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)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: +8.80 points or $880 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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, all trades were posted real-time in the free #FuturesTrades chat room. You can read today's #FuturesTrades trading chat room logs for details (e.g. time, price, contract size) about each one of my trades from entry to exit along with price action commentary as the trade traversed in comparison to what's shown in the above image...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=106&t=1268.

To join our free chat room...log-in instructions located at a different forum @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=630

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).

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.

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 prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=163&t=1526

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

Market Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/IMF actions or any important global economic events that had an impact on today's price action. Simply, I'm a strong believer that many variables (key market events) causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility that results in swing points and strong continuation price actions. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context for my technical analysis. Just as important, these summaries becomes my archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past...something I can not get from my broker statements alone.

Stocks Slide On Earnings' Fears


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks skidded to a lower close Monday, as investors remained wary ahead of quarterly corporate results and another eurozone meeting.

Industrial and energy shares led the declines, with Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500), DuPont (DD, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) finished the day down between 1% and 3%.

All three indexes closed lower, but bounced back from the lows of the day into the close.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) dropped 36 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 (SPX) moved down 2 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq (COMP) dropped 6 points, or 0.2%.

After 63 out of 103 companies lowered projections for earnings, investors are growing increasingly nervous about what Corporate America will say as second- quarter results kick off with aluminum producer and Dow component Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) after the market close.

"Investors are growing jittery before earnings seasons," said Ryan Detrick, Senior Technical Strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "There's a concern that the European slowdown has made its way to the U.S."

Overall, analysts are expecting underwhelming corporate results, with earnings dropping off compared to the first quarter.

Aluminum producer Alcoa reported second-quarter results in line with analysts' expectations, and shares moved up slightly in after hours trading. Alcoa's earnings fell in the second quarter, but the company said it sees strong demand.

* Video - Global slowdown may hurt profits

Results are due later in the week from search giant Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and banking leaders JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).

Meanwhile, investors have new reasons to be worried over Europe's fiscal health. Early Monday, the yield on the 10-year Spanish bond rose above 7% again -- a level that Spain's prime minister has previously called unsustainable.

* Europe must act fast

Increasing pressures in Spain's bond market comes as finance ministers from eurozone countries start a two-day meeting Monday. Leaders will hammer out details about how money from the European Stability Mechanism can be used to bail out troubled banks in struggling eurozone nations.

"While we've seen some positive steps in Europe, a lot of these steps address short-term problems," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at U.S. RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago. "There's continued nervousness in the global marketplace because there's a sense these are short-term fixes at best."

Meanwhile, China's consumer price index rose at a modest 2.2% annual rate in June. The lower inflation rate serves as yet another signal of a global slowdown.

* Fear & Greed still in neutral

U.S. stocks fell Friday following a weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report. The U.S. economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, not enough to keep up with population growth.

World markets: European stocks closed down. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) shed 0.6%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany fell 0.4% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) slipped 0.4%.

Asian markets reacted to the U.S. jobs report and global growth concerns, ending Monday in the red. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) tumbled 2.4%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong dropped 1.9% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) fell 1.4%.

Economy: The Federal Reserve released May's consumer credit, which expanded more than economists predicted. Credit expanded by $17.5 billion in May compared to analysts' forecasts of $9.5 billion, after growing by a revised $9.5 billion in April.

* Fortune's Global 500

Companies: Shares of health care provider Amerigroup (AGP, Fortune 500) soared 38% after the company announced it would be acquired by WellPoint (WLP, Fortune 500) for $4.9 billion. The deal comes less than a month after last month's U.S. Supreme Court health reform decision, which will change the landscape of the country's health care system.

Shares of Campbell Soup (CPB, Fortune 500) dropped after the company announced it would acquire organic juice maker Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion.

* Euro falls to two-year low against dollar

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

Oil for August delivery rose $1.54 to $85.99 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $10.20 to $1,589.10 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.53% from 1.54% late Friday.



Market Update

4:10 pm : Markets closed lower for a third consecutive session after disappointing data out of China and Japan along with a rise of Spanish yields weighed. A tamer than expected 2.2% YoY Chinese CPI reading and a 14.8% MoM plunge in Japan’s core machinery orders pushed Asian markets lower, and that weakness spread into Europe as Spain’s 10-yr climbed back above 7.00%. All three of the major averages finished in the red with as the Dow paced the decline with a loss of 0.3%.

