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)
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
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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 @ $4537.50 dollars or +90.75 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 Profit @ $4537.50 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=2620

##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: -204.69… | Nasdaq: -135.46… | S&P: -35.81…
NASDAQ Vol: ---… Adv: 630… Dec: 2129…
NYSE Vol: 859.0 mln… Adv: 398… Dec: 2613…

Moving the Market

U.S.-North Korea tension continues to weigh on sentiment

Top-weighted technology sector leads the broader market lower

July Core PPI cooler than expected (-0.1% actual vs +0.2% Briefing.com consensus)

Sector Watch
Strong: Consumer Staples, Utilities, Telecom Services, Real Estate
Weak: Technology
04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The equity market took a sizable blow on Thursday as combative jawboning between the U.S. and North Korea weighed on investor sentiment for the third day in a row. Tech stocks led the retreat, sending the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-2.1%) and the S&P 500 (-1.5%) below their 50-day simple moving averages for the first time in a month. The Dow also finished solidly lower, dropping 0.9%.

President Trump dialed up his warning to North Korea on Thursday afternoon, saying Tuesday's 'fire and fury' comment--in which the president promised action against North Korea if it continues to threaten the United States--may not have been tough enough. Pyongyang has threatened a strike on the U.S. territory of Guam, laying out a plan in detail, in response to Mr. Trump's Tuesday statement.

The U.S.-North Korea spat got the bearish ball rolling on Tuesday and Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 lower by 0.2% and 0.1% on each day, respectively, but today's much larger decline points to a market that was most likely overdue for a pullback following yet another run to record highs.

Recent trends seem to validate this belief, including the underperformance of transports and small caps, which are seen as leading indicators, a rally in the Treasury market, and a lack of conviction among investors throughout a strong earnings season.

Today's risk-off sentiment was distinguishable in the sector standings as countercyclical groups largely outperformed their cyclical peers. In total, ten of eleven sectors settled in negative territory with the rate-sensitive utilities group (+0.3%) being the lone advancer as a rally in the Treasury market left rates lower across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield dropped three basis points to 2.21%.

The top-weighted technology sector (-2.2%) settled at the very bottom of the day's leaderboard. The sector's most influential component--Apple (AAPL 155.32, -5.11)--plunged 3.2% while chipmakers also showed notable weakness, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index lower by 2.8%.

The heavily-weighted financial sector (-1.8%) also settled behind the broader market, as did the consumer discretionary group (-1.5%), which was weighed down by retailers in particular, evidenced by the 3.1% decrease in the SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 39.40, -1.24). Kohl's (KSS 39.50, -2.43) and Macy's (M 20.67, -2.36) led the retail retreat, dropping 5.8% and 10.3%, respectively, despite beating bottom-line estimates.

It's also worth pointing out that the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.74, +4.63) surged 41.7% to a four-month high after drifting near an all-time low from mid-July to early August.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included the July Producer Price Index and the weekly Initial Claims Report:

July producer prices came in at -0.1%, which is below the Briefing.com consensus of +0.2%. Core producer prices also declined 0.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2%.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) report for July was weaker than expected. The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn in producer prices will presumably keep a lid on consumer inflation expectations.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 244,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 240,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 241,000 (from 240,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.951 million from the revised count of 1.967 million (from 1.968 million).
There are no new takeaways from those data series, which remain at low levels reflective of a tight labor market.

On Friday, economic data will be limited to the July Consumer Price Index (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%), which will cross the wires at 8:30 ET.

Dow: -204.69… | Nasdaq: -135.46… | S&P: -35.81…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 630/2129. …NYSE Adv/Dec 398/2613.

03:15PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities ended the day lower:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently down 1.04% at 83.5388.
Dollar index is currently down 0.22% at 93.35.
Sept WTI crude is down on the day.
Futures settled $1.01 lower to $48.58/barrel.
In other energy, Sept natural gas settled up $0.10 at $2.98/MMBtu following EIA inventory data
Natural gas inventory showed a build of 28 bcf vs a build of 20 bcf in the prior week.
Precious metals finished higher:
Dec gold rose $10.80 to settle at $1290.00/oz, while Sept silver gained $0.20 to $17.06/oz
Sept copper lost $0.03 to $2.90/lb
Finally, agriculture:
September corn is $0.13 lower at $3.73/bu.
November soy is down $0.29 at $9.44/bu.
September wheat is down $0.17 at $4.59/bu.

