TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

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


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

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

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

Today's Trade Log: All of my live trades are posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room. The live trade is posted 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation via an auto script to minimize delays in posting of my trades. You can read today's price action trade journal about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit, market analysis) as the trade traversed to its completion. In addition, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), Tutorial Chapters 2 & 3, WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility. Its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=160&t=2452

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


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

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

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

Analysis -----> Trade Signals

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

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

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

Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/BOE/IMF actions or any important global economic events (e.g. Eurozone, MarketWatch.com) that had an impact on today's price action in many trading instruments I monitor during the trading day. Simply, I'm a strong believer that key market events causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility resulting in trade opportunities (swing points and strong continuation price actions) that reach profit targets. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events, intermarket analysis (e.g. Forex EurUsd, EuroFX 6E futures, Gold GC futures, Light Crude Oil (WTI) CL & Brent Oil futures, Eurex DAX futures, Euronext FTSE100 futures, Emini ES futures, Emini TF futures, Treasury ZB futures and U.S. Dollar Index futures) while using WRB Analysis from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context for price action trading before the appearance of my technical analysis trade signals. Therefore, I maintain these archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past involving key market events to help better understand my trade decisions (day trading, swing trading, position trading)...something I can not get from my broker PnL statements alone. Further, most financial websites remove (delete) their archives after a few years to make room for new content. Therefore, I maintain my own archives of the news content so that I have it available for me when financial websites no longer archives their content.


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


4:15 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices opened the week on a down note, unable to overcome the uncertainty surrounding the transfer of political power in Washington D.C. An afternoon rebound helped the market erase a portion of its loss, but the S&P 500 still finished lower by 0.3% while the Nasdaq (unch) finished just below its flat line.

The trading session was defined by risk-off action, leading to a downtick in the U.S. dollar and an uptick in the Treasury market. The 10-yr yield finished seven basis points lower at 2.40%, while the U.S. Dollar Index (100.14, -0.63) closed down 0.6%, a level not seen since early December.

However, the dollar's relative weakness was not enough to offset concerns about a bump in U.S. crude oil production, which pushed WTI crude down 0.9% to $52.75/bbl. Naturally, the energy sector followed, closing lower by 1.1% to finish at the bottom of today's leaderboard.

Crude oil doesn't deserve all of the blame, as Halliburton (HAL 54.80, -1.65) also contributed to the energy sector's decline, losing 2.9% after missing revenue estimates. McDonald's (MCD 121.38, -0.88) also reported quarterly results this morning. The company beat estimates, but shares declined 0.9% amid concerns about the strength of first-quarter results.

Yet, despite McDonald's downbeat report, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.1%) outperformed the broader market, finishing just above its flat line. Homebuilders had a hand in the sector's resistance to selling pressure, evidenced by the 0.4% jump in the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 27.91, +0.12). Also of note, the sector's top component, Amazon (AMZN 817.88, +9.55) finished higher by 1.2% after the New York Post reported that the company will be entering the auto parts retail space.

The technology sector was also able to resist the market's bearish trend, finishing with a modest 0.1% gain. Top components like Facebook (FB 128.93, +1.89), Alphabet (GOOGL 844.43, +16.26), Cisco Systems (CSCO 30.27, +0.17), and Visa (V 82.15, +0.31) were able to outpace losses from the semiconductor industry. The PHLX Semiconductor Index finished the day lower by 0.7%.

On the non-cyclical side, real estate (+0.6%) finished at the top of the leaderboard, while telecom services (+0.5%) and consumer staples (-0.1%) also outperformed. Conversely, utilities (-0.5%) and health care (-0.5%) had a rough showing. In top news from the health care space, a federal court ruling blocked Humana's (HUM 205.02, +4.49) pending merger with Aetna (AET 119.20, -3.33). Humana jumped 2.2% on the ruling, while Aetna lost 2.7%.

Looking ahead, the earnings season kicks into gear this week with around 20.0% of the S&P 500 set to report quarterly results. Yahoo! (YHOO 42.40, +0.35) is scheduled to report after today's close, while Dow components 3M (MMM 178.51, +0.02), DuPont (DD 72.78, -0.25), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 113.94, -0.21) will report on Tuesday morning.

Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday, with the first report of the week, December Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.55 million), scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:00 am ET.

Russell 2000 -0.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.2% YTD
S&P 500 +1.2% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +3.2% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

Crude oil closed pit trading -0.9% as rising US output outweighed the first evidence of OPEC/non-OPEC compliance with the production cut accord
Mar crude oil futures fell $0.49 (-0.9%) to $52.75/barrel
Reminder: Friday's rig count data showed the biggest single weekly oil rig count increase in 4 years. The U.S. oil rig count increased by 29 to 551 rigs last week.
Highlights of Sunday's OPEC/non-OPEC cut compliance committee meeting:
Data from the meeting confirmed that 1.5 mln barrels of oil/day out of the planned 1.8 mln barrels/day have already been cut, & the participating countries remain on track to achieve 1.7 mln barrels/day in total output reductions by the end of this month.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak expressed that all countries are sticking to the deal and that results are above expectations.
OPEC and other oil producers agreed on a specific method to monitor ongoing production cut compliance at the meeting going forward.
Upcoming data reminders:
Weekly API data will be released tomorrow after the bell.
Weekly EIA data will be released this Wed at 10:30 am ET.
Weekly Baker Hughes rig count data will be released this Friday at 1 pm ET.
Natural gas ended pit trading notably higher after Friday's drop ahead of this coming Thursday's EIA data release at 10:30 am ET.
Feb natural gas closed $0.04 higher (+1.3%) at $3.25/MMBtu
In precious metals, gold closed pit trading at a 2-month high; silver & gold moved in tandem to close up nearly +1% together on continued dollar index weakness following the weekend's comments from President Trump regarding the strength of the dollar
Feb 2017 gold ended today's session up $10.80 (+0.9%) to $1215.50/oz
Mar 2017 silver closed today's session $0.16 higher (+0.9%) at $17.18/oz
The dollar index was -0.6% around the 100.16 level, provided support to precious metals
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were +0.3% around the 88.60 level

3:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market trends sideways into the final stretch of action, with the major averages unable to deviate from their afternoon levels. The S&P 500 is down 0.4%.

The earnings season kicks into gear this week with around 20.0% of the S&P 500 set to report quarterly results. Yahoo! (YHOO 42.23, +0.18) is scheduled to report after today's close, while Dow components 3M (MMM 178.22, -0.27), DuPont (DD 72.53, -0.52), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 114.14, -0.01) will report on Tuesday morning.

On the data front, the week's first economic report will be tomorrow's 10:00 am ET release of December Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.55 million), with December New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 589,000) following on Thursday. Also of note, the advance reading of fourth-quarter GDP (Briefing.com consensus 2.2%) will be released on Friday morning.

2:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Today's cautious tone still lingers this afternoon as the major averages hold the bulk of their losses. The benchmark S&P 500 index has declined 0.4% amid losses in nine of its eleven sectors.

The energy sector (-1.2%) has led today's retreat, suffering from a lackluster earnings report from Halliburton (HAL 54.85, -1.59) and selling pressure in the crude oil market. The energy component has ticked up since hitting a session low of $52.23/bbl in the morning, but remains in negative territory with the end of its trading day just around the corner. WTI crude is lower by 0.4% at $52.99/bbl.

Also of note, the U.S. Dollar Index (100.22, -0.56) sits at its lowest level since early December, while gold climbed 0.9% to close its trading session at a two month high, trading at $1,215.50/ozt.

2:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have ticked up in recent action, but remain in negative territory this afternoon. The S&P 500 is showing a modest 0.3% loss while the Nasdaq (-0.1%) has performed slightly better.

Consumer discretionary has returned to its flat line in recent action, marking the sector's highest level of the day. The space has received a push from homebuilders, evidenced by the 0.4% jump in the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 27.91, +0.12). DR Horton (DHI 28.74, +0.42), Home Depot (HD 138.11, +2.46), and Lowe's (LOW 72.65, +1.23) are all up between 1.4% and 1.8%.

U.S. Treasuries sit just below their session highs, with the 10-yr yield down seven basis points at 2.40%. The yield curve has flattened slightly as the 2-yr Note has attracted less buying interest than longer-dated issues; the 2-yr yield is down five basis points at 1.15%.

