMorgan Chase (JPM 83.50, -3.19), Bank of America (BAC 22.11, -0.91), and Wells Fargo (WFC 53.82, -1.49) have all fallen between 2.7% and 3.8%.

Financials headline tomorrow's earnings reports with Goldman Sachs (GS 237.39, -6.80) and Citigroup (C 58.30, -1.33) scheduled to report before the opening bell. Investors will be looking for some numbers to validate the financial sector's 20.5% Q4 gain, but even if they get them, it's difficult to predict where the market will go. For instance, Morgan Stanley (MS 42.08, -1.73) reported better-than-expected top and bottom lines today, but traded down with the entire financial sector as the stock saw some profit-taking activity.

U.S. Treasuries have ticked up in recent action and now hover near their session highs. The yield curve has flattened a bit with the back end of the curve outperforming the front end somewhat. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down seven basis points to 2.33% while the 2-yr yield is down five basis points to 1.14%.

2:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq (-0.7%) continues to underpeform its peers, while the S&P 500 and the Dow sit 0.3% lower.

The consumer staples space (+1.4%) has held the top spot on today's leaderboard throughout the session. British American Tobacco (BTI 113.10, -2.11) gave the sector an early bump by offering t acquire the remaining 57.8% of Reynolds American (RAI 57.78, +1.82) it did not own for $49.4 billion. Heavyweights like Coca-Cola (KO 41.24, +0.36), Wal-Mart (WMT 68.48, +1.35), CVS (CVS 83.85, +1.86), and Costco (COST 163.74, +1.86) are also posting solid gains, up between 0.8% and 2.2%.

At the bottom of the leaderboard is the financial sector (-2.0%). The technology (-0.5%) is also underperforming. The two spaces constitute over 35.0% of the broader market and have overpowered gains from smaller sectors thus far. For instance, utilities (+1.0%), real estate (+0.7%), and telecom services (+0.2%) represent half of the green sectors, but only have an 8.4% market weight combined.

2:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Red figures continue to permeate the major indices, all of which continue to trade lower relative to Friday's closing prices. Generally speaking, the losses are modest relative to the scope of the post-election gains that have been logged.

Notably, today's biggest laggards have been among the biggest post-election gainers. Specifically, the S&P 500 financial sector (-1.7%) is underperforming, the Russell 2000 (-1.0%) is underperforming, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (-1.7%) is underperforming.

Weakness in those key leadership areas has kept a lid on today's market and has perhaps fostered a nagging belief that they would be at risk of a larger pullback in the event the implementation of pro-growth policies, and deregulatory efforts, does not go as smoothly as thought in the post-inauguration period.

Looking to Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index for December will highlight the economic calendar. It has the potential to steal some of the spotlight from the earnings calendar if it comes in hotter than expected and piques concerns about the Fed possibly needing to tighten policy more in 2017 than is currently expected. The Briefing.com consensus calls for a 0.3% uptick in total CPI and a 0.2% increase in core CPI, which excludes food and energy.

1:35 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices remain lower at this time, lead by a decline in financials.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that JPMorgan (JPM 84.09, -2.61), Goldman Sachs (GS 239.34, -4.96), & Pfizer (PFE 31.93, -0.59) are underperforming. JPM is leading the Dow lower after being downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette. Goldman is pulling back in tandem with the entire financial space, and ahead of its quarterly earnings report, expected out tomorrow morning.

Conversely, Wal-Mart (WMT 68.58, +1.45) is the best-performing Dow component after announcing it is planning $6.8 bln of capital investments in the U.S. in the coming fiscal year, which it expects will support an estimated 34k jobs through continued expansion and improvement in its store network. Additionally helping shares, and the entire retail sector for that matter, President-Elect Donald Trump this weekend criticized a House corporate-tax plan, which some project would lead to a further appreciation of the US Dollar, and in return, pressure profit margins for many consumer discretionary names.

Today's modest pullback has trimmed January's DJIA gain to 0.48%.

1:05 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is down 0.2% as the New York lunch hour comes to an end while the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 underperform with losses of 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively

The major averages dipped into negative territory at the opening bell as investors digested news on both the earnings and political fronts. On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley (MS 42.30, -1.51) beat top and bottom line estimates, but has since succumbed to selling pressure as financials (-1.5%) retreat on a sell-the-news mentality following the sector's 20.5% Q4 advance.

