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 trading summary

Trade Performance for Today: +16.20 points or $1620.00 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures.
Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures - 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE.
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures - 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup.

In addition, today's #FuturesTrades trading chat room logs provides details about each trade from entry to exit along with commentary as the trade traversed...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=880.

Also, posted below are direct links to information about my trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand and volatility along with being able to exploit these changes via WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis).

WRB Analysis Tutorials @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm and there's a free study guide of the WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1, 2 and 3 @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=180.

Volatility Trading Report (VTR) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm and there's a free trade signal strategy @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=89 so that you can freely test drive one of our trade strategies with support prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=1058

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Market Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED actions, global economics that had an impact on today's price action. Simply, I'm a strong believer that many variables causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility that's arguably just as important as my technical analysis.

CNNMoney.com - Dow, S&P Retreat For Second Day

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

By Ken Sweet, contributing writer
June 2, 2011: 4:33 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P falling for a second day in a row, as fears about the economy and concerns about consumer spending weighed on investors' minds.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 42 points, or 0.3%, to end at 12,249, with Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) and Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) the biggest drags on the blue-chip index. At one point in the session, the Dow stumbled nearly 100 points.

The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 2 points, or 0.1%, to 1,313; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) rose 4 points higher, or 0.2%.

Retail stocks pressured the broader market throughout the day, as major retail chains reported mostly disappointing same-store sales. Limited Brands (LTD, Fortune 500), Kohl's (KSS, Fortune 500) and Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) were among the worst performers on the S&P 500.

"Those are some pretty big names giving some disappointing numbers," said Frank Davis, senior equity trader with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "It adds to the already-heightened anxiety over the recent economic data."

Investors also remained sharply focused on the labor market. Weekly jobless claims stayed above the 400,000 level for the eighth straight week.

"Jobless claims have taken a lot more meaning over the last several weeks," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

The figure takes on even more importance in light of Wednesday's "shockingly weak" private sector jobs report, Luschini added. Both reports come ahead of the government's key monthly jobs report on Friday.

* Economic 'malaise' takes root

A CNNMoney survey of 26 economists expect a total gain of 170,000 jobs, and a private sector gain of 190,000; with the unemployment rate edging down to 8.9%.

Signs of a stalling recovery have been building, with stocks delivering their worst monthly performance in May since August 2010. But all three indexes are still up for the year so, while the daily gyrations may give investors nausea, the trend is still higher.

Stocks fell sharply Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting their steepest losses in nearly a year, following weak reports on jobs and manufacturing. A late downgrade on Greece's debt added to the rout.

Economy: The U.S. Commerce Department said April factory orders fell 1.2% -- slightly more than the 1% decline economists had expected.

Moody's said would consider downgrading the United States' AAA rating if Congress failed to act on the debt ceiling.

Companies: Shares of the for-profit education stocks jumped, after the Department of Education issued its final rules that aim to halt federal aid to schools whose graduates cannot earn enough to repay their loans.

Shares of Corinthian Colleges (COCO) spiked 27%, while shares of Apollo Group (APOL, Fortune 500) rose 11% on the news. Bridgepoint Education's (BPI) stock added 3%.

Online coupon company Groupon filed for a $750 million initial public offering on Thursday. Groupon plans to trade under the symbol "GRPN."

In the financial sector, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) shares slid more than 1% on reports that the Manhattan Attorney General's office is investigating the bank.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell 1% against the euro. The greenback was also lower versus the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for July delivery closed up 11 cents to $100.40 a barrel. AAA reported Thursday morning that gas prices rose to $3.784 per gallon, following 20 consecutive decreases.

Gold futures for July delivery dropped $10.50 to $1,535.50 an ounce.

* The sky is not falling - StockTwits

Bonds: The price on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.03%. On Wednesday. the benchmark yield fell below 3% Wednesday for the first time since December.

World markets: Global markets fell sharply following Wall Street's deep losses on Wednesday, and as investors digested yet another downgrade on Greece debt.

Britain's FTSE 100 slid 1.4%, while the DAX in Germany and France's CAC 40 tumbled nearly 2%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.4%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 1.6%, and Japan's Nikkei sank 1.7%.

Japan's market was under pressure amid domestic political turmoil. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament Thursday, by promising he will resign after the country's nuclear crisis is under control.



Yahoo! Finance - Market Update

4:10 pm : The major market averages finished the day mixed as the Nasdaq saw a gain of 0.2% while the Dow and S&P 500 lost 0.3% and 0.1% respectively.

