TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Price Action Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
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)
Telephone: +1 708 572-4885
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
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Twitter @ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini RTY ($RTY_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $1,275.00 dollars or +25.50 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($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 @ $1,275.00 dollars

Russell 2000 Emini RTY Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $5.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup (formerly as TF @ 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 & Price Action Analysis is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=174&t=2721

All of my trades are posted real-time at the above link for today's archive chat log in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room via the user name wrbtrader for anyone to do a real-time review (you must be a member of the chat room for a real-time review). Although the trades and price action analysis are posted by me and other users of WRB Analysis in real-time...this is not a signal calling chat room nor is this a live trading room that has a head trader telling you what to do. I'm the moderator (I keep the peace between members) and my own live trades are posted within 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation in my broker trade execution platform 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), WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility...all key concepts from the WRB Analysis free study guide even though the free chat room is not design to be an education chat room because the education is only performed at the forums in the private threads.


##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. The free chat room is not a signal calling trading room nor is it a live trading room with a head trader even though members of the chat room are posting their trades & market analysis in real-time. 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 about your own trading 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 quantitative statistical analysis, brokerage statements in the free chat room. Instead, its highly recommended that you only post that particular information in your private thread for security reasons. Yet, if you want to post that type of information at another website, blog or chat room...that's your choice.

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, many different types of social media software can be used to log in along with IRC being easier to moderate via script codes when trouble makers, spammers and trolls show up. 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 problematic traders so that members can peacefully post their market observations, trades, WRB Analysis commentary about the markets without being trolled or harassed.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is not for traders looking for someone to hold their hands and tell them when to buy or sell nor do we allow the free chat room to be used for mentoring because we do not offer a mentoring service. The purpose of 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. If you join the free chat room and then you decide to not post any WRB Analysis about the price action or you decide to not post your trades or you decide to be silent (lurk without saying a word about today's markets)...you're not using the free chat room properly to help improve your trading.

In fact, we do not want silent (lurkers) traders to join the free chat room unless they are actively posting at the forum about their trading after the markets close. Access instructions for the free 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=335&t=3584 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 RTY 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 04:15PM ET
Dow: -37.45… | Nasdaq: -30.91… | S&P: -8.69…
NASDAQ Vol: 2.05 bln… Adv: 973… Dec: 1634…
NYSE Vol: 844.0 mln… Adv: 1051… Dec: 1887…

Moving the Market

House passes tax reform bill (227-203); Senate expected to vote tonight

Top-weighted technology sector struggles amid broad weakness

Sector Watch
Strong: Industrials, Energy, Consumer Staples
Weak: Technology, Utilities, Telecom Services, Real Estate

04:15PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] U.S. equities slipped from record highs on Tuesday as investors cautiously awaited the Senate's vote on tax reform.

The major indices held modest losses throughout most of the session, and a late wave of selling left them near their session lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%, the S&P 500 declined by 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.4%. Small caps underperformed, sending the Russell 2000 lower by 0.8%.

Tuesday's main event was the House's vote on tax reform, which took place at around 2:30 PM ET. The House passed the GOP's bill, as expected, in a party-line vote. The bill will now go to the Senate, where it will have a more narrow path to passage as the GOP has just a two-vote majority in the upper house. Still, the measure is expected to pass.

The Senate began the ten hours of required debate on the bill shortly before the closing bell, putting a final vote on track for early Wednesday morning.

Most sectors finished Tuesday in negative territory, a reverse of Monday's session. The utilities (-1.8%) and real estate (-1.9%) groups paced the retreat, but it was the top-weighted technology space (-0.5%) that had the most bearish impact on the broader market.

Tech shares were broadly weak, but Apple (AAPL 174.54, -1.88) showed particular weakness after Nomura downgraded the tech giant's shares to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' on Tuesday morning; AAPL shares ended the day lower by 1.1%. Chipmakers outperformed their tech peers, but still pulled the PHLX Semiconductor Index lower by 0.1%.

On the upside, the consumer staples sector (+0.2%) bounced back from a relatively poor outing on Monday. The group's largest component by market cap--Wal-Mart (WMT 98.80, +0.90)--was among the top performers, adding 0.9%, after Citigroup upgraded WMT shares to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'

Corporate news was pretty light on Tuesday, but it's worth pointing out that Darden Restaurants (DRI 96.69, +6.15)--the owner of chains like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse--jumped 6.8% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues for its fiscal second quarter. The company also raised its guidance for 2018.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries sold off on Tuesday, with longer-dated issues showing relative weakness. The yield on the 2-yr Treasury note climbed three basis points to 1.86%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield jumped seven basis points to 2.46%--its best level in two months. The 2yr-10yr spread hit a fresh December high (60 bps).