Dow: -132.68… | Nasdaq: -103.60… | S&P: -26.48…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 675/2134. …NYSE Adv/Dec 469/2510.

03:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Barring a sharp shift in sentiment, the stock market will end today's session in negative territory, marking its third loss in a row. The benchmark S&P 500 is currently lower by 0.9%.

Ten out of eleven sectors are trading in the red moving into the final hour of action with the top-weighted technology space (-1.4%) leading the retreat. As for the other laggards, losses range from 0.1% (consumer staples) to 1.2% (financials). The lightly-weighted utilities space is the lone advancer, sporting a modest gain of 0.4%.

Snap (SNAP 13.57, +0.01), the parent company of the messaging app Snapchat, will be delivering its latest earnings report following today's closing bell. The company has plunged 41.0% since its last earnings release on May 10. In addition, NVIDIA (NVDA 167.25, -4.86) will also be reporting earnings results this afternoon.

Dow: -107.40… | Nasdaq: -91.78… | S&P: -22.63…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 719/2092. …NYSE Adv/Dec 521/2451.

02:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have been ticking up as of late with the S&P 500 trimming its loss to 0.9%. However, equities are still trading in the lower half of today's trading range.

Apple (AAPL 157.03, -3.40), which is the largest company in the S&P 500 by market cap, is trading a ways behind the broader market this afternoon with a loss of 2.0%. The tech giant rode a four-session winning streak into today's session, but the bulk majority of that advance is gone following today's decline. However, even with today's slide, Apple holds a post-earnings gain of 4.7%.

A little over a week ago, Apple impressed investors with its latest earnings report, which showed better than expected earnings and revenues. In addition, the company also issued encouraging guidance, suggesting that its much-anticipated iPhone 8 release is on schedule.

Dow: -116.08… | Nasdaq: -94.34… | S&P: -23.14…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 718/2122. …NYSE Adv/Dec 490/2478.

02:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hover just a tick above their session lows. The S&P 500 currently holds a loss of 1.1%.

Perrigo (PRGO 77.69, +11.32) has surged 17.1% today after beating both top and bottom line estimates and raising its earnings guidance for the fiscal year. The Ireland-based generic drugmaker's upbeat results distinguished it from peers like Teva (TEVA 17.36, -0.14) and Mylan (MYL 32.33, +0.25), both of which plunged in recent days following disappointing earnings results. Today's advance places PRGO shares at their best level since late February.

Unfortunately, the health care sector (-1.0%) hasn't benefited much from Perrigo's spike as it currently trades in line with the broader market. For the week, the health care space holds a loss of 1.1%, which places it in the upper half of the sector standings.

Dow: -134.03… | Nasdaq: -101.63… | S&P: -25.33…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 620/2218. …NYSE Adv/Dec 415/2542.

01:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices continue to show heavy losses at this time as geopolitical jitters remain in focus.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that Apple (AAPL 157.15, -3.28), Goldman Sachs (GS 227.57, -3.44), & DuPont (DD 80.29, -1.04) are underperforming.

Conversely, McDonald's (MCD 157.06, +2.14) is the best-performing Dow component as shares display notable relative strength in the face of broad market weakness.

As stocks see an extension of yesterday's losses, the DJIA is now down 0.73% this week.

Elsewhere, at the top of the hour, the Treasury's $15 bln 30-year auction drew a high yield of 2.818% on a bid-to-cover of 2.32.

Dow: -117.3… | Nasdaq: -95.37… | S&P: -22.61…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 687/2131. …NYSE Adv/Dec 481/2482.

01:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have been extending their opening losses throughout the first half of Thursday's session with the S&P 500's most influential sectors--technology (-1.6%) and financials (-1.1%)--pacing the retreat. The tech-laden Nasdaq is the weakest index, dropping 1.5%, followed by the S&P 500 (-0.9%), and then the Dow (-0.6%).

Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. continue to run high after Pyongyang laid out the details of a plan to strike the U.S. territory of Guam by mid-August. The heightened geopolitical uncertainty may have gotten the bearish ball rolling today, but the follow through points to a market that many believed was already overdue for a pullback.

The signs have been there for a little while as both the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Russell 2000, which are seen as leading indicators, have been underperforming, Treasuries have been rallying, and a strong earnings reporting period has been met with a largely muted response from investors.

