TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
wrbtrader (more info about me): http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
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
TheStrategyLab Reviews: http://www.thestrategylab.com/thestrategylab-reviews.htm
Price Action Trading: http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm
TheStrategyLab Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
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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 via the user name wrbtrader for anyone to do a real-time review. 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 review 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=170&t=2624

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. 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 TheStrategyLab 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. In addition, we highly recommend that you use the free chat room with a professional trade journal software like tradebench.com, edgewonk.com, tradervue.com, tradingdiarypro.com, stocktickr.com, journalsqrd.com, tradingdiary.pro, mxprofit.com or trademetria.com because they can provide you with the quantitative statistical analysis of your trading. You can then download your results and post them in your private thread at the forum. Also, you can use TheStrategyLab 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. TheStrategyLab free chat room is on IRC via users request because the IRC servers are located in many different countries, software in many different languages, many different mobile apps and many different types of social media software can be used to log in. I'm the moderator of the free chat room via the user name wrbtrader. Thus, I keep the peace between members without hesitation in removing trouble makers so that members can peacefully post their market observations, trades, WRB Analysis commentary about the markets without being trolled.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is not for traders looking for someone to hold their hands and tell them when to buy or sell. TheStrategyLab is for you to post your real-time analysis or trades so that you can review as feedback for any trading day to provide valuable information about the results in your broker statements. Access instructions for chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164


Also, posted below for you to review 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.

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=327&t=3486 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 for easy review 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

The Market at 04:30PM ET
Dow: +25.88… | Nasdaq: +12.10… | S&P: +3.50…
NASDAQ Vol: 1.8 bln… Adv: 1583… Dec: 1198…
NYSE Vol: 731.0 mln… Adv: 1802… Dec: 1140…

Moving the Market

FOMC Minutes seen as relatively dovish, show concerns over lull in inflation

President Trump ends his Manufacturing Council and Strategy & Policy Forum

Target (TGT), Urban Outfitters (URBN) influence retailers higher after earnings

Sector Watch
Strong: Consumer Discretionary, Materials, Technology, Health Care, Consumer Staples, Utilities, Real Estate
Weak: Energy, Financials
04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages registered modest victories on Wednesday, but their performances felt somewhat disappointing as an optimistic steady climb in the morning turned into a fight to hold on in the afternoon. The Nasdaq (+0.2%) finished slightly above the S&P 500 (+0.1%) and the Dow (+0.1%) while the small-cap Russell 2000 (unch) lagged.

Equity indices opened Wednesday's session with modest gains and continued ticking up into the early afternoon. However, news that President Trump will end the Manufacturing Council and Strategy & Policy Forum after several CEOs announced their departures from the two groups prompted a modest sell off that left the major averages just north of their flat lines going into the FOMC minutes release.

The minutes from the July FOMC meeting showed increasing concern among several policymakers about softer than expected inflation readings. Despite the concern about slowing inflation, most Fed officials remain in favor of announcing a balance sheet move at the upcoming policy meeting. The FOMC will kick off its next two-day meeting on September 19.

U.S. Treasuries finished higher across the yield curve on Thursday. The bulk of the gains came in response to the disbandment of President Trump's business councils, but the minutes also played a supporting role. The 10-yr yield slipped four basis points to 2.23% while the 2-yr yield dropped three basis points to 1.33%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.42, -0.33) finished lower by 0.4%.

Stocks seesawed a bit following the minutes release, but ultimately ended near their pre-release levels. Nine of the S&P 500's eleven sectors finished in the green with the lightly-weighted materials sector (+0.9%) leading the charge. Copper-mining giant Freeport-MCMoRan (FCX 14.77, +0.80) was the sector's top performer, climbing 5.7%, amid a rally in the copper futures market ($2.95/lb, +2.4%).

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.5%) also showed relative strength as investors cheered the latest earnings reports from Target (TGT 56.31, +1.96) and Urban Outfitters (URBN 19.76, +2.94). TGT added 3.6% after reporting better than expected earnings and an increase of 1.3% in comparable same-store sales while URBN surged 17.5% after beating top and bottom line estimates.