Education stocks were among the best performers after the Department of Education issued a favorable gainful employment ruling. The final rules published last night give the for-profit education companies more time to comply with the changes than the initial ruling had proposed. Corinthian Colleges (COCO 5.06, +1.07), Strayer Education (STRA 144.95, +23.08) and Apollo Group (APOL 46.90, +4.71) saw some of the biggest gains as a result of the announcement.

Financials reversed early losses, finishing the day higher by 0.2%. Goldman Sachs (GS 134.38, -1.79) was among the worst performers in the S&P 500 Financial Index, falling on reports that a Manhattan prosecutor served the company a subpoena. Heavyweights Bank of America (BAC 11.30, +0.06), Citigroup (C 40.01, +0.36), and Wells Fargo (WFC 27.16, +0.22) saw early losses after Moody's announced the companies were placed on review for a possible downgrade due to government support returning to pre-crisis levels. Those losses were erased as the session wore on, and all three ended the day in positive territory.

Industrials were among the top performing sectors today, buoyed by a strong second quarter earnings report from Joy Global (JOYG 90.51, +4.63). The company announced earnings of $1.52 per share, topping the Thomson Reuters consensus by $0.17, and reported an 18.6% increase in revenues to $1.06 billion. The company said it expects full year 2011 earnings per share of $5.30-$5.60, up from its previous estimate of $5.10-$5.40. Peer John Deere (DE 84.23, +1.47) piggybacked gains, ending up 1.8%.

Retail stocks lagged today after May Same Store Sales were generally disappointing. Saks (SKS 11.21, +0.15) was a notable outperformer, with sales climbing 20.2% versus the consensus estimate of an 8.2% rise. The reports on the whole were generally weaker-than-expected with Gap (GPS 18.12, -0.78), Kohl's (KSS 51.39, -1.53), and JC Penney (JCP 33.07, -0.92) all missing estimates.

Treasuries ended at their worst levels of the day, pushed to their lows after Moody's warned the U.S. credit rating could be cut if no imminent progress is made on debt ceiling talks. The 10-yr yield finished just below the 3.03% threshold while the 2-10-yr spread steepened to 256.6 basis points.

The dollar index finished near its worst levels of the day after reports that a new three-year "adjustment plan" had been agreed upon in principle in an effort to aid Greece. Those reports were later denied by the European Union Commission, but the news helped the euro hit a one-month high above 1.45.

Nonfarm payrolls, nonfarm private payrolls, the unemployment rate, hourly earnings, and average workweek will all be released at 8:30 a.m. ET tomorrow with ISM Services following at 10 a.m. ET.DJ30 -41.59 NASDAQ +4.12 SP500 -1.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1232/1.75 bln/1314 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1369/788.0 mln/1636

3:30 pm : Crude oil finished higher by 0.1% to $100.40 per barrel. Crude oil plunged following this morning's inventory data, which showed a large build vs expectations for a draw down. It notched lows at $98.46 in mid-morning trade. However, after falling to those highs, crude oil began rebounding, eventually trading back to the flat line, and back above the $100 mark, where it closed on the day. July natural gas finished higher by 3.6% to $4.80 per MMBtu. Futures surged to their best levels since late Jan following this morning's inventory data, which showed a smaller-than-expected build.

August gold finished lower by 0.6% to $1533.30 per ounce, while July silver fell 3.6% to end at $36.34 per ounce. Both metals sold off in morning trade after gold prices broke technical support. Both metals were able to rebound helped by a further pull back in the dollar which correlated with a report that euro zone officials have agreed in principle on a new 3-yr adjustment program for Greece. In afterhours trade both metals pulled back modestly, when the dollar spiked, following head lines from the EU commission who denied an agreement on Greece had been reached DJ30 -22.55 NASDAQ +7.52 SP500 +0.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1350/1.5 bln/1190 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1511/701.2 mln/1467

3:00 pm : Stocks continue their mixed trade as the Nasdaq and S&P trade higher, and only the Dow remains in negative territory.

Treasuries finished at their worst levels of the session, moving lower after Moody's warned the U.S. credit rating could be cut if no imminent progress is made on debt ceiling talks. Sellers pressured longer dated paper with the long bond falling 1.7% to sizably outpace losses in the rest of the complex. The 10-yr yield finished the day at 3.028%, wiping away most of yesterday's decline in the yield. Some bearish steepening occurred along the yield curve with the 2-10-yr spread widening to 256.6 and the 10-30-yr spread hitting 121.7.

Tomorrow's data will be the most anticipated of the week as nonfarm payrolls, nonfarm private payrolls, unemployment rate, hourly earnings, average workweek, and ISM Services are all released.DJ30 -8.55 NASDAQ +8.60 SP500 +1.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1260/1.40 bln/1256 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1389/607.0 mln/1585

2:30 pm : All three major averages were briefly trading in positive territory before the Dow and S&P slipped back below the falt line. Action remains mixed in a somewhat volatile session.