Still, today's slide is pretty modest in the grand scheme of things as the benchmark S&P 500 remains 9.3% higher for the year. Even more impressive, the Nasdaq and the Dow hold year-to-date gains of 15.9% and 10.8%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow hit all-time highs on Monday while its been just a little over a week since the Nasdaq closed at a record high.

Ten of eleven sectors currently trade in negative territory with the lightly-weighted utilities group (+0.2%) being the lone advancer. As mentioned in the opening line, the top-weighted technology (-1.6%) and financials (-1.1%) sectors exhibit relative weakness. The consumer discretionary sector (-1.1%) is also struggling to keep pace with the broader market as retailers weigh.

The SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 39.50, -1.14) has dropped 2.8% in today's session with Kohl's (KSS 38.95, -2.98) and Macy's (M 20.77, -2.26) leading the retreat. The two department store retailers have lost 7.1% and 9.7%, respectively, despite reporting better than expected earnings this morning.

Outside of the equity market, safe-haven assets like U.S. Treasuries and gold are trading higher, as is the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.33, +4.22), which has spiked 37.5% to a three-month high. Gold is up 0.9% at $1,290.53/ozt, marking its best level in two months, while the benchmark 10-yr yield has slipped three basis points to 2.22%.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included the July Producer Price Index and the weekly Initial Claims Report:

July producer prices came in at -0.1%, which is below the Briefing.com consensus of +0.2%. Core producer prices also declined 0.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2%.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) report for July was weaker than expected. The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn in producer prices will presumably keep a lid on consumer inflation expectations.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 244,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 240,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 241,000 (from 240,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.951 million from the revised count of 1.967 million (from 1.968 million).
There are no new takeaways from those data series, which remain at low levels reflective of a tight labor market.

Dow: -131.20… | Nasdaq: -99.01… | S&P: -23.69…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 602/2231. …NYSE Adv/Dec 447/2510.

12:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover near their worst marks of the day in early-afternoon action. The S&P 500 is down 1.1%.

Crude oil ticked above $50.00/bbl, which has acted as a level of resistance over the last two weeks or so, early this morning, but moved sharply lower soon thereafter, squandering its gain of 1.3%. The commodity is currently trading 0.8% below its flat line at a price of $49.17/bbl.

The early-morning reversal came a little while after OPEC released its monthly report, which showed that the oil cartel ramped up production in July. The energy sector (-0.7%) currently trades a step ahead of the broader market.

Dow: -147.18… | Nasdaq: -104.66… | S&P: -25.95…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 598/2257. …NYSE Adv/Dec 474/2477.

12:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.6%) trades a step ahead of the S&P 500 (-0.9%), which hovers at a fresh session low.

Financials are trading lower across the board, sending the heavily-weighted financial sector (-1.2%) to the bottom of today's sector standings. The sector represents around 15.0% of the broader market, second only to the technology group, which accounts for around 20.0%. Given the important role of financial institutions in driving economic activity, the sector is highly influential, often pacing rallies and retreats.

The financial sector climbed to its best level since the 2007-2008 financial crisis last week, but has since faced a wave of selling pressure, dropping 1.6% this week. Within the Dow, Goldman Sachs (GS 226.95, -4.06) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 92.60, -0.93) show relative weakness, losing 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Dow: -119.58… | Nasdaq: -96.47… | S&P: -23.39…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 630/2229. …NYSE Adv/Dec 492/2414.

11:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are still solidly lower this morning with the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-1.1%) exhibiting relative weakness.

All eleven sectors are trading in negative territory with losses ranging from 0.1% (telecom services) to 1.3% (financials). The top-weighted technology sector is among the weakest groups, dropping 1.1%, as nearly all of its components trade in the red. Chipmakers exhibit notable weakness, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index lower by 1.7%, ahead of NVIDIA's (NVDA 166.77, -5.17) latest earnings report, which will cross the wires following today's closing bell.

On the flip side, countercyclical sectors like consumer staples (-0.3%), utilities (-0.2%), and telecom services (-0.1%) exhibit relative strength amid today's risk-off sentiment. For the week, consumer staples is the only sector trading in positive territory (+0.3%).

Dow: -108.18… | Nasdaq: -73.14… | S&P: -20.49…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 646/2189. …NYSE Adv/Dec 469/2423.

11:05AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices have been driven off their opening levels this morning as the bears continue to strengthen. The S&P 500 is currently lower by 0.7%.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.01, +2.91) has surged 27.6% today, hitting its highest level in nearly three months, after drifting near an all-time low from mid-July to early August. The VIX shows what kind of a move, in percentage terms, the market is pricing in for a one-month period from the spot reading. The index is derived from near-dated options on the S&P 500.