On the flip side, the energy and financials sectors were the only two spaces to finish in negative territory, losing 1.1% and 0.2%, respectively. While the financial sector's loss was modest, its status as the second-heaviest sector by weight--first being technology (+0.3%)--and its important role in driving economic activity didn't bode well for the broader market.

Meanwhile, crude oil weighed on the energy sector, dropping 1.6% to $46.78/bbl, following a mixed EIA inventory report. The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stockpiles decreased by 8.9 million barrels (consensus -3.0 million barrels) for the week ended August 11 while gasoline inventories increased by 22,000 barrels (consensus -1.1 million barrels).

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which was limited to Housing Starts for July and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.155 million units in July, down from a revised 1.213 million units in June (from 1.215 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected starts to increase to 1.217 million units. Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.223 million in July from a revised 1.275 million in June (from 1.245 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.247 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that a pullback in starts occurred after a strong June, returning the series to the middle of a range that has been in effect over the past two years. Single-family starts declined 0.5% from June, which won't do much to alleviate supply constraints.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index ticked up 0.1% to follow last week's 3.0% increase.

On Thursday, investors will receive a slew of economic reports, including the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 240K) at 8:30 ET, the August Philadelphia Fed Index (Briefing.com consensus 17) also at 8:30 ET, the July Industrial Production (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) and Capacity Utilization (Briefing.com consensus 76.7%) Report at 9:15 ET, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for July (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) at 10:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +17.9% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +11.5% YTD
S&P 500 +10.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +2.0% YTD

Dow: +25.88… | Nasdaq: +12.10… | S&P: +3.50…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1583/1198. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1802/1140.

03:15PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities end the day slightly higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.08% at 82.5834.
Dollar index is down 0.31% at 93.56.
Sept WTI crude is down on the day.
EIA inventory data, released at 10:30am ET, showed a draw of 8.9 mln barrels.
Futures settled $0.78 lower to $46.80/barrel.
In other energy, Sept natural gas settled down $0.05 at $2.89/MMBtu
Metals settled up across the board:
Dec gold gained $3.40 to settle at $1282.80/oz, while September silver gained $0.23 to $16.94/oz
September copper gained $0.07 to $2.95/lb
Finally, agriculture:
September corn settled $0.02 lower at $3.67/bu.
November soy settled $0.02 higher at $9.27/bu.
September wheat is down $0.08 at $4.20/bu.

Dow: +27.68… | Nasdaq: +7.57… | S&P: +2.86…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1472/1351. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1725/1185.

03:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hold slim gains going into the final stretch of action.

On the data front, investors will receive a slew of reports on Thursday, including the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 240K) at 8:30 ET, the August Philadelphia Fed Index (Briefing.com consensus 17) also at 8:30 ET, July Industrial Production (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) and Capacity Utilization (Briefing.com consensus 76.7%) at 9:15 ET, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for July (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) at 10:00 ET.

As for earnings, two notable companies--Cisco (CSCO 32.27, +0.18) and L Brands (LB 39.78, +0.73)--will report their quarterly results tonight and then another two--Wal-Mart (WMT 81.08, +0.31) and Alibaba (BABA 159.10, +1.35)--will step up to the plate tomorrow morning.

Dow: +34.56… | Nasdaq: +12.26… | S&P: +3.95…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1605/1228. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1795/1096.

02:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices ticked up immediately following the release of the FOMC minutes from last month's meeting, but have since slipped back to their unchanged marks.

In the minutes, the FOMC gave off the impression that inflation may take longer to pick up than originally thought, noting that it expects inflation to remain somewhat below the Fed's 2.0% target on a 12-month basis. Fed officials did not specify when they would like to begin shrinking the Fed's balance sheet, deferring the decision to an upcoming meeting. The FOMC next meets on September 19-20.

U.S. Treasuries have rallied following the release while the U.S. Dollar Index (93.43, -0.32, -0.4%) has retraced a modest gain and moved into negative territory. The benchmark 10-yr yield is down five basis points at 2.22% after hovering at 2.24% ahead of the release. Meanwhile, the 2-yr yield is down three basis points at 1.33%, which is just slightly below its pre-release level.