Shares of Alcoa (AA 8.76, +0.03) were in focus today with the company set to kick off the second quarter earnings season after today’s closing bell. The Capital IQ Consensus Estimate is calling for earnings per share of $0.06 on revenues of $5.82 billion. The key earnings release this week will be Friday’s J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM 33.96, +0.06) results which will show investors just how big of an impact the ‘London Whale’ trade had on the quarter.

Barclays (BCS 10.23, -0.04) fell 0.4% and closed lower for the sixth time in seven sessions as the fallout from the recent allegations the company attempted to manipulate the British Bankers’ Association’s LIBOR rate continued. The stock is now down close to 17% since the news broke following its June 27 close.

Amerigroup (AGP 88.79, +24.45) surged 38% following word that Wellpoint (WLP 61.95, +2.04) was acquiring the company for $92.00 per share in cash, or $4.9 billion. Upon completion of the deal, Wellpoint will serve more than four-and-a-half million beneficiaries of state sponsored health care programs. Another acquisition saw Campbell Soup (CPB 32.72, -0.27) purchase Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion in cash.

Payment processors Visa (V 123.65, -1.63) and MasterCard (MA 431.27, -10.36) lost 1.3% and 2.4% respectively after UBS downgrade the stocks to sell, noting shares were near all-time highs despite exposure to a weakening consumer backdrop.

A solid bid in Treasuries dropped the 10-yr yield more than three basis points to 1.513%. Today’s buying flattened the yield curve as the 2-10-yr spread narrowed to 125 basis points. Meanwhile, light selling dropped the Dollar Index to the 83.15 level. Both the euro and the pound saw small gains ending the day near 1.2315 and 1.5530 respectively.

There is no data tomorrow. Treasury will auction $32 billion 3-yr notes.DJ30 -36.18 NASDAQ -5.56 SP500 -2.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1049/1.39 bln/1699 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1344/649.7 mln/1699

3:30 pm : A weaker dollar gave a boost to crude oil in today's pit trade. The energy component briefly touched a session low of $84.25 per barrel in negative territory but quickly turned around and climbed higher. It rose to a session high of $86.53 per barrel but pulled-back moments before pit close on headlines suggesting that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz if "denied access to Persian Gulf." Crude still managed to book a gain of 1.8% as it settled at $85.92 per barrel.

Natural gas spent its entire floor session in the black. It pushed to a session high of $2.90 per MMBtu in afternoon action and settled just below that level at $2.88 per MMBtu for a gain of 3.6%.

Precious metals also had upward momentum during their floor sessions as the dollar declined. Gold came off its session low of $1581.20 per ounce and traded up as high as $1590.00 per ounce before it closed at $1588.90 per ounce, or 0.6% higher. Silver advanced to a session high of $27.45 per ounce and settled just below that level for a 1.7% gain at $27.43 per ounce.

Grains also posted solid results today as dry weather and heat create additional stress on the U.S. corn crop. Dec corn rose 37 cents to $7.29/bushel, Sept wheat rose 22 cents to $8.29/bushel, and Nov soybeans rose 41 cents to $15.47;DJ30 -56.31 NASDAQ -11.47 SP500 -4.95 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 963/1111.5/1493 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1223/ 396 mln/1795

3:00 pm : The major equity averages hold decidedly lower as markets ready for the final hour of the session.

Action has been uninfluenced by the release of monthly consumer credit data. According to recent reports, consumer credit totaled $17.1 billion in May. That is almost twice the $9.5 billion that had been broadly expected among economists polled by Briefing.com.DJ30 -61.64 NASDAQ -13.37 SP500 -5.74 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 950/1.01 bln/1505 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1183/364.1 mln/1846

2:25 pm : The Dollar Index trades down 0.3% and holds near its worst levels of the session at 83.15 during what has been a rather quiet session. The recent weakness in the greenback comes following comments from San Francisco Fed President John Williams who suggested the Fed is ‘on the edge’ of a third round of bond purchases, and that he sees ‘little chance’ of another recession. Both the euro and the pound are the top performers against the greenback with both up close to 0.2% against the dollar at 1.2310 and 1.5520 respectively. However, the strength is not carrying over to the Australian dollar as the commodity-based currency trades down 0.1% at 1.0195. DJ30 -59.64 NASDAQ -10.91 SP500 -4.77 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 959/917.9 mln/1480 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1157/330.4 mln/1857

2:00 pm : Equity markets attempted to lift midday but the upward momentum appears short lived as we stall in midday range. Focus remains on Alcoa (AA 8.66, -0.07) earnings after the close.DJ30 -47.15 NASDAQ -6.43 SP500 -3.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1009/852 mln/1415 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1257/307 mln/1753

1:25 pm : Stocks remain modestly lower on light volume to kick off the week where Q2 earnings will come into focus.

