TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

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

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

Trade Log: All of my trades were posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room. You can read today's price action trading information about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit) as the trade traversed to its completion. Also, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips in ##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=154&t=2325


Also, posted below are direct links to information about my price action trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand and volatility along with being able to exploit these changes via WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis). I'm primarily a day trader because it suits my personal lifestyle but I do occasionally swing trade and position trade. Simply, my trade method is applicable for position trading, swing trading and day trading.

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

Price Action Analysis via 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=285&t=3049 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 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


4:20 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended the Thursday affair on a flat note with the S&P 500 slipping 0.2% ahead of tomorrow's release of the March Employment Situation Report (Briefing.com consensus 200k). Other contributing factors for today's decline included weakness from the oil pit and the underperformance of the heavyweight financial sector (-0.2%). The benchmark index (-0.2%) ended its day in-line with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%) and behind the Nasdaq Composite (UNCH).

The equity market began its day on a flat note as cautious trading overseas and indecision from the oil pit took center stage at the open. International bourses adopted a risk-off posture as they set their sights on tomorrow's influential Employment Situation Report for March. However, a rebound in crude oil and some early sector leadership from the heavily-weighted health care (-0.2%), technology (-0.2%), and financials (-0.2%) would lift the indices to their best levels of the day.

Nevertheless, the rebound in crude would not last as the energy component returned to its intraday low ($38.19/bbl) shortly before the conclusion of its pit session. As a result, WTI crude ended its day lower by 0.2% at $38.29/bbl while the broader market ended in the lower half of its trading range.

On the leaderboard, materials (-0.9%), industrials (-0.4%), consumer staples (-0.3%), and financials (-0.2%) trailed while utilities (+0.5%) and consumer discretionary (-0.1%) outperformed.

The commodity-sensitive materials space (-0.9%) ended its day on the bottom of the board after the release of the quarterly grain stockpile report from the USDA. The report showed that inventories of soybeans and wheat grew a respective 15.0% and 20.0% since last year. Agrochemical names such as Monsanto (MON 87.74, -3.35) and Mosaic (MOS 27.00, -1.12) ended their day with the steepest losses.

Life insurance names underperformed in the financial sector (-0.2%) as they pulled back from yesterday's rally that followed a favorable ruling for MetLife (MET 43.94, -0.79). On that note, the stock surrendered 1.8% after rallying 5.4% yesterday.

In the influential technology space (-0.2%), large cap names pulled back from their recent highs while the high-beta chipmakers underperformed. The PHLX Semiconductor ended its day lower by 0.6% as the sub-group fell in sympathy with Micron Technology (MU 10.47, -0.01). The chipmaker slid as much as 2.9% after guiding its third quarter earnings estimates below analysts' estimates. Conversely, tech heavyweight and Dow component IBM (IBM 151.45, +3.04) topped the price-weighted index.

Biotechnology outperformed throughout today's session as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 260.81, +5.87) extended its month to date gain to 1.6%. Conversely, weakness from drug manufactures Pfizer (PFE 29.64, -0.43) and Allergan (AGN 268.03, -6.91) weighed on the broader health care sector.

The U.S. Dollar Index (94.62, -0.22) ended off its low as the greenback regained some ground against the yen and the euro. The euro/dollar pair gained 0.4% and ended at 1.1383 after trading as high as 1.1411. Separately, the dollar gained 0.1% (112.56) against the yen.

The Treasury complex inched towards session highs throughout the afternoon with the yield on the 10-yr note ending its day lower by five basis point at 1.77%.