1:35 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices have continued to recoup ground since our last update, but still show modest losses at this time.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that General Electric (GE 29.62, -0.91), Boeing (BA 157.39, -2.14), & Exxon Mobil (XOM 84.90, -0.99) are underperforming amid broad market weakness.

Conversely, Home Depot (HD 137.97, +2.37) is the best-performing Dow component as shares breakout alongside peer Lowe's (LOW 72.55, +1.14) in today's trade.

With today's pullback, the DJIA is now flat to start off 2017.

1:05 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The first half of Monday's session has been defined by risk-off sentiment amid uncertainty related to the change of power in Washington, DC. The major averages have nestled just above their session lows at midday, with the S&P 500 down 0.5%.

Around 20.0% of S&P 500 components will be reporting quarterly results this week with McDonald's (MCD 121.20, -1.06) and Halliburton (HAL 54.47, -1.98) kicking off the action this morning. The two names have fallen a respective 0.9% and 3.5% after reporting lackluster results. Halliburton missed on revenues while McDonald's beat estimates, but gave investors reasons to worry about the strength of first-quarter results.

Qualcomm (QCOM 55.23, -7.64) also started Monday's session in the hole, losing 12.2% amid news of a lawsuit, by Apple (AAPL 120.03, +0.04), over patent royalties. Qualcomm issued a statement this morning, saying Apple's claims are baseless, but chipmakers have yet to shake off the scare. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is down 0.8%.

Despite chipmakers' underperformance, the top-weighted technology sector (-0.2%) has outperformed the broader market on the back of some of the sector's top components. For instance, Facebook (FB 128.38, +1.36) and Alphabet (GOOGL 836.86, +8.65) are both up nearly 1.0%.

Most of technology's cyclical peers have not fared quite as well with financials (-0.7%), industrials (-1.0%), and energy (-1.2%) at the bottom of today's leaderboard. Energy has been pulled down by crude oil's 1.0% decline. The commodity trades at $52.71/bbl as last Friday's rig count data, which showed a rebound in U.S. production, has overshadowed this weekend's positive OPEC/non-OPEC compliance meeting.

Conversely, defensively-oriented real estate (+0.4%) and telecom services (+0.2%) trade in the green while consumer staples (-0.1%) and utilities (-0.1%) sit just below their flat lines. Health care (-0.4%) is the countercyclical outlier, performing in line with the broader market in the face of a 1.0% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 270.88, -2.54).

Also plaguing the health care space has been a recent court ruling that blocked Humana's (HUM 199.67, -0.73) pending merger with Aetna (AET 119.46, -3.09). With the deal crushed, Aetna will owe Humana a $1 billion breakup fee under the terms of the merger agreement.

Treasuries continue hovering near their session highs, benefiting from today's risk-off tone. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down seven basis points at 2.39%.

Investors did not receive any economic data this morning, and they will not receive any economic data this afternoon. The first report of the week will be tomorrow's 10:00 am ET release of December Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.55 million).

12:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have ticked up from their session lows, but have been fairly range-bound following their early-morning slips. The S&P 500 is down 0.5%, while the Nasdaq and the Dow show losses near 0.3%.

Conversely, the Treasury market continues climbing, hitting a fresh session high in recent action. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down eight basis points to 2.39% amid risk-off sentiment.

European bourses also ticked down on Monday, with the major averages all closing lower; the UK's FTSE and Germany's DAX both lost 0.7% while France's CAC fell 0.6%. Also of note, British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled to visit the White House on Friday to discuss trade and NATO commitments. The visit will make her the first foreign leader to meet with President Trump.

12:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have ticked down to fresh session lows in recent action. The S&P 500 is lower by 0.6% while the Dow (-0.4%) outperforms.

Airlines have had their hand in pushing the industrial sector (-0.9%) near the bottom of today's sector standings, with United Continental (UAL 72.85, -2.41) falling 3.2% after a weekend computer outage led to a nationwide ground stop. Peers like Delta Air Lines (DAL 49.11, -1.29), Southwest Airlines (LUV 49.78, -1.31), American Airlines (AAL 46.84, -1.19), and Alaska Air (ALK 92.98, -1.73) are also down, surrendering between 1.8% and 2.8%.