Widely held payment processors Visa (V 123.65 -1.63) and MasterCard (MA 431.04 -10.59) are lower after UBS downgraded both stocks to Sell. The firm noted both stocks were near all-time highs despite exposure to a weakening global consumer backdrop.

Looking at corporate news, Campbell Soup (CPB 32.63 -0.36) acquired Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 bln in cash. The company also said its sees FY12 results consistent with guidance.DJ30 -62.36 NASDAQ -11.52 SP500 -5.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 935/773 mln/1472 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1151/275 mln/1828

1:00 pm : Equity markets have a negative bias in early afternoon trade as disappointing economic data in Asia and a rise in peripheral yields in Europe have sparked today’s selloff. China’s latest CPI reading eased to 2.2% YoY while Japan’s core machinery orders plunged 14.8% MoM as both numbers point to a weakening global economy. Meanwhile, Spain’s 10-yr yield has climbed back above the key 7.00% threshold as traders debate the validity of last week’s agreement at the EU Summit.

Aloca (AA 8.66, -0.06) is in focus today as the company is set to kick off the second quarter earning’s season after today’s closing bell. The Capital IQ Consensus Estimate is calling for earnings per share of $0.06 on revenues of $5.82 billion. The key earnings release this week will be Friday’s J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM 33.85, -0.05) results which will show investors just how big of an impact the ‘London Whale’ trade had on the quarter.

Barclays (BCS 10.18, -0.09) is down 0.8% and lower for the sixth time in seven session as the fallout from the recent allegations the company attempted to manipulate the British Bankers’ Association’s LIBOR rate persists. The stock is now down close to 17.5% since the news broke following its June 27 close.

Shares of Amerigroup (AGP 88.83, +24.49) are up 38.1% following word that Wellpoint (WLP 61.81, +1.90) was acquiring the company for $92.00 per share in cash, or $4.9 billion. Upon completion of the deal, Wellpoint will serve more than four-and-a-half million beneficiaries of state sponsored health care programs.

Treasuries hold near their best levels of the session with the long bond trading up one point at 107 24/32. Modest buying in of the 10-yr note has dropped the benchmark yield to 1.517%. A flatter yield curve persists with the 2-10-yr spread tighter at 125 basis points.

May consumer credit will be released at 3 pm ET.DJ30 -65.69 NASDAQ -13.01 SP500 -5.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 920/703.9 mln/1478 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1127/255.2 mln/1853

12:30 pm : All three of the major averages are holding modest losses as the Dow leads today’s decline with a loss of 0.5% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq see slight outperformance.

Barclays (BCS 10.19, -0.08) is down 0.8% in afternoon trade as shares remain under pressure following recent allegations the company attempted to manipulate the British Bankers’ Association’s LIBOR rate. The stock is lower for the sixth time in seven sessions since the news broke, and is now off 17.5% since its June 27 close. Recent action has the stock holding near its December 2011 lows. DJ30 -62.40 NASDAQ -13.29 SP500 -5.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 945/641.0 mln/1425 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1126/233.2 mln/1837

12:00 pm : Treasuries are back on session highs as buyers have taken control amid the recent rollover in equities. A gain of almost one point has the 30-yr bond up to 107 22/32 and looking prime for a test of its June 1 high near the 110 level. The strong buying of the long bond has made for a drop of 4.5 basis points in its yield to 2.622%. Elsewhere, the more closely followed 10-yr yield is down almost four basis points on the session to 1.519%, and is now less than eight basis points above its record low. A flatter yield curve persists with the 2-10-yr spread tighter at 125.5 basis points. Treasury auctions this week include Tuesday’s $32 billion 3-yr note auction, Wednesday’s $21 billion 10-yr note reopening, and Thursday’s $13 billion 30-yr reopening. DJ30 -77.27 NASDAQ -15.66 SP500 -7.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 903/568.9 mln/1459 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1042/207.4 mln/1914