Today's participation was above the recent average as more than 974 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Today's data included weekly initial claims and the Chicago PMI for March:

Initial claims for the week ending March 26 rose by 11,000 to 276,000 (Briefing.com consensus 265,000).
Despite the headline increase, the series remains inside a 250,000-300,000 range that has been in effect since July 2014.
Including today's release, initial claims have now been below the 300,000 mark for 56 consecutive weeks.
There were no special factors influencing the report and the four-week moving average moved up by 3,000 to 263,250.
Continuing claims for the week ending March 19 were 2.173 million, down 7,000 from the upwardly revised prior week level of 2.180 million (from 2.179 million).
The four-week moving average for the series fell 14,500 to 2.191 million.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index registered a 53.6 reading for March, which was above the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 49.9 and well above the prior month reading of 47.6.
Today's reading lifted the index above 50, which is the demarcation line between contraction and expansion in activities.
Over the past seven months (including February), the index registered four contractionary readings, making today's report a welcome sight; however, the series will need to continue expanding in coming months in order to make a run at last year's highs.
The March improvement was driven by snapbacks in Production and Employment components of the report. The Production Index spiked to 53.7 from 44.0 while Employment surged to 52.8 from 45.2, reaching its highest level since April 2015.
Furthermore, New Orders (to 55.6 from 51.7) and Order Backlogs (to 49.7 from 45.3) also improved, underpinning the headline increase. Despite the improvements, Backlogs remained below 50 to continue a stretch that dates back to January 2015.

Tomorrow's economic data will include the 8:30 ET release of the Employment Situation Report for March (Briefing.com consensus 200k). Separately, the ISM Index for March (Briefing.com consensus 50.6), Construction Spending for February (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%), and the final reading of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Briefing.com consensus 90.5) will each cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite -2.8% YTD
Russell 2000 -1.9% YTD
S&P 500 +0.8% YTD
Dow Jones +1.5% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar rallied off its 5-month low in afternoon trading, putting pressure on commodities
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity index, are down -0.2% at 78.83
Crude oil was volatile, trading briefly to a high of the day around $39.00/barrel before pulling back and closing nearly unchanged on the day
May crude oil futures closed down -0.2% at $38.29/barrel
Natural gas plummeted following EIA storage data that showed a draw of -25 bcf, compared to expectations for a draw of -23 bcf
In the middle of the trading day nat gas futures staged a rally, but still closed down -1.5% at $1.96/MMBtu
Gold was trending slightly downward all day, but managed to close higher
June gold futures closed up +0.7% at $1235.90/oz
Silver rallied in the afternoon before consolidating slightly lower, closing above yesterday's closing price
May silver futures closed up +1.8% at $15.48/oz
Copper staged a rally midday but still closed lower on the day
May copper futures closed down -0.5% at $2.18/lb

2:55 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] As the market enters its final hour of trade, the major averages trade near session lows. The S&P 500 (-0.3%) has slipped nine points from its session high.

Nine sectors trade in the red with materials (-1.2%) leading the downside. Meanwhile, the remaining decliners show losses between 0.1% (health care) and 0.5% (telecom services). Conversely, countercyclical utilities (+0.4%) show the only gain.

In the financial space (-0.3%), real estate trusts demonstrate relative strength while life insurance names underperform. Insurance names are pulling back from yesterday's gains as MetLife (MET 43.97, -0.76) slips 0.8% after spiking 5.4% yesterday. On the flipside, Dow component American Express (AXP 61.20, +0.91) outperforms in the price-weighted index. The broader sector shows the second-largest 2016 loss (year-to-date -5.7%) only trailing health care (year-to-date -5.8%) over that time. In March, the group has gained 7.0%.

On the commodities front, WTI crude ended its day lower by 0.2% at $38.29/bbl while natural gas fell 1.5% to $1.96/MMbtu.

2:25 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages float at session lows as the S&P 500 (-0.1%) outpaces the losses in the Dow Jones Industrial Averages (-0.1%) and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%).

In front of the pack, utilities (+0.4%), energy (+0.1%), and health care (-0.1%) lead while the materials sector extends its loss to 0.8%.