Similarly, UnitedHealth (UNH 159.36, -2.47) is also down, losing 1.5%, despite a positive earnings report. The health care space as a whole has seen some selling pressure after President-elect Trump restated his claim that drug companies will have to negotiate with the government on prices for drugs in Medicare and Medicaid. That view has also weighed on biotech companies, evidenced by the 1.9% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 274.83, -5.18).

Conversely, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.3%) has profited from Mr. Trump's weekend comments, namely his statement regarding a border tax. The President-elect voiced his concern that the current GOP border tax plan is too complicated, giving retailers hope that a punitive border tax on imported goods won't come to fruition as feared. The SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 44.85, +0.85) is up 1.9%.

Other political headlines include the Brexit speech from UK Prime Minister May, who confirmed Britain will leave the single market, but is aiming for a flexible and phased Brexit transition, which will be put to a parliamentary vote. In combination with a higher-than expected CPI print for December, that news has sent the British pound up 2.7% for the day. With a strong euro and Japanese yen paralleling the pound's performance, the U.S. Dollar index has responded with a 1.1% decline.

Crude oil has benefited from the greenback's relative weakness, adding 0.8%. The commodity trades at $52.79/bbl, which has been enough to hold the energy sector (+0.7%) in positive territory.

In addition to the financial sector, the industrial (-0.5%), materials (-0.2%), and technology (-0.3%) sectors are all in negative territory.

On the countercyclical side, consumer staples (+1.2%), utilities (+1.1%), and real estate (+0.6%) all trade in the green while the telecom services sector sits near its flat line.

Treasuries have come down from their session highs, but remain solidly higher. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down six basis points to 2.34% and the yield curve has flattened some with the back end outperforming the front end. That flattening has contributed to the underperformance of the financial sector.

Reviewing today's lone economic report, the Empire Manufacturing Survey:

The Empire Manufacturing Survey for January fell to 6.5 from the prior month's reading of 9.0. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was pegged at 8.3.

12:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The equity market has not changed since the last update as the S&P 500 remains lower by 0.2%. The Russell 2000, meanwhile, continues to underperform with a 1.0% decline.

Non-cyclical sectors top today's leaderboard with consumer staples (+1.2%) leading an advance that has a defensive orientation. Utilities (+1.1%), real estate (+0.6%), and telecom services (+0.2%) also trade in the green, although health care (-0.7%) bucks the trend. The health care space has been weighed down by the biotechnology industry, evidenced by a 1.7% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 275.10, -4.93).

On the cyclical side, most sectors post losses with financials (-1.7%) leading the retreat. Industrials (-0.5%), materials (-0.2%), and technology (-0.3%) have performed in line with the broader market, while energy (+0.6%) and consumer discretionary (+0.3%) buck today's bearish cyclical trend. Consumer discretionary has been given a boost from retailers, which have pushed the SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 44.73, +0.72) higher by 1.6%.

Treasuries have not moved much in recent action, appearing satisfied with their early morning gains. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down by five basis points to 2.35%.

12:05 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hover near their recent levels with the S&P 500 down 0.2%. The Nasdaq underperforms the benchmark index, losing 0.4%.

The top-weighted technology sector has performed in line with the broader market as gains from large-cap components like Apple (AAPL 120.10, +1.07) have offset a poor showing from chipmakers.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index has fallen 0.9%, with NVIDIA (NVDA 101.73, -1.70) leading the retreat. However, it's important to note that the company's 1.6% loss for the day may be influenced by some profit-taking activity as investors capitalize on the stock's remarkable 247.9% gain in 2016.

Energy (+0.5%) remains in positive territory despite crude oil coming down from its session high. The commodity is still 0.6% higher, trading at $52.65/bbl amid a weakening U.S. dollar. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 1.1% due to relative strength in the euro (+0.8% at 1.0697), the Japanese yen (-1.3% to 112.91), and the British pound (+2.8% to 1.2386) in dollar cross trades.

11:35 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market remains near its prior level with the S&P 500 posting a 0.3% loss.