Elsewhere, equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region finished Tuesday mostly higher, while the major European bourses ended on a mostly lower note. Japan's Nikkei (-0.2%) exhibited relative weakness in Asia and the UK's FTSE (+0.1%) outperformed its peers across the pond.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included November Housing Starts, November Building Permits, and the Current Account Balance for the third quarter:

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.297 million units in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.259 million), up from a revised 1.256 million units in October (from 1.290 million). Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.298 million in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.280 million) from a revised 1.316 million in October (from 1.297 million).
The key takeaway from the report is that there was a 1.4% increase in permits for single-family homes and a 5.3% increase in single-family starts, as that is where supply growth is greatly needed to meet home buyer demand.
The current account deficit for the third quarter totaled $100.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion). The second quarter deficit was revised to $124.4 billion from $123.1 billion.

On Wednesday, investors will receive the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index and November Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.56 million). The two reports will be released at 7:00 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

Nasdaq Composite +29.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +25.3% YTD
S&P 500 +19.8% YTD
Russell 2000 +13.2% YTD

Dow: -37.45… | Nasdaq: -30.91… | S&P: -8.69…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 973/1634. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1051/1887.

03:35PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities end the day lower :

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently down 1.13% at 84.47
Dollar index is currently up 0% at 93.69
Jan WTI Crude is up 0.56% on the day.
API inventory data is due out at 4:30 pm ET.
Futures settle $0.32 higher to $57.54/barrel.
In other energy, Jan Natural Gas settled down $0.05 at $2.7/MMBtu
On the metals:
Feb Gold lost $1.60 to settle at $1263.90/oz, while Mar silver lost $0.05 to $16.16/oz
Mar copper settled flat at $3.15/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Mar Corn settled unchanged at $3.48/bu.
Jan Soy settled down $0.0075 at $9.5525/bu.
Mar Wheat settled down $0.01 at $4.19/bu.

Dow: -12.11… | Nasdaq: -30.06… | S&P: -6.21…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1098/1673. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1007/1949.

02:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The House passed the GOP's tax reform bill around 30 minutes ago, but the news hasn't had much impact on the equity market thus far. The Nasdaq is down 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow show losses of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

Looking ahead, several notable companies are scheduled to report earnings following today's closing bell, including FedEx (FDX 243.10, +1.19), Red Hat (RHT 128.84, -0.60), and Micron (MU 43.77, +0.07). Both General Mills (GIS 58.08, +0.28) and BlackBerry (BB 10.87, -0.07) will report results on Wednesday morning.

As for economic data, investors will receive November Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.56 million) tomorrow at 10:00 ET.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Senate will vote on the GOP's tax reform bill tonight. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is still undecided, but the GOP appears to have enough support to push the bill through the upper house even without his vote.

Dow: -16.26… | Nasdaq: -32.70… | S&P: -6.27…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1098/1688. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1019/1920.

02:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks continue hovering near their recent levels. The major averages hold losses between 0.1% and 0.4%.

Seven sectors are trading lower this afternoon--real estate (-1.8%), utilities (-1.2%), telecom services (-0.7%), technology (-0.6%), consumer discretionary (-0.1%), materials (-0.1%), and financials (-0.1%)--while four groups are trading in the green--health care (unch), industrials (unch), energy (+0.2%), and consumer staples (+0.4%).

In Washington, the House just began voting on the GOP's tax reform bill. With three vacancies, the bill needs 217 votes to pass.

Dow: -30.84… | Nasdaq: -29.71… | S&P: -6.07…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1164/1617. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1035/1891.

01:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices continue to trade slightly lower as investors turn their attention to Capitol Hill; the S&P 500 is down 0.2%.

The House of Representatives will begin voting on the GOP's tax reform bill momentarily. The measure is expected to pass comfortably.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced earlier today that the Senate will vote on the bill this evening. The measure is expected to pass in the Senate as well, but the margin of victory will be more narrow as the GOP has just a two-vote majority in the upper house.

If all goes according to plan, President Trump will sign the bill into law by the end of the week.