In addition to the heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, short-covering activity is likely giving the VIX an added boost today. For the week, the VIX is up four points or 39.7%.

Dow: -113.83… | Nasdaq: -67.62… | S&P: -18.78…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 688/2125. …NYSE Adv/Dec 542/2333.

10:35AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.24% at 84.6167.
Dollar index is currently up 0.05% at 93.60.
Sept WTI crude is up slightly on the day.
Futures are $0.03 higher to $49.59/barrel.
In other energy natural gas EIA inventory data was just released at 10:30am ET:
Natural gas inventory showed a build of 28 bcf vs a build of 20 bcf in the prior week.
Sept natural gas is moving higher, up $0.05 at $2.933/MMBtu
Precious metals are continuing to see strength as stocks are weak:
Dec gold gained $13.00 and trades at $1292.30/oz, while Sept silver is up $0.317 to $17.18/oz
Sept copper is down $0.017 to $2.91/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Sept corn is up $0.015 at $3.8775/bu.
Nov soy is up $0.0925 at $9.825/bu.
Sept wheat is down $0.0175 at $4.5775/bu.

Dow: -104.25… | Nasdaq: 66.13… | S&P: 16.88…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 685/2099. …NYSE Adv/Dec 571/2272.

09:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have extended their opening losses a bit in recent action. The S&P 500 currently trades lower by 0.6%.

Department store retailers Kohl's (KSS 38.38, -3.54) and Macy's (M 22.17, -0.86) have dropped 8.5% and 3.7%, respectively, despite both companies reporting better than expected earnings earlier this morning. The negative performances have weighed on the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 39.98, -0.66), which is currently down 1.7%.

Also of note, Blue Apron (APRN 5.29, -0.95) has plunged 15.2% this morning after missing bottom-line estimates and issuing below-consensus revenue guidance. Today's slide places the company 47.1% below its June IPO price of 10.00 per share.

Dow: -90.69… | Nasdaq: -49.10… | S&P: -13.58…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 824/1850. …NYSE Adv/Dec 747/1938.

09:40AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages opened Thursday's session in negative territory with the S&P 500 showing a loss of 0.4%.

All sectors are trading in the red with the top-weighted technology (-0.6%) and financials (-0.6%) groups leading the retreat. The consumer discretionary space (-0.5%) also exhibits relative weakness as retailers weigh, evidenced by the 1.8% decrease in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 39.90, -0.74), while the lightly-weighted utilities space (-0.1%) shows relative strength.

In the bond market, Treasuries are trading higher across the curve, leaving the benchmark 10-yr yield two basis points lower at 2.23%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.45, +0.04) trades flat.

Dow: -91.93… | Nasdaq: -38.89… | S&P: -11.22…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 793/1776. …NYSE Adv/Dec 693/1913.

09:16AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -33.60.

Modest selling continues on Wall Street this morning as the back-and-forth between the U.S. and North Korea carries on, weighing on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 futures currently trade nine points, or 0.4%, below fair value.

North Korea expanded on its recent threat to strike the U.S. territory of Guam, announcing a plan to fire four missiles towards the tiny island by the middle of August. The latest development in this week's most watched saga follows Tuesday reports that North Korea now has the capability to load its missiles with miniaturized nuclear warheads and threats of "fire and fury" from President Trump.

Despite the heightened geopolitical tension, the mark's reaction has been modest; the S&P 500 enters Thursday's session with a slim week-to-date loss of just 0.1% and hovers just a tick below the record-high close that it posted on Monday. The Nasdaq is unchanged for the week while the Dow sits lower by 0.2%.

Safe-haven assets like U.S. Treasuries and gold are trading higher, as is the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 12.47, +1.36), which has jumped 12.2% to a one-month high. Gold is up 0.9% at $1,290.04/ozt, marking its best level in two months, while the benchmark 10-yr yield has slipped two basis points to 2.23%.

Treasuries ticked up following this morning's batch of economic data, which included the July Producer Price Index and the weekly Initial Claims Report. July producer prices came in at -0.1%, which is below the Briefing.com consensus of +0.2%. Core producer prices also declined 0.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2%.

Separately, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 244,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 240,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 241,000 (from 240,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.951 million from the revised count of 1.967 million (from 1.968 million).