On a separate note, recent reports indicate that a judge has blocked Humana's (HUM 199.21, -1.32) pending merger with Aetna (AET 120.19, -2.40). The two names are down 1.2% and 2.3%, respectively, while the health care sector shows a loss of 0.6%.

11:30 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hover near their recent levels with the S&P 500 down 0.4%.

The consumer discretionary sector (-0.2%) slightly outperforms the broader market amid a New York Post report that the sector's largest component, Amazon (AMZN 810.96, +2.63), will be entering the auto parts space. The online giant has struck contracts with some of the largest parts makers in the country in recent months, including Federal-Mogul (FDML 10.01, +0.02) and Dorman Products (DORM 67.70, -0.54). Established auto parts retailers such as AutoZone (AZO 732.25, -37.77), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY 263.66, -10.35), and Advanced Auto Parts (AAP, 166.70, -4.75) are all down on the news, losing between 2.9% and 4.9%.

In other corporate news, Qualcomm (QCOM 54.44, -8.43) has slid 13.4% to a fresh session low this morning on continued weakness from reports that the company has been sued by Apple (AAPL 119.94, -0.06) over patent royalties. Chipmakers other than Qualcomm have also struggled today, evidenced by the 1.1% decline in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.

11:00 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] This morning's session has been driven by risk-off action as investors appear somewhat anxious and uncertain about the Trump administration's ability to push through its pro-growth policies. The S&P 500 performs in line with its peers, down 0.4%.

The Treasury market has profited from the uncertain disposition among investors, returning to its overnight highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down six basis points at 2.41%, while the front end of the yield curve underperforms with the 2-yr yield down only three basis points at 1.16%.

Non-cyclical sectors have had the upper hand on their cyclical counterparts thus far, with three of the five posting gains. Comparatively, all six growth-sensitive sectors are in the red, with the heavily-weighted financial and technology sectors losing 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Also of note, the U.S. Dollar Index (100.20, -0.57) is down 0.6% while gold has climbed 1.0% for the day. The precious metal trades at $1,216.65/ozt.

10:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Crude oil slid about 1.5% in morning pit trading as rising US output outweighed the first evidence of OPEC/non-OPEC compliance with the production cut accord
Feb 2017 crude oil futures were down $0.80 (-1.5%) around the $52.40/barrel level ahead of tomorrow's API - see 7:29 am ET comment
Reminder: Friday's rig count data showed the biggest single weekly oil rig count increase in 4 years. The U.S. oil rig count increased by 29 to 551 rigs last week.
Highlights of Sunday's OPEC/non-OPEC cut compliance committee meeting:
Data from the meeting confirmed that 1.5 mln barrels of oil/day out of the planned 1.8 mln barrels/day have already been cut, & the participating countries remain on track to achieve 1.7 mln barrels/day in total output reductions by the end of this month.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak expressed that all countries are sticking to the deal and that results are above expectations.
OPEC and other oil producers agreed on a specific method to monitor ongoing production cut compliance at the meeting going forward.
Upcoming data reminders:
Weekly API data will be released tomorrow after the bell.
Weekly EIA data will be released this Wed at 10:30 am ET.
Weekly Baker Hughes rig count data will be released this Friday at 1 pm ET.
Natural gas drifted modestly higher ahead of Thursday's weekly EIA data release
Feb 2017 natural gas futures were up about $0.02 (+0.5%) around the $3.23/MMBtu level
Weekly EIA data will be released Thursday at 10:30 am ET.
In precious metals, gold rallied near a 2-month high; gold & silver traded higher & in tandem on notable dollar index weakness following the weekend's comments from President Trump regarding the strength of the dollar
Feb 2017 gold futures were up $10.20 (+0.9%) around the $1215.20/oz level
Mar 2017 silver futures were up $0.15 (+0.9%) around the $17.19/oz level
The dollar index was -0.4% around the 100.30 level, boosted precious metals
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were +0.04% around the 88.41 level

10:00 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] Uncertainty is in the air as President Trump begins his first full week in the White House. As such, investors have lacked both buying and selling conviction, evidenced by the modest 0.1% decrease in the S&P 500.