Financials (-1.5%) have led today's retreat as quarterly earnings results have prompted some sell-the-news action following the sector's 20.5% Q4 advance. For instance, Morgan Stanley (MS 42.54, -1.27) remains under selling pressure despite reporting better-than-expected results on its top and bottom lines. The company is down 2.9%, with heavyweights like JPMorgan Chase (JPM 84.29, -2.42) and Goldman Sachs (GS 240.02, -4.26) following suit, down 2.8% and 1.8%, respectively.

The Treasury market has come down from its session high, but remains in positive territory late this morning. The 10-yr yield is down six basis points at 2.33%.

11:10 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] Today's session has been underscored by risk-off activity from investors as they skeptically eyeball Inauguration Day (Friday, January 20). Treasuries are up, the U.S. dollar is down, and the cyclical sectors are exhibiting relative weakness vis-a-vis their non-cyclical peers.

President-elect Trump ruffled some investors' feathers this weekend, restating his claim that drug companies will have to negotiate with the government on prices for drugs in Medicare and Medicaid. That view has pressured some of the pharmaceutical companies, like Merck (MRK 61.70, -0.64) and Pfizer (PFE 32.07, -0.45), and has also weighed on biotech issues, evidenced by the 1.5% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 275.96, -4.05). The weakness in those areas has contributed to a 0.7% decline in the S&P 500 health care sector.

Conversely, Mr. Trump seems to have generated some buying interest in retailers after announcing some concern that the current GOP border tax plan is too complicated. The SPDR 500 Retail ETF (XRT 44.85, +0.85) is up 1.9% as many retailers, which source their goods overseas, are rallying on the hope that a punitive border tax on imported goods won't come to fruition as feared.

10:35 am:

Commodities are trading higher this morning, helped by weakness in the dollar
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are trading 0.7% higher at 89.1585

[BRIEFING.COM] Looking more at the energy market...

WTI crude oil futures are trading higher this morning following comments from Saudi oil minister, Khalid al-Falih, on Monday
Al-Falih said that Saudi Arabia remains committed to reducing oil production, which has already been talked about in recent weeks
On November 30, OPEC and non-OPEC members agreed to cut oil production by about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day
OPEC agreed to cut 1.2 mln of the 1.8 mln
Unfortunately, history has shown that prior commitments from OPEC to rebalance the oil market weren't exactly followed through with. Therefore, talk of whether OPEC will remain committed to reduce overall production or not will continue to be a catalyst for now
In other comments, Al-Falih thinks the oil market will balance in the six-month time frame that the oil cuts are expected to take place. As a result, he said that it is unlikely producers will extend their commitment to reduce production past the middle of this year
Separately, there is concern that U.S. shale oil production will continue to rise this year, which is another bearish catalyst helping weigh on oil prices, as it helps offset the recent bullish OPEC/non-OPEC agreement
Since September, U.S. oil production is up about 400,000/barrels per day
In other energy, Feb natural gas futures are trading -1% at $3.39/MMBtu

Looking over at the metals...

Weakness in the dollar is giving precious metals a boost
Feb gold is now +1.4% at $12131.0/oz, while Mar silver is +2.6% at $17.20/oz
Mar copper is -1.5% at $3.65/lb

10:05 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their recent levels with the S&P 500 down 0.3%.

Sector standings are much the same, with the ends of today's leaderboard represented by utilities (+0.9%) and consumer staples (+0.8%) at the top, while financials (-1.4%) and health care (-0.8%) sit at the bottom.

The SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 44.80, +0.79) has outperformed, adding 1.8% in early action. Retailers have benefited from President-elect Trump's belief that the GOP border adjustment tax plan is "too complicated". Consumer discretionary (+0.1%) heavyweights like Nike (NKE 53.72, +0.77) and GM (GM 37.63, +0.31) have added 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively.

Treasuries remain near their overnight highs with the benchmark 10-yr yield eight basis points lower at 2.32%.

9:50 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is down this morning with the S&P 500 losing 0.3%. The Nasdaq underperforms, down 0.6%.

Non-cyclical sectors have had the upper hand in early action, with four of the five in the green. Health care defies its defensive peers, losing 1.2%, despite UnitedHealth (UNH 159.25, -2.63) reporting better-than-expected earnings earlier this morning. The company is lower by 2.2%.