In U.S. corporate news, department store retailers Kohl's (KSS 40.16, -1.77) and Macy's (M 22.80, -0.23) delivered their latest earnings reports this morning. Both companies beat earnings expectations, but have slipped anyway in the aftermath, dropping 4.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

08:50AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -31.00.

The S&P 500 futures trade eight points, or 0.3%, below fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a lower note amid continued concerns surrounding the situation on the Korean peninsula. North Korea's government said its military will have a finalized plan for a missile launch towards Guam ready by the middle of the month, and send the plan to its leader for approval. In central bank news, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its official cash rate at 1.75%, as expected. Governor Graeme Wheeler said the central bank maintains a neutral stance on rates and does not see a rate hike in the near future. Foreign exchange rates were not discussed.

In economic data:
Japan's July PPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last 0.0%); +2.6% year-over-year (expected 2.4%; last 2.1%). June Core Machinery Orders -1.9% month-over-month (expected 3.7%; last -3.6%); -5.2% year-over-year (consensus -1.0%; last 0.6%). Tertiary Industry Activity Index 0.0% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last -0.1%)
Australia's MI Inflation Expectations slowed to 4.2% from 4.4%
New Zealand's July Electronic Card Retail Sales -0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.1%); +2.0% year-over-year (last 4.5%)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei shed 0.1%. Dentsu, Haseko, DeNA, Rakuten, Sony Financial Holdings, Ebara, Kubota, Olympus, Advantest, Trend Micro, Sony, and Komatsu lost between 1.4% and 6.1%. On the flip side, Dai Nippon Printing, Nisshin Steel Holdings, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Nippon Electric Glass, Kobe Steel, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals advanced between 1.5% and 5.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1%. Wharf Holdings was the weakest performer, falling 7.1% in reaction to a downgrade. Financials and property names like ICBC, Ping An Insurance, New World Development, China Life Insurance, China Overseas, Bank of China, SHK Properties, HSBC, and Cheung Kong Property Holdings surrendered between 1.4% and 2.3%.
China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4%. Jiangxi Copper, Baoji Titanium Industry, Anhui Xinli Finance, Sichuan Western Resources Holding, and Time Publishing & Media lost between 4.3% and 4.0%.
India's Sensex ended lower by 0.8%, posting its fourth consecutive decline. Tata Motors dropped 8.6% after its quarterly report showed rising raw material costs. Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma, and Cipla surrendered between 2.5% and 4.8% while financials also settled lower. HDFC Bank, AXIS Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI lost between 0.3% and 1.9%. Tech consultants outperformed with Tata Consultancy, Wipro, and Infosys rising between 0.4% and 1.4%.

Major European indices trade on a lower note with the UK's FTSE (-1.2%) leading the retreat. Continued geopolitical concerns have kept regional markets on their heels for the second consecutive day. The euro has retreated 0.2% against the dollar to 1.1739 while the pound trades flat at 1.3003. The cautious posturing has invited some demand for government bonds, leading to modestly lower yields across the region. Germany's bund yield has dipped one basis point to 0.42%. The Swiss franc has seen some selling, shedding 0.2% against the dollar to 0.9659 after spiking more than 1.0% on Wednesday.

In economic data:
UK's June trade deficit widened to GBP12.72 billion from GBP11.31 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.00 billion). June Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last -0.1%); +0.3% year-over-year (consensus -0.1%; last -0.2%). June Manufacturing Production 0.0% month-over-month, as expected (last -0.1%); +0.6% year-over-year, as expected (last 0.3%). June Construction Output -0.1% month-over-month (expected 1.5%; last -0.4%); +0.9% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 0.5%)
France's June Industrial Production -1.1% month-over-month (expected -0.5%; last 1.9%)
Italy's June trade surplus expanded to EUR4.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR3.87 billion; last surplus of EUR4.34 billion

---Equity Markets---

UK's FTSE is down 1.2%, returning to last week's levels. Miners, energy names, and select financials are among the laggards. Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore, and Antofagasta are down between 1.6% and 3.2% while Royal Dutch Shell and BP are both down near 2.0%. Financials like Lloyds Banking, Direct Line Insurance, HSBC, and Standard Life show losses between 1.2% and 2.6%.
Germany's DAX has slid 0.8% to levels not seen since mid-April. Munich Re and Deutsche Bank have paced today's retreat with respective losses of 1.5% and 1.6%. Heavyweights like BASF, Volkswagen, Siemens, Daimler, SAP, and BMW are down between 0.5% and 1.1%. On the upside, Thyssenkrupp and Prsiebensat 1 are up 2.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
France's CAC has shed 0.2%. Financials Credit Agricole, AXA, Unibail Rodamco, and Societe Generale show losses between 0.3% and 0.9%. Consumer stocks like Danone, Accor, Carrefour, and L'Oreal hold losses between 0.6% and 1.7%.