In the industrial space (-0.2%), General Electric (GE 31.97, +0.14) outperforms after requesting to have its "Systemically Important Financial Institution" designation removed. The company formally requested the change after it confirmed its recent plans to divest its GE Asset Management division and its hotel financing division. This would be the latest round of divestitures for General Electric as it looks to shrink its financial services arm. On the flipside, Dow component Boeing (BA 127.32, -1.25) shows the largest loss in the price-weighted index. The broader industrial sector has trimmed its year to date gain, but continues to show the largest 2016 climb among cyclical sectors (year-to-date +4.6%).

WTI crude trades at $38.65/bbl (+0.9%) ahead of its pit session close at 14:30 ET

2:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover near session lows as the S&P 500 (-0.1%) trades behind the Dow Jones Industrial Average (UNCH) and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%).

Six sectors trade in the red with materials (-0.6%), telecom services (-0.3%), and industrials (-0.2%) leading to the downside. Conversely, energy (+0.2%) and health care (+0.1%) top the board.

In the materials space (-0.6%), agrochemical giant Monsanto (MON 88.18, -2.91) floats above its worst level of the day after the USDA released its quarterly grain stockpile report this morning. The inventories showed a 1.0% gain in corn stockpiles from March 2015 while soybeans and wheat spiked a respective 15.0% and 20.0% over the past year. The broader materials space has gained 7.6% month to date and trails only energy (month-to-date +9.5%) and technology (month-to-date +9.2%) over that time.

On the commodities front, gold ended its day higher by 0.7% at $1,235.90/ozt while oil trades higher by 0.9% at $38.63/bbl.

1:35 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices hold small gains in afternoon trading in an extremely quiet session.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that IBM (IBM 152.37, +3.96), American Express (AXP 61.39, +1.10), and Goldman Sachs (GS 157.40, +0.90) are outperforming. IBM is leading the Dow after announcing plans to acquire Bluewolf Group, a Salesforce's partner and a 'globally recognized leader' in cloud consulting and implementation services. The deal was reportedly valued at $200 mln.

Conversely, Boeing (BA 127.05, -1.53) is the worst-performing Dow component following reports that their planned job cuts could exceed 8k this year, just a day after the company said that number would be closed to 4,000.

At current levels, the DJIA is poised to end March with gains of more than 7.3%, having rallied 1.2% this week

1:10 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages trade on a flat note at midday as investors show caution ahead of tomorrow's release of the March Employment Situation Report. The S&P 500 (+0.1%) has traversed a narrow six-point range as weakness in oil and a persistent downturn in the dollar dominate an otherwise quiet range-bound session. Currently, the Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) trades narrowly ahead of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) and the benchmark index (+0.1%).

Overnight, index futures responded to the risk-off trade in international bourses as investors looked towards the end of the quarter and tomorrow's Nonfarm Payrolls reading (Briefing.com consensus 200k). However, implications from the reading may have weakened in light of recent dovish remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Ms. Yellen recognized increasing strength in employment figures, but still cautioned against moving too quickly towards interest rate normalization in light of tightening economic conditions. On a related note, Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on China to Negative from Stable while leaving the rating at AA-.

Additionally, a larger loss in oil also gave investors another reason to adopt a risk-off approach. However, crude oil has been able to climb off its low ($37.87/bbl) since the opening bell as a continued downturn in the greenback lends some support to the dollar-denominated commodity. The U.S. Dollar Index (94.57, -0.27) floats above its session low as the currency market continues to unwind the policy divergence trade. Currently, the euro has gained 0.4% (1.1383) against the dollar while the dollar/yen pair trades higher by 0.1% at 112.51.

Six sectors trade above their flat lines with health care (+0.3%), consumer discretionary (+0.2%), utilities (+0.2%), and financials (+0.2%) all trading in a narrow range. Conversely, materials (-0.6%), telecom services (-0.3%), industrials (-0.2%) show the largest losses.

