TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Archive Real-Time Chat Logs (timestamp, entries/exits, position size): http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewforum.php?f=20
Accolades (Testimonials): http://www.thestrategylab.com/Accolades.htm
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ ($1437.50) dollars or -28.75 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 Loss @ ($1437.50) dollars

Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures: 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
Light Crude Oil CL (WTI) Futures: 1 tick or 0.01 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
Gold GC Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
EuroFX 6E Futures: 1 tick or 0.0001 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup

Trade Log: All of my live trades are posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room. The live trade is posted 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation via an auto script. 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 the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), Tutorial Chapters 2 & 3, WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility. Its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=157&t=2383

The free chat room is not a signal calling chat room. I do not mentor (never have) and there's no education in the free chat room although I occasionally give real-time WRB Analysis. Yet, members are allowed to ask questions. The free chat room is on IRC via users request but I also use two other different communication software (e.g. Skype) for other users that do not like IRC simple text format.


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=294&t=3166 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


4:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The stock market snapped its three-day winning streak, but the Thursday decline was modest in scope as the S&P 500 shed just 0.2% after climbing off its morning low.

Equity indices faced some early selling pressure as market participants were reminded about the presence of global growth concerns after the Bank of Korea unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate to 1.25% from 1.50% and China reported a 0.5% month-over-month decline in CPI (expected -0.2%).

Markets in China and Hong Kong could not respond to the weak inflation data due to holiday closures, but the commodity market appeared to take notice as copper and crude oil retreated. Copper futures fell to a four-month low, dropping 1.2% to $2.036/lb while crude oil settled lower by 1.4% at $50.53/bbl, finishing the day just above yesterday's session low.

Weakness in commodities kept energy (-0.5%) and materials (-0.6%) at the bottom of the leaderboard while other cyclical sectors also struggled. Financials (-0.8%) spent the entire session behind the other nine groups while technology (-0.1%) and industrials (unch) rebounded during afternoon action to end little changed.

The top-weighted tech sector was underpinned by a 0.7% gain in the shares of Apple (AAPL 99.65, +0.71) while industrials settled ahead of the broader market thanks to relative strength in airlines and logistics names. American Airlines (AAL 33.40, +0.89) climbed 2.7%, but the broader Dow Jones Transportation Average still finished lower by 0.2%.

Another influential sector, health care (-0.2%), showed some early strength, but could not stay in positive territory as biotechnology weighed. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 273.58, -4.95) lost 1.8%. Meanwhile, other countercyclical groups had a better showing with consumer staples (+0.4%), telecom services (+0.6%), and utilities (+0.9%) posting gains.

The consumer staples sector was boosted by J.M. Smucker (SJM 143.22, +10.51), which soared 7.9% in reaction to better than expected results. The defensively-oriented group extended its 2016 gain to 6.6% while utilities pushed their 2016 advance to 16.3%.

Treasuries finished the day near their highs despite the intraday rebound in equities with the 10-yr yield sliding two basis points to 1.68%. On a related note, demand for Germany's 10-yr bund pressured its yield to a record low of 0.026% before ending flat at 0.037%.

Today's participation was below average as fewer than 800 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Initial Claims and Wholesale Inventories:

Initial claims for the week ending June 4 were 264,000 (Briefing.com consensus 265,000), a decrease of 4,000 from the prior week
There were no special factors influencing the initial claims reading, which remained below 300,000 for the 66th straight week
The four-week moving average for initial claims dropped to 269,500 from 277,000
Continuing claims for the week ending May 28 decreased by 77,000 to 2.095 million. That is the lowest level of continuing claims since October 21, 2000, lowering the four-week moving average for this series to 2.145 million from 2.163 million
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% in April (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%) after increasing an upwardly revised 0.2% (from 0.1%) in March
The increase in April was fueled by a 1.3% increase in nondurable inventories, which was powered by a 2.2% increase in drug inventories and a 7.5% jump in farm products inventories
Wholesale sales increased 1.0% following a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.7%) in March
The wholesale inventories to sales ratio dipped to 1.35 from 1.36, but was up from 1.31 in the same period a year ago

Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the preliminary reading of the Michigan Sentiment Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 94.0) and the May Treasury Budget. The two reports will be released at 10:00 ET and 14:00 ET, respectively.