Dow: +20.13… | Nasdaq: +2.75… | S&P: +1.06…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1571/1249. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1743/1132.

01:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are trading near their lowest marks of the day with the S&P 500 clinging to a slim gain of 0.1%.

Eight of eleven sectors are trading in the green, but gains have been pretty modest, ranging from 0.2% to 0.6%. The heavily-weighted financial sector is hovering just a tick below its flat line, marking the first time the group has touched negative territory today. The energy sector (-1.2%) is easily the weakest space while the telecom services group (-0.1%) also shows relative weakness.

The market might see some volatility here soon as the minutes from last month's FOMC meeting will be released in just a few moments at 14:00 ET.

Dow: +3.12… | Nasdaq: +9.99… | S&P: +26.42…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1706/1142. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1801/1067.

01:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices have seen some notable selling pressure since our last update on news that President Trump's Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum has been disbanded as backlash from executives persists in the wake of the President's response to this weekend's Charlottesville violence.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that United Technologies (UTX 117.88, +2.62), Home Depot (HD 152.46, +2.29), & Visa (V 103.50, +1.04) are outperforming. Home Depot is recovering from yesterday's earnings-drive sell off after several analysts came out to defend the company, most notably Raymond James, who upgraded shares to Outperform.

Conversely, Intel (INTC 35.64, -0.36) is the worst-performing Dow component as shares display relative weakness in today's trade.

Ahead of the release of FOMC minutes at the bottom of the hour, the DJIA is up 0.78% this week.

Dow: +42.53… | Nasdaq: +12.11… | S&P: +4.11…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1755/1062. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1821/1044.

01:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] After taking a breather on Tuesday, investors have resumed hacking away at last week's loss, leaving the major U.S. indices just a step below their record-high marks at midday. The Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 are leading today's advance with gains of 0.5% apiece. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (+0.3%) and the Dow (+0.3%) trade just a tick below their peers.

Investor sentiment has been generally upbeat so far today, but that could change at 14:00 ET when the minutes from last month's FOMC meeting will be released. Market participants will be analyzing the minutes closely, looking for clues as to when the Fed might begin reducing its massive balance sheet and further details on the current inflationary trend.

Ahead of the release, the fed funds futures market has pegged the implied probability of a December rate hike at 50.4%, Treasuries are trading higher, pushing the benchmark 10-yr yield two basis points lower to 2.25%, and the U.S. Dollar Index (93.94, +0.19) is up 0.2%.

In the equity market, nine out of the eleven sectors are trading in the green with the lightly-weighted materials sector (+0.8%) leading the charge. Within the materials space, copper-mining giant Freeport-MCMoRan (FCX 14.78, +0.80) is the top performer, jumping 5.7%, amid a rally in the copper market. The metal has climbed 2.5% to $2.96/lb, which marks its best level since May 2015.

As for the other advancers, gains range from 0.1% (utilities) to 0.6% (consumer discretionary). Retailers have helped keep the consumer discretionary sector ahead of the broader market, evidenced by the 1.2% increase in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 39.11, +0.52).

Target (TGT 56.16, +1.81) and Urban Outfitters (URBN 19.89, +3.06) have been a positive influence on the retail industry today, jumping 3.6% and 18.2%, respectively, following their latest earnings reports. TGT reported better than expected earnings and an increase of 1.3% in comparable same-store sales. Meanwhile, URBN beat both top and bottom line estimates.

On the flip side, the energy (-0.8%) and telecom services (-0.1%) groups are the two laggards. Crude oil has weighed on the energy group, dropping 0.6% to $47.25/bbl, following a mixed inventory report from the EIA, which showed that U.S. crude stockpiles decreased by 8.9 million barrels (consensus -3.0 million barrels) last week while gasoline inventories increased by 22,000 barrels (consensus -1.1 million barrels).

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which was limited to Housing Starts for July and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.155 million units in July, down from a revised 1.213 million units in June (from 1.215 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected starts to increase to 1.217 million units. Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.223 million in July from a revised 1.275 million in June (from 1.245 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.247 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that a pullback in starts occurred after a strong June, returning the series to the middle of a range that has been in effect over the past two years. Single-family starts declined 0.5% from June, which won't do much to alleviate supply constraints.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index ticked up 0.1% to follow last week's 3.0% increase.