11:35 am : June and the first week of July bared witness to a busy schedule of central bank decision making and fiscal unionization by the Europeans. The market now will turn its attention to the upcoming second quarter earnings season. The symbolic kick-off of earnings season will begin after the close today when aluminum maker Alcoa (AA 8.61, -0.11) will post it's results. There are plenty of concerns surrounding the results as weak economic data over the past few weeks have suggested a global slowdown that should be reflected by disappointing earnings and poor guidance. While Alcoa's earnings will be of interest, a bigger report on this week's calendar is the J.P. Morgan (JPM 33.75, -0.15) report due out on Friday as investors look to see how big of an impact the infamous 'London Whale' trade had second quarter results.DJ30 -56.61 NASDAQ -8.45 SP500 -4.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 890/493.2 mln/1441 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1085/182.9 mln/1842

11:00 am : The major averages are seeing a bounce off their worst levels as traders defend Friday’s lows. All three of the major averages are currently down close to 0.3%.

Shares of Amerigroup (AGP 88.75, +24.41) are up 37.9% after Wellpoint (WLP 61.73, +1.82) announced it was acquiring the company for $4.9 billion, or $92.00 per share in cash. Upon completion of the deal, Wellpoint will serve more than four-and-a-half million beneficiaries of state sponsored health care programs.DJ30 -51.88 NASDAQ -8.55 SP500 -3.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 856/395.1 mln/1414 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1067/149.0 mln/1822

10:35 am : Weakness in the dollar index this morning has given a boost to the commodity complex this morning. While energy and metals are higher, it's the grains that are showing sharp gains today. Ahead of the open of floor trading, corn was trading 40 cents (or +5.8%), the exchange limit, at $7.33/bushel. This is largely being driven by the dry/hot weather in the Midwest, which is been damaging crops.

In the energy space, Aug crude oil has been in positive territory almost all session. The energy component has been choppy and is now back near the $85 mark and near the current session high, currently up 0.7% at $85.05/barrel.

July natural gas has been in the black all session as well. The energy component just hit a new session high of $2.89/MMBtu and is now still sitting near that level, currently up 3.5% at $2.87/MMBtu.

In metals, August gold and July silver have been higher all session. Gold just hit a new HoD at $1589.90 in recent action and is now 0.5% higher at $1586.00/oz. Silver recently hit a new Hod at $27.44 and currently up 1.5% at $27.31/oz..DJ30 -74.147 NASDAQ -17.97 SP500 -6.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 672/309.8 mln/1573 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 788/118 mln/2015

10:00 am : The major averages are seeing modest selling in early action as a loss of 0.4% has the Dow pacing the declines.

Shares of Dow component Alcoa (AA 8.63, -0.10) are in focus this morning as the company is set to kick off the second quarter earnings reporting period following today’s closing bell. The Capital IQ Consensus Estimate is calling for earnings per share of $0.06 on revenues of $5.82 billion. Early action is seeing the stock down close to 1.0%.DJ30 -57.03 NASDAQ -12.39 SP500 -5.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 654/173.8 mln/1501 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 872/73.9 mln/1869

09:45 am : The major averages are mixed in the opening minutes of trade. Light selling has both the Dow and S&P 500 holding down close to 0.3% while the Nasdaq is outperforming with a 0.1% decline. Health care stocks are the long bright spot, trading up 0.4% collectively while energy and materials names are off 0.7% and 0.3% respectively.DJ30 -47.83 NASDAQ -3.36 SP500 -4.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 709/106.2 mln/1767 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 987/51.1 mln/2033

09:15 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.30. Equity futures are pointing to small losses at the open as disappointing global economic data and a rise of peripheral yields in Europe have raised concerns. Global equity markets have trended mostly lower today with China’s Shanghai Composite falling 2.4% to lead the declines. Merger Monday is back with WellPoint (WLP) acquiring Amerigroup (AGP) for $92.00 per share in cash for a transaction value of approximately $4.9 billion while Thomson Reuters (TRI) acquired FX Alliance (FX) for $22.00 per share in cash. Consumer credit will cross the wires at 3 pm ET.

08:57 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.50. Economic data is light today, limited to consumer credit crossing the wires at 3 pm ET. Following an absence of data tomorrow, Wednesday’s data includes, but is not limited to the trade balance and FOMC minutes. Thursday is highlighted by the weekly jobless claims while data concludes for the week on Friday with PPI and Michigan Sentiment readings.