In the heavyweight health care space (+0.3%), biotechnology outperforms, evidenced by the 2.9% gain in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 262.27, +7.33). The biotechnology ETF has managed to climb back into the green for the month (month-to-date 2.3%), narrowing its year to date loss to 20.8%. Meanwhile, Endo Intl (ENDP 227.84, -0.61) underperforms after being named in a lawsuit, which alleges that company illegally blocked lower-cost versions of its drugs.

Dow component IBM (IBM 152.59, +4.18) outperforms in the technology space (+0.1%) after the company announced plans to acquire Bluewolf Group. The company is a major partner of Salesforce.com (CRM 74.04, -0.26). Separately, the high-beta chipmakers display relative weakness following mixed earnings results and guidance from Micron Technology (MU 10.16, -0.31).

The energy space (UNCH) recently dipped back into negative territory as oil moved beneath its flat line. At this juncture, WTI crude trades lower by 0.1% at $38.29/bbl. The broader sector has had a volatile session as it swings between a 0.8% gain and a 0.5% loss. However, the space still shows the largest gain in the month of March (month-to-date +9.4%).

The Treasury complex has gained since the opening bell as the yield on the 10-yr note fell from 1.83% (UNCH) to 1.80% (-3 bps) over that time.

Today's data included weekly initial claims and the Chicago PMI for March:

Initial claims for the week ending March 26 rose by 11,000 to 276,000 (Briefing.com consensus 265,000).
Despite the headline increase, the series remains inside a 250,000-300,000 range that has been in effect since July 2014.
Including today's release, initial claims have now been below the 300,000 mark for 56 consecutive weeks.
There were no special factors influencing the report and the four-week moving average moved up by 3,000 to 263,250.
Continuing claims for the week ending March 19 were 2.173 million, down 7,000 from the upwardly revised prior week level of 2.180 million (from 2.179 million).
The four-week moving average for the series fell 14,500 to 2.191 million.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index registered a 53.6 reading for March, which was above the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 49.9 and well above the prior month reading of 47.6.
Today's reading lifted the index above 50, which is the demarcation line between contraction and expansion in activities.
Over the past seven months (including February), the index registered four contractionary readings, making today's report a welcome sight; however, the series will need to continue expanding in coming months in order to make a run at last year's highs.
The March improvement was driven by snapbacks in Production and Employment components of the report. The Production Index spiked to 53.7 from 44.0 while Employment surged to 52.8 from 45.2, reaching its highest level since April 2015.
Furthermore, New Orders (to 55.6 from 51.7) and Order Backlogs (to 49.7 from 45.3) also improved, underpinning the headline increase. Despite the improvements, Backlogs remained below 50 to continue a stretch that dates back to January 2015.

12:25 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages float below fresh session highs as the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) trades ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.2%).

Heavily-weighted health care (+0.3%) and telecom services (+0.3%) currently lead technology (+0.2%) and consumer discretionary (+0.2%) on the leaderboard.

In the heavyweight technology space (+0.2%), Dow component IBM (IBM 152.47, +4.06) outperforms the broader sector and the price-weighted index after announcing plans to acquire one of Salesforce.com's (CRM 73.88, -0.42) partners, Bluewolf Group. Elsewhere, fellow Dow constituent Apple (AAPL 109.35, -0.01) trades flat as it defends a monthly gain of 12.0%. This compares to a March gain of 9.5% in the broader sector.

The high-beta chipmakers demonstrate relative weakness, evidenced by the 0.2% decline in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. In the index, Micron Technology (MU 10.20, -0.28) underperforms after reporting mixed results after yesterday's close. The company beat bottom-line estimates on light revenue and guided third quarter earnings below consensus.

11:55 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have traded sideways since our last update as the S&P 500 (+0.1%) extends its March gain to 7.0%.

The leaderboard remains little changed with utilities (+0.2%) trading in-line with technology (+0.2%), consumer discretionary (+0.2%), and energy (+0.2%) in the front of the pack.