Dow: +62.50… | Nasdaq: +24.86… | S&P: +6.68…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1850/995. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1859/988.

12:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages keep chugging along, climbing to new session highs in recent action. The benchmark S&P 500 currently sports a gain of 0.4%.

Today's advance places the benchmark index within seven points of the record-high close it posted last Monday (August 7) and within 17 points of the all-time intraday high it recorded last Tuesday (August 8). Shortly after hitting those record marks, the S&P 500 dropped sharply as a verbal spat between the U.S. and North Korea prompted investors to take some money off the table.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries have ticked up from their flat lines, pushing the benchmark 10-yr yield lower by two basis points to 2.26%.

Dow: +79.81… | Nasdaq: +40.59… | S&P: +9.85…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 2016/835. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1958/873.

12:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices are hovering near their best marks of the day moving into the afternoon session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.5%) shows relative strength.

Biotech names are outperforming today, evidenced by the 0.8% increase in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 311.75, +2.44), after Goldman added Biogen (BIIB 295.22, +7.30) to its 'Conviction Buy List' early this morning. BIIB is currently up 2.5%, making the company one of the strongest components in the influential health care sector (+0.4%).

Elsewhere, crude oil has moved decidedly lower after some seesaw movement immediately following the weekly EIA inventory report; the commodity is currently down 0.7% at $47.21/bbl. Meanwhile, the energy sector has extended its loss to 0.7%.

Dow: +72.69… | Nasdaq: +29.29… | S&P: +8.20…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1974/847. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1961/861.

11:25AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are trending sideways and have changed little since the last update.

Eight of eleven sectors are trading in positive territory this morning with the lightly-weighted materials sector (+0.7%) leading the charge. Within the materials space, copper-mining giant Freeport-MCMoRan (FCX 14.73, +0.76) is the top performer, jumping 5.4%, amid a rally in the copper market. The metal has climbed 2.9% to $2.96/lb, which marks its best level since November 2014.

As for the remaining advancers, they hold more modest gains of no more than 0.4%. The energy (-0.6%), utilities (-0.1%), and telecom services (unch) sectors are the three laggards.

Dow: +54.89… | Nasdaq: +21.74… | S&P: +6.03…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1793/999. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1766/998.

11:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have extended their opening gains slightly with the S&P 500 now trading higher by 0.3%.

Crude oil has been a little volatile in recent action following a mixed inventory report from the Department of Energy, which showed that U.S. crude stockpiles decreased by 8.9 million barrels (consensus -3.0 million barrels) last week while gasoline inventories increased by 22,000 barrels (consensus -1.1 million barrels). The commodity held a gain of 0.5% going into the release, slipped to its flat line in the immediate aftermath, and now trades higher by 0.4% at $47.72/bbl.

The energy sector, which typically moves in tandem with the price of crude oil, is the only sector currently trading in the red for the day (-0.2%) and for the week (-0.8%).

Dow: +79.88… | Nasdaq: +25.38… | S&P: +8.46…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1858/908. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1956/805.

10:40AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.48% at 82.9135
The dollar index is up 0.16% at 94.00.
Sept WTI crude is down slightly on the day.
EIA inventory data was just released at 10:30am ET and showed a draw of 8.9 mln barrels.
Futures are $0.04 lower to $47.51/barrel.
In other energy, Sept natural gas is down $0.04 at $2.895/MMBtu
On to metals:
Dec gold lost $2.50 and trades at $1277.50/oz, while Sept silver gained $0.141 to $16.855/oz
Sept copper gained $0.071 to $2.954/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Sept corn is $0.0325 lower at $3.6525/bu.
Nov soy is down $0.0225 at $9.22/bu.
Sept wheat is down $0.0725 at $4.2225/bu.

Dow: +67.05… | Nasdaq: +16.48… | S&P: +6.61…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1821/908. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1971/756.

10:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices continue to hover just a step above their unchanged marks. The Dow shows relative strength, sporting a gain of 0.3%.