08:33AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -29.50.

The S&P 500 futures trade eight points, or 0.3%, below fair value.

Just in, July producer prices came in at -0.1%, which is below the Briefing.com consensus of +0.2%. Core producer prices also declined 0.1% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2%.

Separately, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 244,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 240,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 241,000 (from 240,000). As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.951 million from the revised count of 1.967 million (from 1.968 million).

08:05AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -38.40.

Stocks are lower around the globe once again this morning as the war of words between the United States and North Korea continues. The S&P 500 futures are currently trading ten points, or 0.4%, below fair value.

Pyongyang announced its plans to send four rockets near the U.S. territory of Guam by the middle of August, saying preparations should be ready in just a matter of days. The latest development in this week's most watched saga follows Tuesday reports that North Korea now has the capability to load its missiles with miniaturized nuclear warheads and threats of "fire and fury" from President Trump.

Despite the heightened geopolitical tension, the S&P 500 enters Thursday's session with a slim week-to-date loss of just 0.1% and hovers just a tick below the record-high close that it posted on Monday. The Nasdaq is unchanged for the week while the Dow sits lower by 0.2%.

U.S. Treasuries are modestly higher this morning amid the risk-off sentiment, leaving the benchmark 10-yr yield one basis point lower at 2.24%. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 12.42, +1.31), often referred to as the "investor fear gauge", has jumped 11.8% to a fresh one-month high and gold is up 0.6% at 1,286.34/ozt, which marks a two-month high for the yellow metal.

Also of note, crude oil is up 0.7% at a price of $49.93/bbl following OPEC's monthly report for July. The oil cartel raised its demand forecast for 2018, but reported another jump in its output.

On the data front, investors will receive two pieces of economic data today--the July Producer Price Index (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) and the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 240K). Both reports will be released at 8:30 ET.

In U.S. corporate news:

Kohl's (KSS 43.02, +1.09): +2.6% after beating bottom-line estimates.
Perrigo (PRGO 72.97, +7.60): +11.5% after beating both top and bottom line estimates and raising its guidance for the fiscal year.
Canada Goose (GOOS 19.95, +1.00): +5.3% after reporting better than expected earnings and revenues.
Blue Apron (APRN 6.38, +0.14): +2.2% after a 19.0% year-over-year increase in orders outweighed worse than expected earnings.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a lower note amid continued concerns surrounding the situation on the Korean peninsula. Japan's Nikkei -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.1%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.4%, India's Sensex -0.8%.
In economic data:
Japan's July PPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last 0.0%); +2.6% year-over-year (expected 2.4%; last 2.1%). June Core Machinery Orders -1.9% month-over-month (expected 3.7%; last -3.6%); -5.2% year-over-year (consensus -1.0%; last 0.6%). Tertiary Industry Activity Index 0.0% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last -0.1%)
Australia's MI Inflation Expectations slowed to 4.2% from 4.4%
New Zealand's July Electronic Card Retail Sales -0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.1%); +2.0% year-over-year (last 4.5%)
In news:
North Korea's government said its military will have a finalized plan for a missile launch towards Guam ready by the middle of the month, and send the plan to its leader for approval.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its official cash rate at 1.75%, as expected. Governor Graeme Wheeler said the central bank maintains a neutral stance on rates and does not see a rate hike in the near future. Foreign exchange rates were not discussed.

Major European indices trade on a lower note. UK's FTSE -1.3%, Germany's DAX -0.6%, France's CAC -0.2%.
In economic data:
UK's June trade deficit widened to GBP12.72 billion from GBP11.31 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.00 billion). June Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last -0.1%); +0.3% year-over-year (consensus -0.1%; last -0.2%). June Manufacturing Production 0.0% month-over-month, as expected (last -0.1%); +0.6% year-over-year, as expected (last 0.3%). June Construction Output -0.1% month-over-month (expected 1.5%; last -0.4%); +0.9% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 0.5%)
France's June Industrial Production -1.1% month-over-month (expected -0.5%; last 1.9%)
Italy's June trade surplus expanded to EUR4.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR3.87 billion; last surplus of EUR4.34 billion
In news:
Today's cautious posturing has invited some demand for government bonds, leading to modestly lower yields across the region. Germany's bund yield has dipped one basis point to 0.42%.