In the energy space (+0.3%), independent oil and gas names outperform while pipeline companies and oilfield servicers underperform. On that note, Anadarko Petroleum (APC 46.73, +0.34) and ConocoPhillips (COP 40.42, +0.34) have gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Separately, Dow component Exxon Mobil (XOM 84.53, +0.01) trades on a flat note. The broader energy sector leads the other groups on a month to date basis, as the space shows a 9.6% gain since the beginning of March. Meanwhile, WTI crude has gained 14.4% over that time.

The Treasury complex has gained in recent action as the yield on the 10-yr note slips two basis points to 1.81%.

11:30 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) trades in-line with the S&P 500 (+0.1%) as the benchmark index floats two points beneath its high.

Four sectors trade in the red with materials (-0.5%) and industrials (-0.2%) leading the downside while telecom services (-0.1%) and health care (-0.1%) flirt with their respective flat lines.

In the health care space (-0.1%), pharmaceutical name Endo Intl (ENDP 26.63, -1.82) has plunged 6.4% after the Federal Trade Commission named the company in a complaint. The lawsuit alleges that the company violated antitrust laws by paying generic competitors to not enter the market for its Opana ER and Lidoderm drugs. Elsewhere, biotechnology has extended its gain as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 259.77, +4.83) rises 2.9% and re-enters positive territory for the month of March (month-to-date +1.2%). The broader health care space has gained 2.7% over that period, compared to a 6.9% spike in the benchmark index.

The U.S. Dollar Index (94.50, -0.34) has advanced in recent trade as the yen and euro retreat. The dollar trades flat against the yen at 112.41 while the euro/dollar pair trades at 1.1391 (+0.5%).

11:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar is trading near 5-month lows, giving a boost to commodities this morning
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are up +0.4% to 79.23
Crude oil rallies to new intra-day highs around $39.00/barrel before pulling back slightly
May crude oil futures are currently up +1.1% at $38.79/barrel
Natural gas plummeted to new lows following inventory data that showed a draw of -25 bcf vs expectations for a draw around -23 bcf
Natural gas initially climbed to a 7-week high around $2.02/MMBtu in morning trading before its notable pullback, currently trading down -1% at $1.97/MMBtu
Gold initially spikes after the open before reversing & hitting a new low of the day around $1235.40/oz, gold is now trending sideways and slightly up in morning trade
May gold futures are currently up +0.8% at $1236.50
Silver initially spikes up in the morning and consolidates around the mid-point if its spike, currently trading sideways
May silver futures are currently up +1.3% at $15.41/oz
Copper trades notably higher, May copper futures are currently up +0.5% to $2.20/lb

10:55 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%) continues to navigate in a narrow five-point range while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.3%) outperforms.

Seven sectors trade in positive territory with energy (+0.4%), technology (+0.2%), and consumer discretionary (+0.2%) leading the upside.

In the consumer discretionary space (+0.2%), resort and leisure names outperform for the second day in a row as the sub-group rallies on more good news from Carnival (CCL 52.83, +0.46). The cruise ship operator received a price target increase at Stifel (from $64 to $67) after reporting a bottom-line beat in the first quarter yesterday. Meanwhile, Target (TGT 81.84, -1.75) has declined 2.1% after being downgraded to "Underweight" at Barclays. The broader discretionary sector tops the weekly leaderboard with a 2.2% gain, compared to a 1.4% gain in the benchmark index over that time.

On the commodities front, WTI crude trades higher by 0.8% at $38.64/bbl while gold has gained 0.6% to trade at $1,236.50/ozt.

10:00 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have traded sideways since the open as the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) trades ahead of the S&P 500 (UNCH).

Five sectors trade in the green as energy (+0.4%) and telecom services (+0.3%) extend their leads. Meanwhile, health care (-0.1%) is the only countercyclical sector in negative territory.