Russell 2000 +4.6% YTD
S&P 500 +3.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +3.2% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -1.0% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar index holds onto this mornings gains, currently up +0.4% around the 93.97 level, weighing on certain commodities overall
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are down -0.7% at 89.88
Crude oil gives up the majority of yesterday's gains, consolidating & closing just off of its highs of 2016 reached in the previous session
July crude oil futures fell $0.70 (-1.4%) to $50.53/barrel
IEA monthly data is scheduled to be released June 14
Natural gas surges following EIA storage data that showed a smaller-than-expected build compared to estimates
July natural gas closed $0.15 higher (+6.1%) at $2.62/MMBtu
July natural gas futures were trading around $2.46/MMBtu right before the release of the data
Natural gas inventory showed a build of +65 bcf vs expectations for inventory to be a build of approximately +77 bcf.
Working gas in storage was 2,972 Bcf as of Friday, June 3, 2016, according to EIA estimates.
Stocks were 660 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 722 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,250 Bcf.
At 2,972 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.
In precious metals, gold ends near its highs of the day even as the dollar holds onto its early morning gains
August gold ended today's session up $10.30 (+0.8%) to $1272.50/oz
Silver extends yesterday's notable +3.7% gains, closing higher despite strength in the dollar
July silver closed today's session $0.27 higher (+1.6%) at $17.27/oz
Base metal copper stages a modest afternoon rally after an overnight plummet, still closing lower for the day
July copper closed $0.02 lower (-1.0%) at $2.04/lb

2:55 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has continued its rebound with the S&P 500 narrowing its loss to 0.2%. Given its current level, the benchmark index is on track to enter the Friday session up 0.8% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) has had a similar showing to the S&P 500 as the price-weighted index shows a weekly gain of 1.0%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) has had a tough time keeping up, showing a 0.3% uptick since last Friday.

The rebound in stocks has been met with some selling in the Treasury market, but the 10-yr yield remains down two basis points at 1.68% after notching a session low at 1.66%.

2:25 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have ticked up from their recent levels, but the overall trading dynamic has not changed much. The S&P 500 remains lower by 0.3% while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%) lags.

Seven sectors hold afternoon losses with the financial sector (-0.8%) entrenched at the bottom of the leaderboard while utilities (+0.6%) have shown relative strength since the start.

Elsewhere, crude oil trades lower by 1.2% at $50.64/bbl ahead of the looming pit session close. The energy component is looking to avoid a settlement below yesterday's session low of $50.32/bbl.

Treasuries remain bid with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 1.67%.

1:55 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have ticked up off their lows, but they remain in negative territory with the S&P 500 down 0.3%. The current standing leaves the benchmark index in the middle of today's trading range.

The market has been able to stage a turnaround off its late-morning low without an obvious catalyst. Seven sectors remain in negative territory while today's top performing group-utilities-has extended its gain to 0.6%. On the flip side, financials (-0.8%) and materials (-0.8%) remain well behind the broader market while the other sectors sport slimmer losses.

Treasuries continue hovering just below their highs with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.68%.

1:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices have seen a slight pop in recent trading, but still sit fractionally in negative territory.

A look indices the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that American Express (AXP 65.49, -0.77), Caterpillar (CAT 77.19, -0.92), and Goldman Sachs (GS 153.31, -1.32) are underperforming. American Express and Goldman are among the Dow's top decliners as financials lag.

Conversely, Nike (NKE 54.91, +0.79) is the best-performing Dow component as shares bounce back following recent weakness.

At current levels, the DJIA is up 0.95% this week.

Elsewhere, at the top of the hour, the Treasury's $12 bln 30-year auction (reopening) drew a high yield of 2.475% on a bid-to-cover of 2.42.

12:55 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] After securing three gains in a row, the major averages trade in negative territory at midday. The S&P 500 is lower by 0.4% while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.5%) underperforms.

The stock market has faced selling pressure since the start as participants respond to yet another batch of budding global growth concerns. Overnight, the Bank of Korea unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate to 1.25% while China's inflation data showed that CPI declined 0.5% in May against expectations for a 0.2% downtick. South Korea's KOSPI slipped 0.1% while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were closed for public holidays.

A swoon in commodity prices has underscored the growth jitters as copper slides 1.3% to levels not seen since early February ($2.035/lb). Meanwhile, crude oil has dropped 1.6% to $50.39/bbl after breaking out to a fresh 2016 closing high yesterday.

Accordingly, the energy sector (-0.4%) has faced selling pressure since the start while other cyclical sectors like financials (-1.0%), consumer discretionary (-0.5%), materials (-0.9%), and industrials (-0.4%) have also had a difficult time keeping up with the market. This leaves three countercyclical sectors-consumer staples (+0.1%), utilities (+0.5%), and telecom services (+0.2%)-in positive territory.