Speaking to business leaders earlier this morning, Mr. Trump reaffirmed his commitment to lower taxes on businesses and the middle class. He also stated that his administration wants to cut regulations by 75.0%. Investors will be watching the White House closely, looking for political progress towards the new administration's pro-growth goals.

Utilities (+0.3%) and real estate (+0.2%) are the only sectors in the green early this morning. Energy (-0.5%) is at the bottom of today's leaderboard with industrials (-0.4%) performing only slightly better.

9:45 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened the week relatively flat as the major averages hover near their flat lines.

Materials (+0.3%), technology (+0.2%), and utilities (+0.2%) have taken the lead early while consumer discretionary (-0.3%) and energy (-0.4%) lag. Energy's underperformance can be credited, in part, to the poor showing from crude oil, which is down 1.3% at $52.53/bbl.

Treasuries have returned to their flat lines after residing in positive territory for most of the overnight session. The benchmark 10-yr yield is unchanged at 2.46%.

9:16 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.90.

The stock market is on track to begin one of the busiest weeks of the earnings season lower as the S&P 500 futures trade three points below fair value.

Around 20.0% of the S&P 500 will be reporting quarterly results this week with McDonald's (MCD 121.20, -1.06) and Halliburton (HAL 55.65, -0.80) kicking off the action this morning. The two names show respective pre-market losses of 0.9% and 1.4% after reporting lackluster results. Halliburton missed on revenues while the concern with McDonald's is likely due to uncertainty about first-quarter sales.

In other corporate news, Qualcomm (QCOM 59.71, -3.17) is down 4.9% amid news of a lawsuit, by Apple (AAPL 119.85, -0.15), over patent royalties. Qualcomm issued a statement this morning, saying Apple's claims are baseless.

Crude oil is at a fresh low, down 1.6% at $52.35/bbl. The commodity has seen continued weakness over concerns that U.S. production is ticking up, evidenced by last Friday's rig count data. The report showed the biggest single weekly oil rig count increase in 4 years.

Conversely, U.S. Treasuries are up this morning, climbing closer to their overnight highs in recent action. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down three basis points at 2.44%.

Investors will not be receiving any economic data today.

8:52 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.10.

The S&P 500 futures trade five points (0.2%) below fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei (-1.3%) showing relative weakness amid strength in the yen (113.39). The Japanese currency has added 1.1% against the dollar, and continued uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's policies was cited for the retreat in the buck. President Trump announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said that some form of a free trade agreement with the US remains a possibility.

In economic data:
Japan's All Industries Activity Index +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; last 0.0%) and Leading Index 102.8 (expected 102.7; previous 102.7)
Hong Kong's December CPI +1.2% year-over-year (last 1.2%)
Singapore's December CPI +0.2% year-over-year (consensus 0.1% last 0.0%)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei lost 1.3% amid broad weakness. Olympus, JTEKT, Yamaha Motor, Hino Motors, KDDI, Kikkoman, Fast Retailing, Mazda Motor, Casio Computer, and Mitsubishi Motors lost between 2.1% and 3.0%. Toshiba rebounded from recent weakness, spiking 9.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.1%. Consumer and gaming names outperformed while energy listings were mixed. China Mengniu Dairy, Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment, and Want Want China gained between 1.0% and 1.2% while China Shenhua Energy and China Petrol & Chemical added 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively. PetroChina and CNOOC both lost near 0.8%.
China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.4%, benefiting from a temporary reserve requirement ratio cut by the People's Bank of China that was announced after Friday's closing bell. Lunar New Year celebrations will begin at the end of this week. China Television Media, Shen Ma Industry, Jiangxi Copper, and Dalian Thermal Power advanced between 4.7% and 6.3%.
India's Sensex rose 0.3%. GAIL, Tata Steel, and ITC outperformed with gains between 1.4% and 2.4% while financials were mixed. ICICI Bank and AXIS Bank posted respective losses of 2.3% and 1.2% while HDFC Bank and SBI both climbed near 1.1%.