In the health care space (-0.1%), biotechnology demonstrates relative strength, evidenced by the 1.7% gain in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 259.50, +4.56). Meanwhile, generic drug manufactures demonstrate relative weakness in the group.

On the currency front, the U.S. Dollar Index (94.38, -0.46) has carved out a new session low as the greenback extends its losses against the euro and the yen. The euro has gained 0.6% against the dollar and trades at 1.1404 while the dollar/yen pair remains down 0.2% (112.23) after ticking off the 112.34 level in pre-market action.

9:50 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages began their day on a flat note as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) led the S&P 500 (UNCH) and the Nasdaq Composite (UNCH).

Five sectors began the day beneath their flat lines as technology (-0.2%), health care (-0.1%), and industrials (-0.1%) led the downside. On the flipside, consumer staples (+0.3%), energy (+0.2%), and financials (+0.2%) outperform. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Transportation Average (-0.1%) demonstrates relative weakness as rail names pullback from yesterday's gains. On that note, Norfolk Southern (NSC 83.70, -1.05) and CSX (CSX 26.04, -0.26) have declined 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

In commodities, WTI crude continues its choppy trade as the energy component vacillates near its flat line. Currently, oil trades higher by 0.4% at $38.46/bbl.

On the economic front, the just released Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for March rose to 53.6 from 47.6 in February. The March reading was above the Briefing.com consensus estimate, which was pegged at 49.9.

9:15 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.10.

The stock market is on track for a flat open as the S&P 500 futures trade at fair value.

Index futures climbed off their lows overnight as they tracked the trajectory of oil. However, within the last half hour WTI crude has slipped from $38.52/bbl level to trade at $38.04/bbl (-0.7%). For its part, continued weakness in the greenback has lent support to the dollar-denominated commodity as the U.S. Dollar Index (94.44, -0.40) hovers near its low. On that note, the euro/dollar pair trades at 1.1395 (+0.5%) while the dollar has lost 0.2% against the yen to trade at 112.18.

Elsewhere, global bourses struck a defensive posture ahead of tomorrow's influential Employment Situation Report. The Briefing.com consensus calls for a 200K increase in Nonfarm Payrolls while the consensus also estimates that the Unemployment Rate will hold at 4.9%. To be fair though, rate hike implication from the reading may have diminished in light of the recent dovish remarks from Fed Chair Yellen. The Fed Chair advocated a cautious approach to future rate hikes as uncertainty over China, falling oil prices, and tightening financial conditions restrict global growth. Speaking of China, overnight the S&P lowered its rating outlook for China to AA- Negative from AA- Stable.

In corporate news, American International Group (AIG 55.14, +0.62) has gained 1.1% after filing for an initial public offering for its mortgage insurance arm, United Guaranty Corp. Separately, Micron Technology (MU 10.30, -0.18) has slipped 1.7% in pre-market action as investors digest a bottom-line beat on light revenue in the second quarter. Additionally, the company offered below-consensus earnings guidance for the third quarter.

On the economic front, this week's initial jobless claims came in at 276,000, which was above both the Briefing.com consensus and last week's tally of 265,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims fell to 2.173 million from 2.180 million (revised from 2.179 million). Today's data will culminate with the 9:45 ET release of the Chicago PMI for March (Briefing.com consensus 49.9).

The Treasury complex erased it early gain after the below-consensus reading of weekly initial claims, and currently trades flat. The yield on the 10-yr note is unchanged at 1.83%.

8:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.10.

The S&P 500 futures trade at fair value.

The global equity markets are generally seeing pressure in the early stages of Thursday's action. It was another night with limited macro-data, so it could be that traders/investors may be squaring positions heading into the quarter end and the jobs' data tomorrow. The Shanghai Composite managed to squeak out a tiny gain for the day, but market closed before news that S&P lowered its rating outlook for China to AA- Negative from AA- Stable. There was little reaction in either US futures or EU equities, thus traders will have to wait until tomorrow night to see how the Mainland digests the news. Japanese shares continued to see back and forth action, for ending the day with a 0.7% decline. The yen was less of an issue overnight, but has continued its climb in recent trade. The dollar/yen pair is lower by 0.2% at 112.26.