Financials are among the top performing sectors in the S&P 500 today, trading collectively higher by 0.4%. Today's outperformance is somewhat of a surprise given all of the negative headlines that were out this morning. Goldman Sachs (GS 134.55, -1.62) remains in negative territory, but is well off its worst levels of the day despite this morning's report that the company received a subpoena from a Manhattan prosecutor. Also out this morning was a note from Moody's saying Bank of America (BAC 11.31, +0.07), Wells Fargo (WFC 27.15, +0.21), and Citigroup (C 40.08, +0.43) were placed on review for a possible downgrade as government support of the firms returns to pre-crisis levels. Shares of all three stocks were hit hard on the release of the news, but have since moved into positive territory. DJ30 -36.18 NASDAQ +0.97 SP500 -1.95 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1286/1.30 bln/1232 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1414/553.0 mln/1536

2:00 pm : The major market averages remain mixed with the Dow and S&P holding slight losses and the Nasdaq seeing small gains.

The euro ran to its best levels of the session following a Reuters report stating a new three-year adjustment plan has been agreed upon in principle in an effort to aid Greece. The single currency crossed above the 1.45 level, touching a session high of 1.4513 shortly after the release. Details of the new plan have yet to be released. The announcement pushed other 'risk' currencies higher with the pound crossing 1.6360 and the Australian dollar moving above 1.0660. Data out overnight is pretty quiet with just Britain's Halifax PMI and Services PMI readings expected to impact trade. DJ30 -18.69 NASDAQ +3.79 SP500 -0.70 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1180/1.20 bln/1339 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1233/508.3 mln/1692

1:30 pm : The equity market has recovered off the mid-day lows, and is now back at the flat line as we progress into the afternoon. The trading has been temepered today, in the wake of yesterday's large drop and ahead of tomorrow's key employment report, which has the potential to cause a large swing in either direction. A disappointing reading may be priced into the market given yesterday's drop, but excitement over a positive reading is likely to be tempered by a corresponding reduction in expectations for continued monetary accomodation.

The expectations for tomorrow's May employment data include a +170K increase in Nonfarm Payrolls vs. +244K in April, and an Unemplyoment Rate of 9.0%, unchanged from April. Hourly Earnings are expected to rise 0.2% vs. a 0.1% increase in April, while the Average Workweek is expected to comin in at 34.3 hours, in-line with that of April.DJ30 -30.35 NASDAQ +4.75 SP500 -1.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1287/1.10 bln/1214 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1340/464.1 mln/1588

1:00 pm : The major market averages have been unable to shrug off this morning's disappointing initial and continuing claims data. Earlier weakness has been mostly erased with the Dow and S&P seeing small losses while the Nasdaq holds a slight gain.

Education stocks are among the best performers today, seeing gains on the heels of the Department of Education's favorable gainful employment ruling. The final rules published last night give the for-profit education companies more time to comply with the changes than the initial ruling had proposed. Corinthian Colleges (COCO 5.20, +1.21), Strayer Education (STRA 141.30, +19.43) and Apollo Group (APOL 46.35, +4.16) are among the movers on the news.

Retail stocks have been on many trader's radars as May Same Store Sales were released. Saks (SKS 11.28, +0.22) was a notable outperformer, with sales climbing 20.2% versus the consensus estimate of a 8.2% rise. The reports were generally weaker-than-expected with Gap (GPS 18.27, -0.63), Kohl's (KSS 51.42, -1.50), and JC Penney (JCP 33.05, -0.94) all missing estimates.

Joy Global (JOYG 90.76, +4.87) is buoying today's relative strength in industrial stocks after the company announced strong second quarter results. The company announced earnings of $1.52 per share, topping the Thomson Reuters consensus by $0.17, and reported an 18.6% increase in revenues to $1.06 billion. The company said it expects full year 2011 earnings per share of $5.30-$5.60, up from its previous estimate of $5.10-$5.40. Peer John Deere (DE 84.05, +1.29) is piggybacking gains, trading up 1.5%.

Treasuries continue to hold their losses despite the continued slide in equities. The 10-yr yield has tested the 3.00% level on a couple of occasions, and currently sits at that level.DJ30 -38.94 NASDAQ +1.27 SP500 -2.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1025/1.01 bln/1466 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1026/419.0 mln/1907

12:30 pm : The major market averages have recovered some of their losses, but still trade modestly lower. The Dow leads today's decline, trading off 0.6% in early afternoon trade.