Dow: -16.12… | Nasdaq: -24.86… | S&P: -4.33…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1191/1604. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1036/1889.

01:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are trading a step below their flat lines this afternoon.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that Apple (AAPL 174.88, -1.54) and Microsoft (MSFT 85.70, -0.68) are among the weakest performers as tech shares have struggled throughout today's session. The two companies currently hold losses of around 0.9% apiece.

Conversely, Wal-Mart (WMT 98.84, +0.94) is the best-performing Dow component with a gain of 1.0%.

For the month, the DJIA is higher by 2.1%.

Dow: -11.93… | Nasdaq: -30.56… | S&P: -4.71…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1194/1591. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1063/1850.

01:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities have slipped from record highs ahead of the House's vote on tax reform--which is expected to take place at around 1:30 PM ET.

The major stock indices currently trade near their lowest marks of the day, but losses are modest in general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq exhibits relative weakness, showing a loss of 0.5%. The Russell 2000 is lower by 0.4%.

Republicans are expected to push their tax reform bill through the House this afternoon, setting up a vote in the Senate either late tonight or early tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, President Trump will likely sign off on his first major legislative victory before the end of the week.

The promise of tax reform has been on investors' minds all year, helping push the S&P 500 nearly 20% higher year to date.

Eight of eleven sectors are trading in the red this afternoon. However, only a few hold losses of more than 0.2%, the most notable of which is the top-weighted technology group (-0.8%). Mega-cap tech names like Apple (AAPL 174.58, -1.83), Microsoft (MSFT 85.60, -0.78), Facebook (FB 178.64, -2.18), and Alphabet (GOOG 1065.29, -11.85) show losses between 0.9% and 1.2%.

The lightly-weighted real estate (-1.8%) and utilities (-1.1%) sectors also hold notable losses, but the two spaces only comprise around 5.0% of the broader market combined. For comparison, the technology sector makes up nearly a quarter of the broader market alone. Therefore, it's correct to say today's decline in the S&P 500 is largely the result of technology's tumble.

On a positive note, the energy (+0.4%) and consumer staples (+0.5%) sectors are trading higher. Within the consumer staples group, Wal-Mart (WMT 98.82, +0.91) is among the top performers, adding 0.9%, after Citigroup upgraded the company's shares to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' this morning.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries have sold off in a curve-steepening trade ahead of the tax reform vote. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is up seven basis points at 2.46%, which marks a two-month high, while the 2-yr yield is up three basis points at 1.86%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Elsewhere, the major European bourses finished Tuesday mostly lower, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC losing 0.7% apiece, but the UK's FTSE added 0.1% as the British pound declined against the US dollar; the pound is currently down 0.2% against the greenback at 1.3360.

In the Asia-Pacific region, equity indices settled mixed. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively. India's Sensex also had a positive showing, moving higher by 0.7%.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included November Housing Starts, November Building Permits, and the Current Account Balance for the third quarter:

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.297 million units in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.259 million), up from a revised 1.256 million units in October (from 1.290 million). Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.298 million in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.280 million) from a revised 1.316 million in October (from 1.297 million).
The key takeaway from the report is that there was a 1.4% increase in permits for single-family homes and a 5.3% increase in single-family starts, as that is where supply growth is greatly needed to meet home buyer demand.
The current account deficit for the third quarter totaled $100.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion). The second quarter deficit was revised to $124.4 billion from $123.1 billion.

Dow: -29.53… | Nasdaq: -33.98… | S&P: -5.34…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1140/1641. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1069/1848.

12:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have slipped to fresh session lows as of late. The S&P 500 is down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq shows a loss of 0.6%.

European bourses ended Tuesday mostly lower, but the UK's FTSE (+0.1%) managed to eke out a slim victory. Germany's DAX and France's CAC lost 0.7% apiece, while the Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.8%, giving back around half of its Monday advance.

The U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 93.23 as the greenback trades higher by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, against the Japanese yen (113.04) and the British pound (1.3346) and lower by 0.3% against the euro (1.1820).

Dow: -52.69… | Nasdaq: -41.02… | S&P: -7.01…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1118/1654. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1011/1879.

11:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices haven't changed significantly since the last update.