The top-weighted technology sector (unch) is lagging a bit in early action as mega-cap names like Apple (AAPL 161.22, -0.38) and Facebook (FB 170.28, -0.72) hold modest losses of 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Chipmakers are also struggling, evidenced by the 0.1% decrease in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.

U.S. Treasuries are trading flat, leaving the benchmark 10-yr yield unchanged at 2.27%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.95, +0.20) is up 0.2%, hovering at a three-week high.

Dow: +62.58… | Nasdaq: +10.40… | S&P: +5.68…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1722/879. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1953/689.

09:45AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages opened Wednesday's session modestly higher with the S&P 500 sporting a gain of 0.2%.

Most sectors are currently trading in the green, but gains have been limited with no group adding more than 0.5%. The financials (+0.4%), materials (+0.5%), and health care (+0.4%) sectors are exhibiting relative strength while the telecom services (-0.3%), energy (-0.1%), and utilities (-0.1%) groups are exhibiting relative weakness.

Retailers have pushed the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 39.04, +0.45) higher by 1.1% with Urban Outfitters (URBN 20.58, +3.76) leading the charge. The company has surged 21.9% to multi-month highs after reporting better than expected earnings and revenues.

Dow: +52.55… | Nasdaq: +8.27… | S&P: +4.61…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1613/886. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1932/667.

09:10AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.90.

Following a flat finish on Tuesday, the equity market looks poised to open Wednesday's session in the green as investors gear up for the 14:00 ET release of the minutes from the July 25-26 FOMC meeting. The S&P 500 futures currently trade seven points, or 0.3%, above fair value.

Investors will be analyzing the minutes from the July 25-26 FOMC meeting closely this afternoon, looking for clues as to when the Fed might begin reducing its massive balance sheet. In addition, any language surrounding inflation will be of interest as its stubbornness to pick up may force the U.S. central bank to settle for just two rate hikes this year instead of the three that it had originally planned for.

If the Fed hikes rates again this year, it will almost certainly be at the December FOMC meeting. The fed funds futures market currently assigns an implied probability of 46.7% to a December rate hike.

U.S. Treasuries are trading flat this morning with the benchmark 10-yr yield unchanged at 2.28%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (94.04, +0.29) holds a modest gain of 0.3%. The greenback has climbed 0.4% against the euro to 1.1686 following news that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will not discuss monetary policy at next week's Jackson Hole symposium.

Crude oil is up 0.3% this morning, hovering at a price of $47.67/bbl, after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw of 9.2 million barrels for the week ended August 11. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its official weekly inventory report at 10:30 ET with the consensus calling for a drop of around 3.0 million barrels.

In corporate news, retailers are in focus once again following the latest earnings reports from Target (TGT 56.25, +1.95) and Urban Outfitters (URBN 20.30, +3.48). TGT is up 3.6% after reporting better than expected earnings and an increase of 1.3% in comparable same-store sales. Meanwhile, URBN has done even better, spiking 20.9%, after reporting better than expected earnings and revenues.

On the data front, Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.155 million units in July, down from a revised 1.213 million units in June (from 1.215 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected starts to increase to 1.217 million units.

Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.223 million in July from a revised 1.275 million in June (from 1.245 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.247 million.

08:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.50.

The S&P 500 futures currently trade six points, or 0.2%, above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. An adviser to the People's Bank of China said that China is unlikely to raise rates or the reserve requirement ratio and is more likely to use other tools to manage policy. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Joseph Dunford arrived in Shenyang, China yesterday, and signed an agreement to improve military communication between China and the United States. It is worth noting that tension between China and India escalated, with reports of a skirmish between the two sides along a disputed border.