Industrials are the top performing sector in the S&P, trading up 0.1%. The S&P 500 Industrials Sector is being supported by strength in Joy Global (JOYG 90.1, +4.43) following the company's top and bottom line beats. The company announced earnings of $1.52 per share, topping the Thomson Reuters consensus by $0.17, and reported an 18.6% increase in revenues to $1.06 billion. The company said it expects full year 2011 earnings per share of $5.30-$5.60, up from its previous estimate of $5.10-$5.40. Peer John Deere (DE 84.04, +1.28) is piggybacking gains, trading up 1.5%.DJ30 -67.47 NASDAQ -3.71 SP500 -5.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 992/907.3 mln/1464 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 952/377.1 mln/1984

12:00 pm : The Nasdaq is now trading in negative territory, joining the Dow and S&P. Selling has pushed the Dow down 0.6% while the S&P trails just behind with a loss of 0.5%. The Nasdaq is the best performer on the down session, off just 0.2%.

As stocks slide to their worst levels of the session Treasuries are beginning to attract buyers. Maturities across the complex remain in negative territory, but are well off their worst levels of the day as the 30-yr leads the way lower with a loss of 0.7%. After climbing briefly above the 3.00% level on two separate occasions the 10-yr yield has eased to 2.97%. Look for the 2.95% level to provide short-term support with many traders focused on the 2.40%-2.80% zone of the medium-term. The yield curve has flattened from earlier levels, but still remains steeper for the day with the 2-10-yr spread near 252.5.DJ30 -78.18 NASDAQ -6.65 SP500 -6.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 972/781.6 mln/1461 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 909/324.5 mln/1986

11:30 am : Markets remain mixed with the Nasdaq holding a small gain while the S&P and Dow slip further into negative territory.

Retailers are in focus this morning following May Same Store Sales results. The reports were generally weaker-than-expected, with 15 misses and nine beats. Saks (SKS 11.30, +0.24) was the notable outperformer, at +20.2% vs. the +8.2% consensus. Gap (GPS 18.58, -0.32), JC Penney (JCP 32.95, -1.04), and Kohl's (KSS 51.48, -1.44) are all lower on disappointing comps.DJ30 -47.95 NASDAQ +2.26 SP500 -3.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1282/621.5 mln/1094 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1320/263.5 mln/1509

11:00 am : The major market averages continue their mixed trade as the Nasdaq leads the charge with a 0.5% gain. The S&P 500 is holding a small gain of 0.1% while the Dow lags with a loss of 0.1%.

Education stocks are seeing strong gains today following the Department of Education's favorable ruling on gainful employment. The final rules published last night give the for-profit education companies more time to comply with the changes than initial ruling had proposed. Corinthian Colleges (COCO 5.29, +1.30), Strayer Education (STRA 145.10, +23.23) and Apollo Group (APOL 47.40, +5.21) are among the names trading sharply higher on the news.DJ30 -12.26 NASDAQ 12.52 SP500 1.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1401/495.1 mln/920 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1533/208.4 mln/1263

10:35 am : Commodities are trading higher today, while the dollar index continues to trade in the red. The CRB Commodities Index is showing gains of 0.4% currently.

Natural gas futures have been running higher ahead of this morning's inventory data. The energy component opened pit trading around $4.66/MMBtu and rallied up to current session highs of $4.71/MMBtu. Ahead of the data, it was just under that high. Following the data, which showed a build of 83 bcf versus the consensus of a build of ~90bcf, natural gas futures spiked ~2.8% to new session highs of $4.83/MMBtu and are now up 3.8% at $4.80/MMBtu.

Crude oil futures ticked lower at the open of pit trading, but have remained above the $100.00/barrel level all morning. Crude almost hit the $101 area when it rallied this morning in the first 30 minutes of trade, but stopped at $100.96/barrel (current session highs) and is now up 0.1% at $100.39/barrel. Note that crude oil weekly inventory data will be released today at 11:00am EST.

Precious metals were lower earlier this morning and are now extending those losses, mostly notably in silver futures. Silver just quickly fell another ~40 cents/oz to new session lows of $36.46/oz. and is now down 2.9% at $36.59/oz. Gold sold off as well, but the losses are much more modest. Gold lost just over $2/oz. to new session lows of $1535.20/oz. during the time silver sold off in recent trade. Gold is currently 0.5% lower at $1535.90/oz.
DJ30 -9.38 NASDAQ +11.04 SP500 +1.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1323/378.1 mln/957 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1544/162.1 mln/1197

10:00 am : The major market averages remain mixed with the Nasdaq leading the way with a gain of 0.3%. Factory orders figures for April were just posted. They decreased by 1.2%, which is worse than the 1.0% decrease that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com.DJ30 -15.06 NASDAQ +8.41 SP500 -0.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1418/125.3 mln/718 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1624/60.8 mln/975

09:45 am : The major market averages are trading mixed in the opening minutes. The Dow and S&P trade slightly lower while the Nasdaq is holding small gains. For-profit education names are sharply higher after the Department of Education released its final gainful employment rules which will impact the availability for federal loans at these schools. Stocks in the space are trading sharply higher. Elsewhere, retail stocks are mostly lower following a disappointing batch of same store sales.