Consumer staples names within the S&P 500 have added 0.5% in today's trading, with Altria (MO 74.11, +1.46) pacing the advance after Berenberg upgraded the tobacco producer's shares to 'Buy' from 'Hold' this morning; MO shares are higher by 2.0%. Wal-Mart (WMT 98.79, +0.89) also outperforms, adding 1.0%, after Citigroup upgraded WMT shares to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries have extended their early losses in a curve-steepening trade. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is up six basis points at 2.45%, which marks a two-month high, while the 2-yr yield is up three basis points at 1.86%.

Dow: -38.44… | Nasdaq: -28.54… | S&P: -4.85…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1299/1508. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1111/1756.

11:25AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are still modestly lower; the S&P 500 is down 0.1%.

Technology shares are largely responsible for the S&P 500's decline, pushing the top-weighted technology sector lower by 0.6%. The largest names within the tech space--Apple (AAPL 174.60, -1.78), Microsoft (MSFT 85.58, -0.80), Facebook (FB 178.87, -1.93), and Alphabet (GOOG 1069.88, -7.26)--hold losses between 0.7% and 1.2%.

Today's technology tumble is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, however, as the group still remains solidly higher for the year; the tech space has jumped 38.9% year to date, nearly double the S&P 500's yearly advance of 20.0%.

In addition, the second-best performing group--health care--isn't even all that close to matching technology's incredible performance, adding 21.9% year to date.

Dow: -34.39… | Nasdaq: -16.71… | S&P: -2.56…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1418/1388. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1195/1645.

10:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices trade a step below their flat lines this morning, showing losses between 0.1% and 0.3%.

Seven sectors are trading in the red--real estate (-0.9%), technology (-0.7%), utilities (-0.7%), industrials (-0.2%), telecom services (-0.1%), financials (-0.1%), and consumer discretionary (unch)--while four groups are trading in the green--materials (+0.2%), health care (+0.2%), consumer staples (+0.5%), and energy (+0.5%).

The energy group has been helped by a modest increase in the price of crude oil; West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.3% at $57.39 per barrel. On a related note, the American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly crude inventory report this afternoon at 4:30 PM ET.

Dow: -58.08… | Nasdaq: -22.77… | S&P: -3.94…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1422/1360. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1254/1538.

10:40AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.31% at 84.733
Dollar index is currently down 0.11% at 93.59
Jan WTI crude is up 0.47% on the day.
Futures are $0.27 higher to $57.49/barrel.
In other energy, Jan natural gas is up $0.01 at $2.76/MMBtu
Metals:
Feb gold is flat at $1265.50/oz, while Mar silver lost $0.03 to $16.18/oz
Mar copper remains unchanged at $3.15/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Mar corn is up $0.01 at $3.48/bu.
Jan soy is down $0.02 at $9.6025/bu.
Mar wheat is up $0.01 at $4.22/bu.

Dow: -46.55… | Nasdaq: -24.99… | S&P: -4.04…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1387/1428. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1245/1552.

09:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities have retraced their slim opening gains. The Dow and the Nasdaq are down 0.3% apiece while the S&P 500 is lower by 0.1%.

Within the Dow, Wal-Mart (WMT 98.93, +1.03) is the top performer, adding 1.1%, after Citigroup upgraded the company's shares to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' earlier this morning. Conversely, Apple (AAPL 174.63, -1.78) is the weakest component, losing 1.1%, after Nomura downgraded AAPL shares to 'Neutral' from 'Buy.'

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries are still trading lower this morning, pushing yields higher across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up four basis points at 2.43%.

Dow: -48.82… | Nasdaq: -18.18… | S&P: -2.54…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1353/1337. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1231/1409.

09:40AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are little changed in the opening minutes of today's session, with the S&P 500 sporting a gain of 0.1%.

More than half of the 11 sectors are trading in the green this morning, but gains have been limited thus far. The consumer staples sector (+0.6%) is currently the top performer, bouncing back from yesterday's modest decline, while the financials space (+0.4%) also exhibits relative strength.

On the downside, the top-weighted technology sector is the weakest group, showing a loss of 0.3%. Mega-cap tech names like Apple (AAPL 175.04, -1.44), Microsoft (MSFT 85.88, -0.50), and Facebook (FB 179.61, -1.27) hold losses between 0.6% and 0.9%.

Dow: +24.49… | Nasdaq: -5.28… | S&P: +1.75…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1523/1100. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1450/1111.

09:17AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.90.

Equities are on track to open modestly higher this morning as the S&P 500 futures trade four points, or 0.2%, above fair value.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on tax reform today at 1:30 PM ET. If the House approves the GOP's bill as expected, the Senate looks poised to pass the measure this evening or early on Wednesday morning, sending the bill to the White House for President Trump's signature.