In economic data:
Australia's Q2 Wage Price Index +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +1.9% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.9%). MI Leading Index +0.1% month-over-month (last -0.2%)
New Zealand's July RBNZ Offshore Holdings 58.7% (last 58.6%)
South Korea's July trade surplus KRW10.30 billion (expected surplus of KRW10.65 billion; last surplus of KRW10.65 billion). July Imports +15.5% year-over-year (expected 14.5%; last 14.5%) and July Exports +19.5% year-over-year, as expected (last 19.5%)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei shed 0.1%. Taisei, Casio, Comsys Holdings, Fast Retailing, Toyota, Nippon Electric Glass, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Tokyo Electron, and Fanuc lost between 1.1% and 2.3%. On the upside, Alps Electric, Secom, Yamato Holdings, Olympus, Kirin, Chugai Pharmaceutical, and Astellas Pharma advanced between 1.1% and 3.6%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9%. China Mengniu Dairy was the top performer, surging 8.8% while property names like Cheung Kong Property Holdings, Hang Lung Properties, Henderson Land, Swire Pacific, and SHK Properties gained between 1.1% and 1.8%. On the downside, China Resources Power and Kunlun Energy lost 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively.
China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2%. Quinghai Jinrui Mineral Development, Tibet Summit Resources, Baoji Titanium Industry, Fangda Special Steel Technology, Rising Nonferrous Metals Share lost between 3.7% and 5.1%.
India's Sensex climbed 1.0%. Tata Motors spiked 3.6% while Cipla, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Sun Pharma advanced between 2.7% and 3.5%. Financials posted gains with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, AXIS Bank, and SBI rising between 0.8% and 1.7%.

Major European indices trade higher across the board with Italy's MIB (+1.2%) and France's CAC (+1.1%) showing relative strength. The euro (-0.1% to 1.1717) has seen some selling against the dollar after Reuters reported that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is not expected to unveil a taper at next week's Jackson Hole symposium. Instead, the ECB chief is expected to discuss the global economy.

In economic data:
Eurozone Q2 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.2% year-over-year (expected 2.1%; last 2.1%)
UK's June Claimant Count Change -4,200 (expected 3,700; last 3,500) and Unemployment Rate 4.4% (expected 4.5%; last 4.5%). June Average Earnings Index + Bonus +2.1% (expected 1.8%; last 1.9%)
Italy's Q2 GDP +0.4% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.4%); +1.5% year-over-year (consensus 1.4%; last 1.2%)

---Equity Markets---

UK's FTSE is higher by 0.6%. Consumer names like Diageo, Paddy Power, Kingfisher, Persimmon, Burberry, and InterContinental Hotels are up between 0.8% and 2.2%. Select financials also outperform with Provident Financial, Old Mutual, RBS, and Aviva rising between 1.0% and 3.1%.
Germany's DAX trades up 0.9% with all but five names on the rise. Siemens, Continental, Linde, Volkswagen, Bayer, BASF, and Deutsche Bank show gains between 0.9% and 2.6%. Prosiebensat 1 is the weakest performer, shedding 0.4%.
France's CAC has climbed 1.1%. Carrefour leads, rising 1.8%, while ArcelorMittal, TechnipFMC, Valeo, Airbus, Peugeot, Total, Safran, Louis Vuitton, and Renault show gains between 1.3% and 1.9%.
Italy's MIB trades higher by 1.2%, approaching last week's high. Banca Pop Emilia Romagna, Intesa Sanpaolo, UBI Banca, UniCredit, Mediobanca, and Banca Generali are up between 1.1% and 2.4%.

08:35AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.80.

The S&P 500 futures currently trade six points, or 0.2%, above fair value.

Just in, Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.155 million units in July, down from a revised 1.213 million units in June (from 1.215 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected starts to increase to 1.217 million units.

Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.223 million in July from a revised 1.275 million in June (from 1.245 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.247 million.

08:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.30.

Equity futures are pointing to a slightly higher open for the stock market this morning following a mixed performance in Asia and amid an upbeat performance in Europe. The most notable item on today's calendar is the 14:00 ET release of the minutes from the July 25-26 FOMC meeting. The S&P 500 futures currently trade five points, or 0.2%, above fair value.

Investors will be analyzing the minutes from the July 25-26 FOMC meeting closely this afternoon, looking for clues as to when the Fed might begin reducing its massive balance sheet. In addition, any language surrounding inflation will be of interest as its stubbornness to pick up may force the U.S. central bank to settle for just two rate hikes this year instead of the three that it had originally planned for.