DJ30 -18.01 NASDAQ +5.46 SP500 -0.14

09:15 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.10. Equity futures are pointing to small gains at the open as stocks look to rebound from yesterday's sell off. Economic data released earlier this morning showed initial (422K actual v. 413K expected) and continuing (3.711 million actual v. 3.688 million expected) claims coming in above forecasts while productivity (1.8% QoQ actual v. 1.6% QoQ expected) and unit labor costs (0.7% QoQ actual v. 0.9% QoQ expected) were mixed. Treasuries trade near their worst levels of the day, pushing the 10-yr yield up to 2.99%. The dollar index has climbed off its worst levels, but still trades lower by 0.6%. In stock specific news, education names are seeing strength in pre-market trade on reports that for-profit colleges will have more time to comply with new financial aid rules. Also, retailers will be in focus today following the release of same store sales.

08:58 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.10. Overseas markets saw heavy selling following yesterday's plunge on Wall Street. Asian markets (Nikkei -1.7%, Hang Seng -1.6%, Shanghai Composite -1.4%) were hit hard overnight while European indices (FTSE -0.8%, CAC -1.2%, DAX 1.0%) trade lower at midday. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a vote of no confidence, and said he would resign once the recovery from the natural disasters progresses. Australia posted a retail sales beat (1.1% MoM actual v. 0.4% MoM expected) and a trade balance miss (AUD1.6 bln actual v. AUD2.07 bln expected). Japanese automakers were among the worst performers as Nissan Motor and Toyota Motor each lost close to 3.3%. Shares in China slipped to a four-month low with financials among the biggest decliners. Agricultural Bank of China lost 2.5% on the session.

European markets are under pressure today as selling in Asia has spilled over to Europe. Comments by European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet indicated his desire to form a European Union finance ministry and give leaders the ability to limit spending have given stocks a boost from their worst levels. Automakers in Germany are weak with Daimler and Volkswagen seeing respective losses of 1.6% and 0.9%. Mining stocks in Britain are among the weakest performers across the pond with giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton each seeing losses of close to 2.4%.

08:34 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +1.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.10. Initial jobless claims for the week ended May 28 totaled 422,000, which is down 6,000 from the prior week and also a greater tally than the 413,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. However, continuing claims fell to 3.711 million from 3.712 million. A revised productivity number for the first quarter was also posted minutes ago; it showed a 1.8% increase when a 1.6% gain had been expected. A revision to the previous unit labor costs for the first quarter showed an increased by 0.7%, which is less than the 0.9% increase that had been widely anticipated.

07:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.90. Futures are pointing to a flat open as equities look to regain some momentum following yesterday's heavy sell off. The queit morning for equity futures comes despite heavy selling in Asia (Nikkei -1.7%, Hang Seng -1.6%, Shanghai Composite -1.4%) and Europe (FTSE -0.9%, CAC -1.3%, DAX 1.3%). Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a vote of no-confidence, but pledged to resign once the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is resolved. European equity markets have climbed off their worst levels of the session following comments by European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet indicating his desire to form a European Union finance ministry and give leaders the ability to limit spending. The euro touched a one-month high of 1.4486 against the dollar following Mr. Trichet's comments.

Treasuries have eased off of yesterday's closing levels as overseas traders took profits following yesterday's strong move to the upside. The 10-yr yield has recently eased from its session high near 2.98% to 2.96%, but still remains slightly elevated.

In stock specific news, education names are seeing strength in pre-market trade on reports that for-profit colleges will have more time to comply with new financial aid rules.

Today's data menu is full with initial and continuing claims, productivity, and unit labor costs all being released at 8:30 a.m. ET, and factory orders due out at 10 a.m. ET.

06:45 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.60.

06:45 am : Nikkei...9555.04...-164.60...-1.70%. Hang Seng...23253.84...-372.60...-1.60%.

06:45 am : FTSE...5886.35...-42.30...-0.70%. DAX...7150.67...-66.80...-0.90%.

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

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader and http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader

Phone: +1.708.572.4885
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