In economic data:
Australia: Feb Skilled Vacancies: +2.7% vs +4.0% in Jan and Feb HIA New Home Sales: -5.3% vs +0.6% in Jan
New Zealand: Mar ANZ Activity Outlook: 29.4 vs 25.5 in Feb and Business Confidence: 3.2 vs 7.1 in Feb
South Korea: Feb Industrial Production: +3.3% vs 0.0%e

---Equity Markets ---

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.7% with Financials (+0.2%) and Tech (+0.4%) as the only sectors finishing in the green. The worst performing sectors were Consumer Staples (-2.5%) and Health Care (-1.2%). As for stock specific movers, Sharp traded 4% following the news that a deal with Foxconn had been reached. Toshiba gained +6.8% after it announced a it divested its white goods unit to Midea.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng continued to see lack-luster trading, closing down 0.1%. Some of the more notable movers of the day were China Construction Bank (-1.6%) and ICBC (-1.1%) after both companies reported disappointing FY15 earnings results. On the flip side, China Railway Construction Corp gained 2.6% today after the co exceeded its earnings expectations.
China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% today. With macro data out of the picture for today, it left Corporate earnings in focus. China Railway, China Cosco and China Shipping Container all gained roughly 1% after the companies reports results for FY15. Meanwhile, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co saw robust gains in the neighborhood of 9.5% after it announced a private placement

Major European indices trade lower across the board while the euro is higher by 0.5% against the dollar at 1.1389 after spending the night in a steady climb. True to this week's form, things have been relatively quiet on the news front, but investors received a boatload of economic data; however, the data has not had much impact on the price action in the region.

In economic data:
Eurozone March CPI -0.1% month-over-month, as expected (previous -0.2%); +1.0% year-over-year (consensus 0.9%; last 0.8%)
Germany's February Retail Sales -0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.1%); +5.4% year-over-year (consensus 2.2%; last -1.2%). Separately, Unemployment Change 0 (expected -7,000; last -9,000) and Unemployment Rate held at 6.2%, as expected
UK's Q4 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.5%; last 0.5%); +2.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 1.9%). Q4 Business Investment -2.0% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (previous -2.1%), Q4 Current Account -GBP32.70 billion (expected -GBP21.10 billion; previous -GBP20.10 billion), and Index of Services +0.9% (expected 0.8%; last 0.8%)
France's February Consumer Spending +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last 1.0%) and CPI +0.7% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last 0.3%)
Spain's March CPI +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.7%; last -0.4%); -0.8% year-over-year (consensus -0.6%; last -0.8%) and February Retail Sales +3.9% year-over-year (consensus 4.0%; last 3.3%)
Italy's March CPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last -0.2%); -0.2% year-over-year (consensus -0.3%; last -0.3%)

---Equity Markets---

UK's FTSE is lower by 0.3% with financials and consumer names struggling. Old Mutual, Barclays, Standard Chartered, ITV, InterContinental Hotels, and Next are down between 1.1% and 2.0%. On the upside, miners Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Glencore, and Randgold Resources have climbed between 1.0% and 1.5%.
Germany's DAX has given up 0.6% amid broad weakness. Deutsche Bank trades down 1.4% while exporters Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen show losses between 0.2% and 0.7%. On the upside, Lufthansa has climbed 2.1%.
France's CAC trades down 1.0% with all but four names in the red. Growth-sensitive names like Bouygues, Airbus, and Technip are down between 1.6% and 3.8% while financials Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, and BNP Paribas have given up between 1.0% and 1.2%.

8:31 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +1.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.60.

The S&P 500 futures trade two points above fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 276,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 265,000. Today's tally compared to 265,000 in the prior week. As for continuing claims, they fell to 2.173 million from 2.180 million (revised from 2.179 million).