If the Fed hikes rates again this year, it will almost certainly be at the December FOMC meeting. The fed funds futures market currently assigns an implied probability of 51.5% to a December rate hike.

U.S. Treasuries are trading flat this morning with the benchmark 10-yr yield unchanged at 2.28%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.93, +0.19) holds a modest gain of 0.2%. The greenback has climbed 0.3% against the euro to 1.1703 following news that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will not discuss monetary policy at next week's Jackson Hole symposium.

Crude oil is up 0.3% this morning, hovering at a price of $47.70/bbl, after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw of 9.2 million barrels for the week ended August 11. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its official weekly inventory report at 10:30 ET with the consensus calling for a drop of around 3.0 million barrels.

On the data front, investors will receive Housing Starts for July (Briefing.com consensus 1.217 million) at 8:30 ET. Also of note, the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index ticked up 0.1% to follow last week's 3.0% increase.

In U.S. corporate news:

Target (TGT 57.61, +3.26): +6.0% after reporting better than expected earnings and an increase of 1.3% in comparable same-store sales.
Urban Outfitters (URBN 20.00, +3.18): +18.9% after beating both top and bottom line estimates.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.9%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.2%, India's Sensex +1.0%.
In economic data:
Australia's Q2 Wage Price Index +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +1.9% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.9%). MI Leading Index +0.1% month-over-month (last -0.2%)
New Zealand's July RBNZ Offshore Holdings 58.7% (last 58.6%)
South Korea's July trade surplus KRW10.30 billion (expected surplus of KRW10.65 billion; last surplus of KRW10.65 billion). July Imports +15.5% year-over-year (expected 14.5%; last 14.5%) and July Exports +19.5% year-over-year, as expected (last 19.5%)
In news:
An adviser to the People's Bank of China said that China is unlikely to raise rates or the reserve requirement ratio and is more likely to use other tools to manage policy.
The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Joseph Dunford arrived in Shenyang, China yesterday, and signed an agreement to improve military communication between China and the United States.
It is worth noting that tension between China and India escalated, with reports of a skirmish between the two sides along a disputed border.

Major European indices trade higher across the board. UK's FTSE +0.7%, Germany's DAX +0.8%, France's CAC +1.1%, Italy's MIB +1.2%.
In economic data:
Eurozone Q2 GDP +0.6% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.2% year-over-year (expected 2.1%; last 2.1%)
UK's June Claimant Count Change -4,200 (expected 3,700; last 3,500) and Unemployment Rate 4.4% (expected 4.5%; last 4.5%). June Average Earnings Index + Bonus +2.1% (expected 1.8%; last 1.9%)
Italy's Q2 GDP +0.4% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.4%); +1.5% year-over-year (consensus 1.4%; last 1.2%)
In news:
The euro (-0.3% to 1.1703) has seen some selling against the dollar after Reuters reported that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is not expected to unveil a taper at next week's Jackson Hole symposium. Instead, the ECB chief is expected to discuss the global economy.

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +7.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +23.10.
05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei

...19729...-24.00

...-0.10%

Hang Seng

...27409...+234.10

...+0.90%

05:52AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE

...7430.76...+46.90

...+0.60%

DAX

...12278...+100.80

...+0.80%

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Wall Street followed up Monday's rally with a rather dull, range-bound session on Tuesday that left the major averages little changed. The Dow (unch) eked out a narrow victory while the S&P 500 (-0.1%) and the Nasdaq (-0.1%) each settled just a tick below their unchanged marks. Small caps underperformed, sending the Russell 2000 lower by 0.8%.

Investors rolled into pre-market action on Tuesday with a boost of confidence following news that North Korea's Supreme leader Kim Jong-un has decided against launching missiles towards the U.S. territory of Guam, which he threatened to do last week. However, he did warn that he could change his mind "if the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions."

A hotter than expected July Retail Sales Report (+0.6% actual vs +0.3% Briefing.com consensus) tempered the upbeat sentiment, though, forcing investors to rethink their rate-hike expectations. At the closing bell, the fed funds futures market assigned an implied probability of 55.2% to a December rate hike, up from 37.4% on Monday.