05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -27.10.
05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei

...19730...-9.00

...-0.10%

Hang Seng

...27444...-313.10

...-1.10%

05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE

...7418.94...-79.10

...-1.10%

DAX

...12070.32...-83.70

...-0.70%

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Investors took some additional profits on Wednesday as concerns surrounding the continued breakdown of U.S.-North Korea relations weighed on investor sentiment for the second day in a row. However, the cautious tone largely subsided by the day's end, making way for a late-afternoon rally that left the major averages at their best marks of the day. The S&P 500 finished just a tick below its flat line while the Dow and the Nasdaq settled lower by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Small caps underperformed, sending the Russell 2000 lower by 0.9%.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned that North Korea will be "met with fire and fury" if it continues to threaten nuclear action against the United States. Undeterred, North Korea responded just a few hours later by saying it's "carefully examining" a plan to strike the U.S. territory of Guam.

Investors have largely shrugged off the ongoing feud between the U.S. and North Korea, but yesterday's comments held a little more weight following reports that Pyongyang now has the capability to load its missiles with miniaturized nuclear warheads. Still, given the stock market's very modest two-day decline, it's clear that investors don't truly believe conflict is on the horizon.

Rather, market participants have used the aforementioned headlines as a convenient excuse to take some money off the table following the stock market's most recent run to new record highs.

Sector movement was pretty modest with eight of the eleven groups settling within 0.2% of their unchanged marks. Six sectors finished in the green with health care (+0.2%) leading the advance. On the flip side, four sectors closed in negative territory with the consumer discretionary (-0.5%) and utilities (-0.5%) spaces pacing the retreat. The industrial group finished flat.

Walt Disney (DIS 102.83, -4.15) and Netflix (NFLX 175.78, -2.58) weighed on the consumer discretionary space, dropping 3.9% and 1.5%, respectively, after Disney announced that it will end its distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019 in favor of a new direct-to-consumer streaming strategy. In addition, Disney reported earnings, beating bottom-line estimates, but missing on revenues.

Elsewhere on the earnings front, Priceline (PCLN 1906.80, -142.20) plunged 6.9% after below-consensus guidance overshadowed the company's better than expected earnings and revenues.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries climbed higher as safe-haven assets benefited from the day's risk-off tone; the benchmark 10-yr yield, which moves inversely to the price of the 10-yr Treasury note, slipped four basis points to 2.24%. Meanwhile, gold jumped 1.3% to $1,279.20/ozt and the Japanese yen climbed 0.3% to 110.02 against the U.S. Dollar.

Crude oil advanced 1.0% to $49.59/bbl after the Department of Energy reported a larger than expected draw in U.S. crude inventories (-6.5 million barrels actual vs -2.2 million barrels consensus). The commodity trended sideways near its flat line for some time before moving decidedly higher in the afternoon.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included second quarter Productivity and Unit Labor Costs, June Wholesale Inventories, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

The preliminary unit labor costs increased 0.6% during the second quarter, which was lower than the 1.5% increase that had been anticipated by the Briefing.com consensus. The preliminary productivity reading came in at +0.9% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.5%.
The key takeaway from the report, which also included revisions for the first quarter 2014 through the first quarter 2017, is that productivity continues to be weak, which is an impediment for an increased standard of living. In fact, with the revisions, it was shown that productivity decreased 0.1% in 2016, which is the first annual decrease since a 1.0% decrease in 1982.
June Wholesale Inventories increased 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus +0.6%). The prior month's reading was revised to +0.6% from +0.4%.
The key takeaway from the report is that there wasn't any progress in reducing the inventory-to-sales ratio, which would be helpful for wholesalers looking to gain some more pricing power.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 3.0% to follow last week's 2.8% decrease.

On Thursday, investors will receive two pieces of economic data--the July Producer Price Index (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) and the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 240K). Both reports will be released at 8:30 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +18.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +11.6% YTD
S&P 500 +10.5% YTD
Russell 2000 +2.9% YTD

Dow: -36.64… | Nasdaq: -18.13… | S&P: -0.90…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 803/2025. …NYSE Adv/Dec 886/2043

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M.A. Perry
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