On the cyclical side, energy (+0.6%) outperforms, riding crude oil's 1.6% gain. The commodity trades at $53.20/bbl amid a weaker U.S. dollar; the U.S. Dollar Index (100.49, -1.05) is down 1.0%.

Treasuries remain near their overnight highs with the 10-yr yield eight basis points lower at 2.32%.

9:18 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.10.

The equity market is on track for a lower open as the S&P 500 futures trade 0.3% below fair value.

On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley (MS 43.70, -0.11) is lower by 0.3% despite beating top and bottom line estimates. Conversely, UnitedHealth (UNH 162.76, +0.96) has climbed 0.6% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and issuing in-line guidance. Also of note, United Continental (UAL 74.45, +0.13) and CSX (CSX 38.50, -0.30) will headline the earnings reports after today's close.

Tiffany & Co (TIF 78.28, -3.64) has dropped 4.5% in pre-market trade after reporting lackluster holiday sales. On the other hand, Walt Disney (DIS 108.62, +0.56) has climbed 0.5% after the company's stock was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Goldman.

Crude oil is up 1.8% at $53.31/bbl on reports that Saudi Arabia will adhere to its oil output commitment. U.S. Treasuries are also up, hovering near their overnight highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield is eight basis points lower at 2.31%.

Today's lone economic report was the Empire Manufacturing Survey for January, which fell to 6.5 from the prior month's reading of 9.0. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was pegged at 8.3.

8:59 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.80.

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

Equity indices across Asia-Pacific saw a modest pickup in activity last night, with traders returning to action in US following the MLK Holiday weekend. Unfortunately, the tone has been mostly negative with most of the major averages closing lower on Monday. There was only a few minor regional economic releases in Asia today with none having a profound impact upon release.

In economic data:
Japan's November Final Indus Prod +1.5% vs +1.5% prelim. November Capacity Utilization +3.0% vs +1.4% in October
Aus's ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index 119.3 vs 120.1 last week. December New Motor Vehicle Sales +0.3% vs -0.7% in November In news:There wasn't any notable news out of the Asia-Pacific region.

---Equity Markets---

Japanese shares were hit for a second straight day on Tuesday, with the Nikkei shedding an additional 1.5% loss to a 1% decline on Monday. Trading desks cited continued strength in the yen after the currency gained over 1% against the dollar. As such, exporters took it on the chin with shares of Honda losing 2.7%, while Panasonic dropped 1.3%.
In China, the Shanghai closed the day 0.2%, nearly managing to get back the 0.3% loss seen on Monday. Trading was light overall. With Crude futures suggesting a 1% gain, energy was among the best performing sectors across the mainland. Sinopec set the pace with an advance of 2%, while PetroChina close the session with a 1.1% gain.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.5% with only 13 of the 50 stocks making up the index closing in the red. Energy-related names were notably stronger (similar to the Shanghai) but so were property names. CK Property was the leader by day's end, finishing the day up 2.2%. Meanwhile China Res Land and Sino Land finished the session higher by 0.8% and 0.7%
India's Sensex posted loss of 52.51 pts, to finish 0.2% lower. Many of the key heavyweights saw declines today, keeping India's benchmark in negative territory for the bulk of the session. As such, Tata Steel (-0.9%), Tata Motors (-0.6%) and Wipro (-0.5%) were among the most notable laggards of the day.

Major European indices are on the defensive, but have cut their losses following a somewhat conciliatory Brexit speech from UK Prime Minister May, who confirmed Britain will leave the single market, but is aiming for a flexible and phased Brexit transition, which will be put to a parliamentary vote. The British pound has been really strong today, underpinned as well by a higher-than-expected CPI print for December.