U.S. Treasuries slid to new lows following the retail sales release, pushing the benchmark 10-yr yield as high as 2.28%. In the end, the 10-yr yield finished five basis points higher at 2.27% and the 2-yr yield finished four basis points higher at 1.35%. Underpinned by the increase in interest rates, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.72, +0.38) advanced 0.4%.

The most influential sectors--technology (+0.2%) and financials (+0.2%)--exhibited relative strength throughout the session, helping to keep losses in check. The financial space opened with a gain of around 1.0%, but began fading almost immediately. The technology group was underpinned by yet another positive performance from Apple (AAPL 161.60, +1.75), which climbed 1.1% to a new all-time high.

In addition to technology and financials, the utilities (+0.5%), consumer staples (+0.5%), and materials (unch) sectors finished in positive territory. On the flip side, the consumer discretionary (-0.9%), industrials (-0.2%), energy (-0.4%), health care (unch), telecom services (-1.0%), and real estate (-0.3%) groups closed in the red.

Retailers headlined the earnings front after names like Home Depot (HD 150.17, -4.09), TJX (TJX 70.16, +0.54), Coach (COH 40.64, -7.28), Advance Auto (AAP 87.08, -22.24), and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS 26.87, -8.04) delivered their quarterly results. The reactions were largely negative as four of the five aforementioned companies finished in negative territory.

Dick's Sporting Goods, Advanced Auto, and Coach plunged 23.0%, 20.3%, and 15.2%, respectively, after all three companies lowered their outlooks for the fiscal year. AAP and DKS also missed earnings estimates while COH came up short on revenue expectations. Meanwhile, Home Depot dropped 2.7% despite beating bottom-line estimates and raising its guidance.

TJX was the lone advancer, climbing 0.8%, in reaction to better than expected earnings. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 38.59, -1.07) dropped 2.7% to close at its worst level since February 2016.

Reviewing Tuesday's big batch of economic data, which included July Retail Sales, July Import/Export Prices, June Business Inventories, August Empire Manufacturing, and the August NAHB Housing Market Index:

July retail sales increased 0.6%, which is above the Briefing.com consensus of +0.3%. The prior month's reading was revised to +0.3% from -0.2%. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 0.5% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.3%. The prior month's reading was revised to +0.1% from -0.2%. Core retail sales, which exclude auto, gasoline station, building materials, and food services & drinking places sales, increased 0.5% and the June decline of 0.1% was revised to an uptick of 0.1%.
Core retail sales is the component that factors into the PCE goods component of the GDP report, so the key takeaway from the retail sales data is that it points to a rebound in spending on consumer goods in July after a weak finish to the second quarter. This should be a positive input for Q2 GDP models.
Import prices excluding oil declined 0.1% in July after rising 0.1% in June. Export prices excluding agriculture increased 0.3% in July after finishing flat in June.
The key takeaway from the report is that inflation readings remain low, but there are some hints of a possible turn in the near future.
Business Inventories rose 0.5% in June, which is above the Briefing.com consensus of 0.4%. The prior month's reading was left unrevised at +0.3%.
The key takeaway from the report is that while sales have increased, the pace of growth was below that of inventories. This means there are still some hurdles in the way of restoration of pricing power.
The Empire Manufacturing Survey for August rose to 25.2 from the prior month's reading of 9.8. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was pegged at 13.0.
The NAHB Housing Market Index for August rose to 68 (Briefing.com consensus 65) from an unrevised reading of 64 in July.

On Wednesday, investors will receive just two pieces of economic data--the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index and July Housing Starts (Briefing.com consensus 1.217 million). The two reports will be released at 7:00 ET and 8:30 ET, respectively.

Also of note, the minutes from the July 25-26 FOMC meeting will be released at 14:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +17.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +11.3% YTD
S&P 500 +10.1% YTD
Russell 2000 +1.9% YTD

Dow: +5.28… | Nasdaq: -7.22… | S&P: -1.23…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 944/1914. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1064/1852

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Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. Also, thank you for the review of TheStrategyLab performance record...hopefully the links will be useful for you.

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me): http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading
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