In corporate news, Jack In The Box (JACK 103.11, +2.77) is up 2.8% in pre-market trading after agreeing to sell its Qdoba Restaurant business to Apollo Global Management for $305 million in cash. Cars.com (CARS 30.51, +2.62) is also higher, up 9.4%, following news that Starboard Value has purchased a 9.9% stake in the company.

Conversely, Monsanto (MON 115.49, -2.08) is down 1.8% following reports that the EU may seek further concessions as part of its review of the company's pending merger with Bayer (BAYRY 31.75, 0.00). Kindred Healthcare (KND 8.95, -0.55) is down 5.8% after Humana (HUM 246.38, 0.00) affirmed that it will spend $800 million to acquire a 40% minority stake in the company.

U.S. Treasuries have been slipping from their flat lines as of late, sending yields higher across the board; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up four basis points at 2.43%. Losses were extended following this morning's batch of economic data, which included November Housing Starts, November Building Permits, and the Current Account Balance for the third quarter.

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.297 million units in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.259 million), up from a revised 1.256 million units in October (from 1.290 million). Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.298 million in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.280 million) from a revised 1.316 million in October (from 1.297 million).

Separately, the current account deficit for the third quarter totaled $100.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion). The second quarter deficit was revised to $124.4 billion from $123.1 billion.

Investors will not receive any additional economic reports in today's session.

08:50AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade four points, or 0.1%, above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mixed note. The Bank of Japan will hold a policy meeting on Thursday, but is not expected to announce any changes. Meanwhile, Japan's Cabinet office raised its GDP forecast for fiscal 2018 to 1.8% from 1.4%. China Securities Journal speculated that Chinese retail sales may grow up to 10.0% in 2018. The latest policy minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed growing concern about the strength of consumer spending.

In economic data:
Japan's Machine Tool Orders +46.9% year-over-year (last 46.9%)
New Zealand's Q4 Westpac Consumer Sentiment 107.4 (last 112.4), December ANZ Business Confidence -37.8 (last -39.3), and December NBNZ Own Activity 15.6% (last 6.5%)
South Korea's November PPI -0.1% month-over-month; +3.1% year-over-year

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei shed 0.2%. Taisei, Daikin Industries, Konami, SUMCO, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan Steel Works, Dentsu, Yaksawa Electric, Nitto Denko, and KDDI lost between 1.1% and 6.3%. On the upside, Yokohama Rubber, Komatsu, Honda Motor, Yamaha Motor, and Bridgestone gained between 1.1% and 3.4%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7% with financials among the leaders. Ping An Insurance, AAC Technologies, China Life Insurance, Link Reit, AIA Group, Hang Lung Properties, and HSBC posted gains between 0.6% and 4.3%.
China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%. Xiamen Faratronic, Elion Energy, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, Shanghai Baosight Software, and China Southern Airlines advanced between 3.8% and 4.3%.
India's Sensex gained 0.7%, settling at a fresh record high. Maruti Suzuki jumped 5.3% while Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Mahindra&Mahindra rallied between 2.1% and 4.7%. Financials like ICICI Bank, AXIS Bank, and HDFC Bank posted gains between 0.5% and 1.3%.

Major European indices trade near their flat lines, reflecting a quiet session. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco said that Italy's banking crisis was not due to lack of supervision, but a result of the great economic crisis, which was magnified by bad management. In Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy proposed to increase the minimum wage by 4.0% before the start of 2018. Swiss SECO raised its 2018 GDP forecast for Switzerland to 2.3% from 2.0%. The 2017 growth outlook was increased to 1.0% from 0.9%.

In economic data:
Eurozone Q3 Labor Cost Index +1.6% year-over-year (last 1.8%) and Q3 eurozone wages +1.6% year-over-year (last 2.1%)
Germany's December Ifo Business Climate 117.2 (expected 117.6; last 117.6), December Current Assessment 125.4 (expected 124.7; last 124.5), and December Business Expectations 109.5 (expected 110.7; last 111.0)

---Equity Markets---

France's CAC has shed 0.1%. Growth-sensitive names like Total and Solvay are down 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, while select consumer stocks outperform. Sodexo, Carrefour, and Accor are up between 1.1% and 1.5%.
Germany's DAX is lower by 0.2%. Fresenius SE, Fresenius ST, Henkel, Infineon, and SAP are down between 0.7% and 0.9% while Commerzbank, Thyssenkrupp, and BMW have added between 0.5% and 0.9%.
UK's FTSE trades up 0.2% with select financials and consumer names in the lead. Old Mutual, Provident Financial, Standard Chartered, Kingfisher, Imperial Brands, Compass, and Carnival sport gains between 1.2% and 4.3%.