08:27 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.30. Global markets are under pressure this morning as disappointing economic data and another ramp up in European yields has produced selling. China’s CPI eased to 2.2% YoY while Japan’s core machinery orders plunged 14.8% MoM as both readings pointed to continued weakness in the global economy. Elsewhere, Spanish yields are back in the headlines with the 10-yr climbing back up to the 7.00% threshold.

China’s Shanghai Composite paced the decline in Asia with a loss of 2.4% while Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4% and 1.9% respectively. Chinese banks were under pressure as traders began to price in the potential for more interest rate cuts by the People’s Bank of China while cement names fell on growth concerns. China Merchants Bank shed 4.0% and cement maker Anhui Conch slipped 3.9% to lead their respective sector’s lower. Weakness in Japan was led by machinery stocks as Komatsu tumbled 4.0% while rival Sumitomo Heavy Industries lost 3.3%.

Losses are less severe in Europe where Britain’s FTSE leads the major averages lower with a 0.4% dip while a flat trade has gripped both France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX. The FTSE trades lower despite strong gains in the financial space which has been beaten up in recent days due to questions surrounding the British Bankers’ Association’s LIBOR. Royal Bank of Scotland is up 2.0% while Lloyds Banking Group is higher by 0.6%. However, embattled Barclays is under pressure with shares trading down 0.8%. Meanwhile, steelmaker ThyssenKrupp trades up 2.1% to lead a flat session in Germany while French counterpart ArcelorMittal is one of the CAC’s worst performers with a loss of 1.2%.

08:00 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -3.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.80. U.S. equity futures are starting the week with modest losses; S&P futures are currently lower by 0.4%. The early drop in the U.S. comes amid modest weakness in Europe, as Spanish bond yields move back up to the 7.0% level.

In Europe, most markets are modestly lower as Spain's 10-year bond yield moved back above the 7.0% level overnight; it is currently up 11 basis points to 6.98%. The move higher in yields precedes a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels later today. In equities, Germany's DAX is -0.3%, the UK's FTSE is -0.4%, France's CAC is -0.5% and Spain's IBEX is -1.2%. European economic data was generally positive, with Germany posting better than expected trade balance data and a drop in the Swiss unemployment rate to 2.9%. The euro is little changed at $1.2298.

Overnight, Asian stocks closed lower following Friday's disappointing U.S. employment data and cautious comments from China's Premier Wen Jiabao. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.9% and China's Shanghai Composite lost 2.4%. China's underperformance follows cautious comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who warned of the potential for "huge downward pressure" on China's economy, citing weak demand from Europe. China also posted tamer CPI data, which showed inflation cooling to 2.2% vs. the 2.3% expectation. This cooler inflation data may not be a surprise given last week's Chinese rate cut, which would not have been implemented if inflation were a pressing concern. The weakness in Japan followed a weaker than expected Machine Tool Orders.

In U.S. corporate news, there have been a few deals announced this morning. Amerigroup (AGP 89.78, +25.44) will be acquired by WellPoint (WLP 61.37, +1.46) for $92.00 per share in cash for a transaction value of approximately $4.9 billion. Upon completion, WellPoint, with its affiliated Medicaid plans, will serve more than four-and-a-half million beneficiaries of state sponsored health care programs... In a smaller deal, FX Alliance (FX 21.90, +6.20) will be acquired for $22.00 per share in cash by Thomson Reuters (TRI 28.47, 0.00)... Additionally, there are reports this morning suggesting that Vivendi (VIVEF 18.02, 0.00), which owns a 60% stake in Activision Blizzard (ATVI 12.04 -0.09), is considering exploring a sale of Activision.

Today marks the start of the Q2 earnings reporting period, with Alcoa's (AA 8.72, 0.00) earnings after the close today. Although AA provides little read-through to the rest of earnings season, reports later this week from more influential names like Google (GOOG 585.98, 0.00), JP Morgan (JPM 33.90, 0.00) and Wells Fargo (WFC 33.05, 0.00) will have a bigger impact.

06:34 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.50.

06:34 am : Nikkei...8896.88...-123.90...-1.40%. Hang Seng...19428.09...-372.60...-1.90%.

06:34 am : FTSE...5634.69...-27.90...-0.50%. DAX...6394.57...-15.50...-0.20%.

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)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader, http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader and http://chart.ly/users/wrbtrader

http://www.thestrategylab.com
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
Skype Messenger: kebec2002
questions@thestrategylab.com
Go Back To TheStrategyLab.com Homepage