Major European indices trade in negative territory with the UK's FTSE (-0.7%) showing relative weakness. In France, the first round of Socialist primaries was won by Benoit Hamon with round two coming up on Sunday. However, the Socialist candidate is not expected to beat Francois Fillon or Marine Le Pen in the April election. British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Friday to discuss trade and commitments to NATO.

In economic data:
Investors did not receive any economic data today

---Equity Markets---

France's CAC is lower by 0.5%. Financials lag with Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, and BNP Paribas down between 1.3% and 2.2%. Nokia Oyj is the weakest performer, down 2.7%, while select consumer names show gains. Danone, Louis Vuitton, L'Oreal, and Pernod Ricard are up between 0.1% and 1.4%.
Germany's DAX has shed 0.5% amid losses in all but four components. Drugmakers Merck and Bayer are both down near 1.0% while Commerzbank, BMW, and Daimler are down between 0.3% and 1.6%. Volkswagen outperforms, rallying 3.1%, after Goldman Sachs put the stock on its Conviction Buy List.
UK's FTSE is down 0.7% with bank shares on the defensive. RBS, Barclays, Lloyds Banking, HSBC, and Standard Chartered hold losses between 1.3% and 2.4%. Consumer names like Paddy Power, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, and Dixons Carphone underperform with losses between 1.4% and 3.6%.

8:29 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.10.

The stock market is poised to begin the week on a lower note as the S&P 500 futures trade five points below fair value.

On the earnings front, McDonald's (MCD 122.10, -0.11) is down 0.1% in pre-market trade despite beating earnings per share estimates. Halliburton (HAL 56.10, -0.35) is also lower, losing 0.6%, after reporting worse-than-expected revenues.

In other corporate news, AMC Entertainment (AMC 34.30, 0.00) will acquire Nordic Cinema Group Holding for $929 million. With the deal, AMC will enhance its position as the leading movie exhibition company in Europe, growing its operational footprint to 15 countries.

U.S. Treasuries have ticked up in recent action, pushing the 10-yr yield down two basis points to 2.45%.

8:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade five points (0.2%) below fair value to kick off one of the busiest weeks of the earnings season; around 20.0% of the S&P 500 is scheduled to report between today and Friday.

U.S. Treasuries have come down from their overnight highs to sit just above their flat lines early this morning. The benchmark 10-yr yield is one basis point lower at 2.46%.

Conversely, crude oil is down 1.1% at $52.63/bbl as last Friday's rig count data, which showed a rebound in U.S. production, has overshadowed this weekend's OPEC/non-OPEC compliance meeting; the meeting showed producers are on track to meet their agreed production cuts.

Investors will not receive any economic data on Monday.

In U.S. corporate news:

Halliburton (HAL 56.00, -0.45): -0.8% after missing on revenue estimates.
Qualcomm (QCOM 60.63, -2.20): -3.5% after reports on Friday indicated that the company has been sued by Apple (AAPL 119.76, -0.24) over patent royalties. Qualcomm issued a statement this morning, saying Apple's claims are baseless.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei showing relative weakness amid strength in the yen (113.69). Japan's Nikkei -1.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.4%, India's Sensex +0.3%.
In economic data:
Japan's All Industries Activity Index +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; last 0.0%) and Leading Index 102.8 (expected 102.7; previous 102.7)
Hong Kong's December CPI +1.2% year-over-year (last 1.2%)
Singapore's December CPI +0.2% year-over-year (consensus 0.1% last 0.0%)
In news:
President Trump announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said that some form of a free trade agreement with the US remains a possibility.

Major European indices trade in negative territory with the UK's FTSE showing relative weakness. France's CAC -0.3%, Germany's DAX -0.4%, UK's FTSE -0.5%.
In economic data:
Investors did not receive any economic data today
In news:
In France, the first round of Socialist primaries was won by Benoit Hamon with round two coming up on Sunday. However, the Socialist candidate is not expected to beat Francois Fillon or Marine Le Pen in the April election.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Friday to discuss trade and commitments to NATO.

5:56 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.40.

5:56 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...18891...-246.90...-1.30%. Hang Seng...22898.5...+12.60...+0.10%.

5:56 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7159.44...-39.00...-0.50%. DAX...11575...-55.20...-0.50%.

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

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader @ http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader

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