08:34AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.10.

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

Just in, Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.297 million units in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.259 million), up from a revised 1.256 million units in October (from 1.290 million). Building permits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.298 million in November (Briefing.com consensus 1.280 million) from a revised 1.316 million in October (from 1.297 million).

Separately, the current account deficit for the third quarter totaled $100.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion). The second quarter deficit was revised to $124.4 billion from $123.1 billion.

07:57AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.90.

The major U.S. indices opened the week with a trio of record highs, getting yet another boost from the GOP's tax reform bill--which appears to be on track for passage. Equity futures point to a slightly higher open for today's session, with the S&P 500 futures trading three points, or 0.1%, above fair value.

Elsewhere, stock indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday mixed, with Japan's Nikkei (-0.2%) showing relative weakness, while the Euro Stoxx 50 (-0.1%) trades a tick below its flat line. The U.S. dollar is down 0.3% against the euro at 1.1815 and trades up 0.1% against the Japanese yen at 112.67.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on tax reform today at 1:30 PM ET. If the House approves the bill as expected, the Senate will then vote on the measure later today or possibly tomorrow. If any last minute drama were to occur, it would likely happen in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim two-vote majority.

U.S. Treasuries are trading roughly flat this morning, with shorter-dated issues showing relative weakness. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is unchanged at 2.39%, while the 2-yr yield is up one basis point at 1.84%. On Monday, the 10-yr yield climbed three basis points and the 2-yr yield moved lower by one.

Investors will receive three pieces of economic data today--November Housing Starts (Briefing.com consensus 1259K), November Building Permits (Briefing.com consensus 1280K), and the Current Account Balance for the third quarter (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion)--all of which will be released at 8:30 AM ET.

On the earnings front, FedEx (FDX 242.97, +1.06), Micron (MU 44.30, +0.59), and Red Hat (RHT 130.94, +1.50) will report following today's closing bell.

In U.S. corporate news:

Wal-Mart (WMT 99.25, +1.35): +1.4% after Citigroup upgraded WMT shares to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'
Darden Restaurants (DRI 93.00, +2.46): +2.7% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues and issuing upbeat guidance for 2018.
Cars.com (CARS 30.50, +2.61): +9.4% following news that activist investor Starboard Value LP has purchased a 9.9% stake in the company.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei -0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.7%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.9%, India's Sensex +0.7%.
In economic data:
Japan's Machine Tool Orders +46.9% year-over-year (last 46.9%)
New Zealand's Q4 Westpac Consumer Sentiment 107.4 (last 112.4), December ANZ Business Confidence -37.8 (last -39.3), and December NBNZ Own Activity 15.6% (last 6.5%)
South Korea's November PPI -0.1% month-over-month; +3.1% year-over-year
In news:
The Bank of Japan will hold a policy meeting on Thursday, but is not expected to announce any changes.
Japan's Cabinet office raised its GDP forecast for fiscal 2018 to 1.8% from 1.4%.
China Securities Journal speculated that Chinese retail sales may grow up to 10.0%.
The latest policy minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed growing concern about the strength of consumer spending.

Major European indices trade near their flat lines, reflecting a quiet session. France's CAC -0.1%, Germany's DAX -0.1%, UK's FTSE +0.1%.
In economic data:
Eurozone Q3 Labor Cost Index +1.6% year-over-year (last 1.8%) and Q3 eurozone wages +1.6% year-over-year (last 2.1%)
Germany's December Ifo Business Climate 117.2 (expected 117.6; last 117.6), December Current Assessment 125.4 (expected 124.7; last 124.5), and December Business Expectations 109.5 (expected 110.7; last 111.0)
In news:
Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco said that Italy's banking crisis was not due to lack of supervision, but a result of the great economic crisis, which was magnified by bad management.
In Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy proposed to increase the minimum wage by 4.0% before the start of 2018.
Swiss SECO raised its 2018 GDP forecast for Switzerland to 2.3% from 2.0%. The 2017 growth outlook was increased to 1.0% from 0.9%.