The utilities sector has boosted its 2016 advance to 15.8% while the consumer staples space has received support from J.M. Smucker (SJM 142.66, +9.95), which has surged 7.5% thanks to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance. On the discretionary side, Restoration Hardware (RH 28.56, -7.51) has plunged 20.8% to a fresh post-IPO low after missing earnings estimates and serving up cautious guidance.

Treasuries have extended yesterday's gains, sending the 10-yr yield lower by two basis points to 1.68%.

Economic data included Initial Claims and Wholesale Inventories:

Initial claims for the week ending June 4 were 264,000 (Briefing.com consensus 265,000), a decrease of 4,000 from the prior week
There were no special factors influencing the initial claims reading, which remained below 300,000 for the 66th straight week
The four-week moving average for initial claims dropped to 269,500 from 277,000
Continuing claims for the week ending May 28 decreased by 77,000 to 2.095 million. That is the lowest level of continuing claims since October 21, 2000, lowering the four-week moving average for this series to 2.145 million from 2.163 million
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% in April (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%) after increasing an upwardly revised 0.2% (from 0.1%) in March
The increase in April was fueled by a 1.3% increase in nondurable inventories, which was powered by a 2.2% increase in drug inventories and a 7.5% jump in farm products inventories
Wholesale sales increased 1.0% following a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.7%) in March
The wholesale inventories to sales ratio dipped to 1.35 from 1.36, but was up from 1.31 in the same period a year ago

12:25 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have notched fresh session lows with the Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%) dropping behind the S&P 500 (-0.5%).

The tech-heavy Nasdaq kept pace with the benchmark index through the early portion of the trading day, but the index is showing relative weakness at this juncture due to underperformance in biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 273.59, -4.94) is lower by 1.8% while the health care sector is down 0.5% after showing early strength.

Elsewhere, Treasuries continue holding gains with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 1.67% ahead of a $12 billion 30-yr reopening. For its part, the 30-yr yield has slid four basis points to 2.47%.

12:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the major averages dip to new session lows with the S&P 500 extending its decline to 0.5%.

Only one sector-utilities (+0.2%)-remains in positive territory, which underscores the selling pressure that has been mounting since the start when four groups held slim gains. To be fair, today's decline comes after three consecutive advances that ended with the S&P 500 settling at its best level in nearly a year.

That being said, today's risk aversion comes as global growth concerns return to the forefront. The World Bank cut its global growth outlook yesterday, the Bank of Korea cut its key rate to a record low today, China reported softening inflation data, and (Dr.) copper has dropped to levels not seen since early February.

Global bond yields have underscored said growth concerns as strength in the 10-yr Note pressures its yield three basis points to 1.67%, which is a level not seen since early February. A similar dynamic has resulted in Germany's 10-yr yield dropping to a record low of 0.026%.

11:25 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their recent levels with the S&P 500 trading lower by 0.4%.

The benchmark index has not gone anywhere since our last update, but the health care sector (-0.2%) has succumbed to the overall selling pressure, leaving consumer staples (+0.1%) and utilities (+0.2%) as the only two advancers.

On the downside, financials (-1.1%) remain pinned to the mat while energy (-0.5%) has climbed off its low as crude oil cuts its loss to 1.0% at $50.74/bbl. The energy component is looking to avoid a close below yesterday's session low of $50.32/bbl. Elsewhere in commodities, copper remains down 1.8% at $2.026/lb while gold (+0.8% to $1,272.00/ozt) and silver (+1.6% to $17.26/ozt) continue holding gains.

Treasuries hover beneath their session highs with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.68%.

10:55 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages remain in negative territory with the S&P 500 down 0.4% while the Dow (-0.3%) and Nasdaq (-0.3%) trade in the neighborhood of the benchmark index.

There are now seven sectors trapped in negative territory with financials (-1.1%) and materials (-1.1%) at the bottom of the leaderboard. The financial sector is down 0.6% for the week, which puts the group behind the remaining nine sectors. Furthermore, the economically-sensitive group has given up 2.3% this year, reflecting the growth concerns that have been widely discussed since the beginning of the year, and especially during the January-February downturn.

On the upside, countercyclical utilities (+0.3%) and consumer staples (+0.2%) hold slim gains while the health care sector (+0.1%) sits just above its flat line. Today's leading sector-utilities-has extended its 2016 gain to 15.6%. Elsewhere, the consumer staples sector has received a boost from J.M. Smucker (SJM 142.57, +9.86) as the stock jumps 7.4% in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.

10:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar index registers notable gains, +0.5% around the 94.02 level, weighing on commodities overall
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are -0.7% at 89.30
Crude oil retreats from its highs of 2016 seen in the previous session
July crude oil futures are currently down $0.71 (-1.4%) at $50.52/barrel
IEA monthly data is scheduled to be released on June 14
Natural gas surges +3.1% after the release of EIA storage data that showed a smaller-than-expected build compared to estimates
July natural gas futures are up $0.08 (+3.1%) at $2.54/MMBtu
July natural gas futures were trading around $2.46/MMBtu right before the release of the data
Natural gas inventory showed a build of +65 bcf vs expectations for inventory to be a build of approximately +77 bcf.
Working gas in storage was 2,972 Bcf as of Friday, June 3, 2016, according to EIA estimates.
Stocks were 660 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 722 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,250 Bcf.
At 2,972 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.
In precious metals, gold climbs to fresh highs of the day even as the dollar gains momentum
August gold futures are up $5.60 (+0.4%) at $1267.90/oz
Silver extends yesterday's notable +3.7% gains in morning pit trading despite strength in the dollar index
July silver futures are up $0.19 (+1.1%) at $17.17/oz
Base metal copper sees a notable drop, consolidating near its lows of the day in morning pit trading
July copper futures are down $0.04 (-1.9%) at $2.02/lb

10:00 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.3%.

Just released, April wholesale inventories increased 0.6% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an uptick of 0.1%. Today's report followed last month's revised increase of 0.2% (from 0.1%)

9:40 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the major averages have stumbled out of the gate with the S&P 500 trading lower by 0.3%.

Six of ten sectors trade in negative territory with losses ranging from 0.4% (technology) to 1.0% (materials). That being said, the four advancers sit just above their flat lines as they struggle to avoid the overall pressure.

Heavily-weighted sectors like financials (-0.8%) and industrials (-0.5%) are among the early laggards while energy (-0.8%) has also struggled amid weakness in crude oil. The energy component is down 1.4% at $50.51/bbl after briefly dipping below yesterday's session low. Most other commodities also trade in negative territory while gold (+0.2% to $1,265.00/ozt) and silver (+0.7% to $17.11/ozt) have built on yesterday's gains.

Treasuries have notched new highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 1.66%.

9:11 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.40.

The stock market is on track for a lower open with S&P 500 futures trading nine points below fair value.

Index futures retreated overnight amid persisting growth concerns that prompted the Bank of Korea to unexpectedly lower its key interest rate to 1.25% from 1.50%. The central bank called the move "preemptive" while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand also held a policy meeting, but left its cash rate unchanged at 2.25%. South Korea's KOSPI shed 0.1% while markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for public holidays.

China did release its latest inflation data overnight, which added to the macroeconomic jitters as CPI declined 0.5% in May against expectations for a 0.2% downtick.

The renewed growth concerns have weighed on commodities with copper futures sliding 2.1% to $2.018/lb. This puts the red metal at levels not seen since early February. Crude oil has also struggled after yesterday's settlement at a fresh 2016 high. The energy component is lower by 1.8% at $50.30/bbl.

On the economic front, initial claims (264,000; Briefing.com consensus 265,000) were essentially in-line with expectations, but this weekly report is likely to remain in focus over the coming weeks given the disappointing Employment Situation report for May.

One more datapoint will be released today with Wholesale Inventories (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%) set to be released at 10:00 ET.

Treasuries sit on their highs with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 1.67%, representing the lowest level since February.

8:57 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.40.

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

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note while markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for public holidays. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand made no changes to its cash rate, leaving it at 2.25% while the Bank of Korea eased unexpectedly, lowering its key rate to 1.25% from 1.50%. The South Korean rate cut was deemed as 'preemptive' and it represented the first cut in a year.

In economic data:
China's May CPI -0.5% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; last -0.2%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 2.3%; last 2.3%). May PPI -2.8% year-over-year (expected -3.3%; last -3.4%)
Japan's April Core Machinery Orders -11.0% month-over-month (expected -3.8%; last 5.5%); -8.2% year-over-year (consensus -2.3%; last 3.2%)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei lost 1.0% with eight sectors ending in the red. Financials (-2.4%), consumer discretionary (-1.3%), and communications (-1.2%) lagged while energy (+0.8%) and utilities (+0.4%) outperformed. Credit Saison, JTEKT, Kubota, Sony Financial, J Front Retailing, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lost between 2.8% and 4.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for Tuen Ng Day
China's Shanghai Composite was closed for Dragon Boat Festival

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-1.5%) showing relative weakness. Similar to European equities, the euro has retreated, sliding 0.5% against the dollar to 1.1334. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reminded regional government that fiscal reforms should be implemented now and that fiscal policy should not work against monetary policy.