8:06 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.60.

U.S. equity futures trade flat with the S&P 500 floating at fair value.

Overnight futures traded in lockstep with oil as concerns over an ongoing supply glut weighed on the energy component. However, in recent action, the dollar-denominated commodity received a boost from persistent weakness in the greenback. To that point, crude oil briefly climbed above its flat line as the dollar moved to fresh lows against the euro and the sterling. At this juncture, WTI crude trades higher by 0.1% at $38.28/bbl.

Meanwhile, overseas bourses trade on a cautious note as investors look to the end of the quarter and tomorrow's Employment Situation Report. To be fair though, some influence may have been taken out of the reading after Fed Chair Yellen struck a remarkably dovish tone in her recent remarks. Elsewhere, the S&P lowered its rating outlook for China from AA- Stable to AA- Negative. Asian-Pacific indices were unaffected by the news as the announcement came after markets had closed.

The Treasury complex trades higher with the yield on the 10-yr note slipping one basis point to 1.82%.

On the economic front, today's data will be limited to weekly initial claims (Briefing.com consensus 265k) and Chicago PMI for March (Briefing.com consensus 49.9), which will cross the wires at 8:30 ET and 9:45 ET, respectively.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

Fitbit (FIT 13.60, +0.20): +1.5% after receiving an upgrade to "Buy" at Longbow
Square (SQ 14.88, -0.14): -0.9% following a downgrade at BTIG Research to "Neutral"
Micron Technology (MU 10.30, -0.18): -1.7% after reporting an earnings beat on light revenue for the second quarter
Movado Group (MOV 29.00, -1.34): -4.4% after offering disappointing guidance for FY17, but beating analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian indices ended on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei -0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite +0.1%.
Econ Data
Australia Feb Skilled Vacancies: +2.7% vs +4.0% in Jan and Feb HIA New Home Sales: -5.3% vs +0.6% in Jan
New Zealand: Mar ANZ Activity Outlook: 29.4 vs 25.5 in Feb and Business Confidence: 3.2 vs 7.1 in Feb
South Korea: Feb Industrial Production: +3.3% vs 0.0%e
In news:
The S&P lowered its rating outlook for China to AA- Negative from AA- Stable after market hours.

European indices trade lower across the board with France's CAC -1.0%, Germany's DAX -0.6%, U.K.'s FTSE -0.5%.
In economic data:
Eurozone March CPI -0.1% month-over-month, as expected (previous -0.2%); +1.0% year-over-year (consensus 0.9%; last 0.8%)
Germany's February Retail Sales -0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.1%); +5.4% year-over-year (consensus 2.2%; last -1.2%). Separately, Unemployment Change 0 (expected -7,000; last -9,000) and Unemployment Rate held at 6.2%, as expected
UK's Q4 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.5%; last 0.5%); +2.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 1.9%). Q4 Business Investment -2.0% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (previous -2.1%), Q4 Current Account -GBP32.70 billion (expected -GBP21.10 billion; previous -GBP20.10 billion), and Index of Services +0.9% (expected 0.8%; last 0.8%)
France's February Consumer Spending +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last 1.0%) and CPI +0.7% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last 0.3%)
Spain's March CPI +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.7%; last -0.4%); -0.8% year-over-year (consensus -0.6%; last -0.8%) and February Retail Sales +3.9% year-over-year (consensus 4.0%; last 3.3%)
Italy's March CPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last -0.2%); -0.2% year-over-year (consensus -0.3%; last -0.3%)
In news:
The euro is higher by 0.5% against the dollar at 1.1390 after spending the night in a steady climb.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.40.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...16759...-120.30...-0.70%. Hang Seng...20777...-26.70...-0.10%.

5:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6166...-37.20...-0.60%. DAX...9982.93...-63.70...-0.60%.

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

http://www.thestrategylab.com
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