05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.40.
05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei

...22868...-33.80

...-0.20%

. Hang Seng

...29254...+203.30

...+0.70%

.
05:54AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE

...7551.03...+14.00

...+0.20%

. DAX

...13296.78...-15.50

...-0.10%

.
04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Investors pushed U.S. equities to new record highs on Monday, excited by the promising outlook for the GOP's tax reform bill.

The Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.6%), and the S&P 500 (+0.5%) each settled at new all-time highs. However, modest selling in the afternoon left the indices a step below their best marks of the day. The Russell 2000 (+1.2%) paced Monday's rally and, like its peers, finished at a new record high.

Republicans appear set to pass their tax overhaul bill in the next few days after securing the support of Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Corker (R-TN) on Friday. The bill, which calls for reducing the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% in 2018, was unveiled on Friday evening and can undergo no further changes due to procedural rules.

The bill's chances of passage looked even better late Monday afternoon when CNBC reported that Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has decided to vote in favor of the bill. If all goes according to plan, President Trump should secure his first major legislative victory by the end of the week.

Eight of eleven sectors finished Monday in the green, and, in general, cyclical sectors outperformed their countercyclical peers. The lightly-weighted materials space (+1.5%) was the top-performing group, helped by DowDuPont's (DWDP 71.39, +1.39) advance of 2.0%, while no other sector added more than 1.0%.

Within the top-weighted technology space (+0.8%), chipmakers showed relative strength, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 2.2%. Retailers also had a positive showing on Monday, helping to boost the consumer discretionary space (+0.8%); the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 45.46, +1.18) climbed 2.7%.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average advanced 1.2% to a new all-time high, but the industrial sector (+0.7%) finished just a tick ahead of the broader market.

On the downside, the utilities sector (-1.2%) had a rough outing, extending its month-to-date loss to 3.2%. The group has struggled in recent weeks amid concerns about wildfires in Southern California. The consumer staples space (-0.1%) and the health care group (unch) also finished Monday in the red.

In corporate news, Amplify Snack Brands (BETR 12.01, +5.01), which makes the Skinny Pop brand, surged 71.6% after agreeing to be acquired by Hershey (HSY 114.26, +0.12) for $12.00 per share in cash. HSY shares finished the session with a slim gain of 0.1%.

U.S. Treasuries ended Monday mixed, with shorter-dated issues showing relative strength. The yield on the 2-yr Treasury note slipped one basis point to 1.83%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield climbed three basis points to 2.39%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Elsewhere, equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Monday in positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei (+1.6%) showing particular strength, while the Euro Stoxx 50 jumped 1.4%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 93.24, with the greenback losing 0.3% against the euro (1.1781) and 0.5% against the pound (1.3382).

Reviewing Monday's economic data, which was limited to the NAHB Housing Market Index for December:

The NAHB Housing Market Index for December rose to 74 (Briefing.com consensus 70) from a revised reading of 69 in November (from 70).

On Tuesday, investors will receive three pieces of data--November Housing Starts (Briefing.com consensus 1259K), November Building Permits (Briefing.com consensus 1280K), and the Current Account Balance for the third quarter (Briefing.com consensus -$117.4 billion)--all of which will be released at 8:30 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +29.9% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +25.5% YTD
S&P 500 +20.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +14.1% YTD

Dow: +140.46… | Nasdaq: +58.18… | S&P: +14.35…

NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1799/942. …NYSE Adv/Dec 2109/870.

Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. Also, thank you for the review of TheStrategyLab performance record via price action trading - no indicators...hopefully the links and data will be useful for you.

Price Action Trading @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm

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Review of TheStrategyLab @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=3167

TheStrategyLab Review @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/thestrategylab-reviews.htm

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. The risk of loss can be substantial. Therefore, you must carefully consider if trading is suitable for you within the context of your financial condition. TheStrategyLab.com is an education and research site. The resources on this site are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace professional educational and professional research because we are retail traders only. TheStrategyLab.com does not accept liability for your use of the website and its resources.

We make no guarantees of success and your level of success is dependent upon other factors including your skill as a trader, knowledge, financial condition, market conditions and other factors. Trading is stressful and you should always consult a doctor in all matters relating to physical and mental health of you & your family because trading can impact beyond your financial condition regardless if you're a profitable or losing trader. Also, you can read our full disclaimer statement @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/Disclaimer.htm

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading - no indicators
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
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