In economic data:
Germany's April trade surplus expanded to EUR24.00 billion from EUR23.70 billion (expected surplus of EUR23.00 billion). April Exports were unchanged month-over-month (expected -0.6%; last 1.9%) and Imports ticked down 0.2% month-over-month (expected 1.2%; last -2.3%)
UK's April trade deficit GBP10.53 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.20 billion; previous deficit of GBP10.65 billion)
France's Q1 Non-Farm Payrolls +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.2%; last 0.2%)
Italy's Quarterly Unemployment Rate held at 11.6%, as expected
Swiss May Unemployment Rate held at 3.5%, as expected

---Equity Markets---

France's CAC is lower by 1.0% with hotel operator Accor diving 3.9% in reaction to cautious analyst comments. Technip and Valeo hold respective losses of 2.9% and 1.7% while financials Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, and BNP Paribas are down between 0.4% and 1.1%.
UK's FTSE trades down 1.0% with Vodafone lower by 4.3% after announcing its New Zealand unit will merge with Sky. Miners have also struggled with Antofagasta, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, and Glencore down between 1.6% and 6.3%. On the upside, BT Group has climbed 1.1%.
Germany's DAX has given up 1.5% amid broad weakness. E.On has tumbled 7.0% while exporters Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW are down between 1.1% and 1.6%. On the upside, RWE is the lone advancer, climbing 0.6%.

8:31 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.60.

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

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 264,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 265,000. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 268,000 (from 267,000). As for continuing claims, they fell to 2.095 million from 2.172 million.

7:54 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.90.

U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market lows with S&P 500 futures down eight points below fair value after sliding during the overnight session, which saw a surprise rate cut from the Bank of Korea (to 1.25% from 1.50%). The rate cut underscored the persistence of global growth concerns while South Korea's KOSPI ticked down 0.1%. In other central bank news, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its cash rate unchanged at 2.25%, as expected.

Similar to equity futures, crude oil has retreated, trading lower by 1.1% at $50.66/bbl at this juncture.

Treasuries hold modest gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.68%.

Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 265K) will be released at 8:30 ET while April Wholesale Inventories (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%) will be announced at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

Restoration Hardware (RH 29.18, -6.89): -19.1% after missing earnings estimates and guiding second-quarter and full-year results well below analysts' expectations.
J M Smucker (SJM 138.00, +5.29): +4.0% after reporting in-line earnings on above-consensus revenue. The company guided fiscal-year 2017 earnings above consensus.
LinkedIn (LNKD 137.30, +3.45): +2.6% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to 'Outperform' from 'Sector Perform.'

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended lower. Japan's Nikkei -1.0% while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were closed.
Economic data was limited:
China's May CPI -0.5% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; last -0.2%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 2.3%; last 2.3%). May PPI -2.8% year-over-year (expected -3.3%; last -3.4%)
Japan's April Core Machinery Orders -11.0% month-over-month (expected -3.8%; last 5.5%); -8.2% year-over-year (consensus -2.3%; last 3.2%)
In news:
The rate cut in South Korea represented the first easing action in a year and was deemed as "preemptive"

Major European indices trade lower across the board. UK's FTSE -0.8%, France's CAC -0.9%, and Germany's DAX -1.3%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX -0.3% and Italy's MIB -0.6%.
In economic data:
Germany's April trade surplus expanded to EUR24.00 billion from EUR23.70 billion (expected surplus of EUR23.00 billion). April Exports were unchanged month-over-month (expected -0.6%; last 1.9%) and Imports ticked down 0.2% month-over-month (expected 1.2%; last -2.3%)
UK's April trade deficit GBP10.53 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.20 billion; previous deficit of GBP10.65 billion)
France's Q1 Non-Farm Payrolls +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.2%; last 0.2%)
Italy's Quarterly Unemployment Rate held at 11.6%, as expected
Swiss May Unemployment Rate held at 3.5%, as expected
Among news of note:
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reminded regional government that fiscal reforms should be implemented now and that fiscal policy should not work against monetary policy

5:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.00.

5:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...16668.41...-162.50...-1.00%. Hang Seng...Holiday.........

5:58 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6247.11...-54.40...-0.90%. DAX...10095.94...-121.10...-1.20%.

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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