In economic data:
UK CPI +0.5% month-over-month (expected +0.3%; last 0.2%); +1.6% year-over-year (expected +1.4%; last +1.2%)
UK House Price Index +6.7% year-over-year (expected +6.3%; prior +6.9%)
German ZEW Economic Sentiment for January at 16.6 (expected 18.3; prior 13.8)
Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment for January at 23.2 (expected 24.2; prior 18.1)
Italian Trade Balance for November 4.200B (expected 3.840B; last 4.290B)

---Equity Markets---

UK's FTSE is down 0.9%, having been pressured early by concerns surrounding Prime Minister May's Brexit speech and a report showing consumer inflation rose at its fastest pace year-over-year in December since July 2014. Losses are being led by Vodafone (-2.2%), Tui (-1.2%), and Intertek Group (-3.5%). Rolls Royce (+5.9%) leads the winners after reporting a better-than-expected profit for 2016. In M&A news, Reuters reported that British American Tobacco is going to acquire 57.8% of Reynolds American for $59.64 per share.
Germany's DAX trades flat. Automakers have seen an uptick after falling under pressure Monday when President-elect Trump threatened a 35% border tax on German cars made in Mexico and imported to the U.S. BMW (+0.5%), Volkswagen (+0.2%), and Daimler (+0.3%) are all up while Bayer (-0.5%) and adidas (-1.1%) are among the major DAX laggards.
France's CAC is down 0.1%, following form with its European counterparts. Arcelor Mittal (-1.2%), Bouygues (-1.0%), and Publicis Groupe (-1.3%) pace the decliners while Accor (+1.5%) and Engie (+0.7%) sit atop a short list of winners.

8:32 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -5.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.80.

The stock market is poised for a lower open as the S&P 500 futures trade six points below fair value.

On the corporate front, Tiffany & Co (TIF 77.60, -4.32) has dropped 5.3% in pre-market trade after reporting lackluster holiday sales. Conversely, Walt Disney (DIS 109.00, +0.94) has climbed 0.9% after the company's stock was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Goldman.

Just released, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for January fell to 6.5 from the prior month's reading of 9.0. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was pegged at 8.3.

8:05 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.30.

U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open following the holiday weekend, with the S&P 500 futures currently trading four points below fair value. The early losses follow weakness in Japan and Europe, with currency fluctuations around political commentary.

Crude oil is up this morning amid reports that Saudi Arabia will adhere to its oil output commitment. The commodity has jumped 1.6% to $53.17/bbl.

U.S. Treasuries have also seen an uptick, spending their overnight sessions in positive territory. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down five basis points to 2.34%.

In U.S. corporate news:

Morgan Stanley (MS 44.60, +0.79): +1.8% after beating top and bottom line estimates.
UnitedHealth (UNH 162.99, +1.19): +0.7% after beating earning estimates and issuing in-line guidance.
Reynolds American (RAI 58.30, +2.33) +4.16% after announcing that British American Tobacco (BTI 115.95, +0.74) will acquire 57.8% of Reynolds American common stock that British American Tobacco does not currently own.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices across Asia-Pacific saw a modest pickup in activity last night after closing lower on Monday. Japan's Nikkei -1.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.2%, India's Sensex -0.2%.
In economic data:
Japan Nov Final Indus Prod +1.5% vs +1.5% prelim
Japan Nov Capacity Utilization +3.0% vs +1.4% in Oct
Aus ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index 119.3 vs 120.1 last week
Aus Dec New Motor Vehicle Sales +0.3% vs -0.7% in Nov
In news:
There wasn't any notable news out of the Asia-Pacific region.

Major European indices are on the defensive, but have cut their losses following a somewhat conciliatory Brexit speech from UK Prime Minister Theresa May. UK's FTSE -0.5%, Germany's DAX -0.3%, France's CAC -0.2%.
In economic data:
UK CPI +0.5% month-over-month (expected +0.3%; last 0.2%); +1.6% year-over-year (expected +1.4%; last +1.2%)
UK House Price Index +6.7% year-over-year (expected +6.3%; prior +6.9%)
German ZEW Economic Sentiment for January at 16.6 (expected 18.3; prior 13.8)
Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment for January at 23.2 (expected 24.2; prior 18.1)
Italian Trade Balance for November 4.200B (expected 3.840B; last 4.290B)
In news:
UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that Britain will leave the single market, but is aiming for a flexible and phased Brexit transition, which will be put to a parliamentary vote.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.50.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...18813.5...-281.70...-1.50%. Hang Seng...22841...+122.80...+0.50%.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7305.28...-22.00...-0.30%. DAX...11461.43...-93.30...-0.80%.

Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, 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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