Written By M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis)
Today's trades that were posted in real-time in #FuturesTrades chat room via my IRC user name wrbtrader. You can review each trade from entry to exit along with commentary and an occasional trading tip involving WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis) because its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=371
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I had a great day although I didn't take a single trade. First of all, had data vendor problems this morning resulting in no quotes and no charts. Yet, I did manage to straighten out a few bashers that think profitable trading can only be achieved via codes and nothing else. Simply, they don't believe that discretionary traders that don't use codes can be profitable. 
I'm glad these are the types of traders on the other side of my trades. After that, it was time for a fun family event in which the entire family and other relatives went to lunch and then to a afternoon movie called "A Christmas Carol in 3D". It's a great movie and I highly advise to not bring any kids under 6 to that film because there are some scary scenes not appropriate for kids under 6.
I'm glad these are the types of traders on the other side of my trades. After that, it was time for a fun family event in which the entire family and other relatives went to lunch and then to a afternoon movie called "A Christmas Carol in 3D". It's a great movie and I highly advise to not bring any kids under 6 to that film because there are some scary scenes not appropriate for kids under 6.FYI - You can ask me questions here at the forum or you can tweet me on twitter about anything related to today's trading or related to your own trading.
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtraderIn addition, posted below are direct links about my trade methodology or trading approach 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 analysis).
http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm
http://www.thestrategylab.com/TradeStrategies.htm
Also, I strongly believe that profitable trading involves more than just trade signals and that's why most traders fail because they put all their efforts in trade signals while ignoring the impact on their trading results via market experience, discipline, money management, team collaboration, proper trading enviornment (home or office), market psychology, trader psychology (trading habits/routine and personal lifestyle). If you don't understand this perspective...please ask questions here at the forum for more info or you can tweet me on twitter @wrbtrader.
My Trading Performance: (no trades) Emini ES ($ES_F) points
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Wall Street: Mixed Week Ends On A Low Note
Stocks selloff on Friday as investors respond to mixed economic news and a darkening outlook for technology companies.
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
Last Updated: November 20, 2009: 6:16 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks fell Friday, capping a mostly down week, as investors remained jittery about the economy and the outlook for the technology sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 14 points, or 0.1%, to close at 10,318.16. The S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 0.3% to end at 1091.38. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 0.5% to 2146.04.
Despite Friday's decline, the Dow ended the week with a 0.5% gain. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq slid 1% over the last five days. The mixed performance came after all three major gauges posted two consecutive weekly gains.
The dollar rose against rival currencies for the second day in a row, helped by increased demand for safe-haven assets and supportive comments from Federal Reserve officials.
The stronger greenback weighed on the oil market, with crude prices closing below $77 a barrel. Gold prices recovered from early losses to close at another record high.
Wall Street started the week on a high note, closing at 13-month highs on Monday and Tuesday. A softer dollar and bets that U.S. interest rates will remain low for a prolonged period helped boost the S&P 500 above the key 1,100 level early in the week.
But the tone turned more cautious Wednesday after government data showed a surprise drop in new home construction and a pair of software makers issued bearish profit forecasts.
Housing and tech woes continued to plague the market Thursday after a report showed that nearly 10% of all mortgage loans were delinquent in the third quarter and analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the semiconductor industry.
On Friday, tech shares remained under pressure after PC giant Dell reported weak third-quarter results late Thursday. Homebuilder stocks fell after D.R. Horton posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and said conditions in the industry remain challenging.
"The market is suffering from mixed economic news this week," said John Wilson, chief technical strategist at Morgan Keegan. However, the declines were surprisingly small considering the market's recent strength, he added.
"I think the market has to work-off a fairly overbought position," he said.
Analysts said the market was ripe for a move lower given growing concerns that stocks have come too far, too fast. After bottoming at 12-year lows in March, stocks have been on a near-continuous rally fueled by signs of economic stabilization.
"There's a lot of concern that the stock market has gotten ahead of expectations," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "There's not much room to advance without a concurrent improvement in economic news."
Looking ahead, trading is expected to be volatile next week with a busy economic calendar, quarterly results from Hewlett Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) and thin trading volume.
Economic reports due next week include data on home sales and prices, a revised reading on gross domestic product and a monthly read on consumer confidence.
Dow component H-P reports quarterly financial results after the closing bell Monday.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and trading will end early on Friday. With many traders taking next week off, analyst said the number of shares trading hands will be small, which could exaggerate swings in the market.
Companies: D.R. Horton (DHI, Fortune 500), the nation's second-largest homebuilder, said its quarterly loss narrowed to $231.9 million, or 73 cents a share, in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. Shares fell 15%.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 30 cents per share.
After the closing bell Thursday,Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The stock tumbled 10%.
Also on Thursday, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the semiconductor industry. That came one day after two key software companies issued cautious profit outlooks.
But in other earnings news, retailer Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) said its quarterly profit surged 25%.
Economy: A government report showed more U.S. states suffered rising unemployment rates, though fewer reported joblessness above the national average in October.
World markets: Asian shares retreated. The Nikkei in Japan lost 0.5% while the Hang Seng fell 0.8%. Major European indexes also closed lower, with the CAC-40 in Paris falling 0.8%.
Money, gold and oil: The dollar rose versus major international currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound.
Gold rose $4.90 to settle at a record $1,146.80 an ounce.
The price of oil fell 74 cents to close at $76.72 a barrel.
Bonds: Prices for U.S. Treasurys were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell to 3.36% from 3.50% late Thursday. The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill, which is seen as a temporary shelter from market volatility, stood at 0.015%.
Yahoo! Finance
4:30 pm : A lack of positive catalysts and a stronger dollar weighed on stocks for the entire session and helped hand the market a fractional loss for the week.
An earnings miss last evening from Dell (DELL 14.29, -1.58) had already put participants in a dour mood, while weakness in overseas markets also weighed on things -- Asia's major indices slid amid reports that policymakers are talking about the possibility of imposing capital controls, while Europe's bourses moved lower following discussions of withdrawing liquidity measures from European Central Bank (ECB) President Trichet.
The U.S. dollar finished with a gain of just over 0.4%, about half of what it had sported at its session high. Its strength proved burdensome for the broader market for the entire session, though there were a few advancers.
Pharmaceuticals were able to advance 1.2%. That helped the health care sector finish with a 0.6% gain. Utilities (+0.2%) and consumer staples (+0.1%) were the only other two sectors to advance.
Energy was the worst performing sector. It fell 0.9%, due to broader market pressure and a 0.8% drop in oil prices, which took oil to $76.83 per barrel.
Gold was able to break free from the grip of a stronger dollar, however. The yellow metal had been in negative ground in the early going, but settled with a 0.6% gain at $1148.40 per ounce.
Still, general weakness among stocks gave the S&P 500 its third straight loss and a weekly decline of 0.2%, its first of the month. Stocks are up roughly 1.1% month-to-date, though.
Advancing Sectors: Health Care (+0.6%), Utilities (+0.2%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-0.9%), Tech (-0.6%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.6%), Financials (-0.6%), Industrials (-0.3%), Telecom (-0.2%), Materials (-0.1%)DJ30 -14.28 NASDAQ -10.78 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -0.2% SP400 -0.6% SP500 -3.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1219/1.97 bln/1442 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1271/1.14 bln/1716
3:30 pm : Oil spent virtually all of pit trade under pressure. That left it to close at $76.83 per barrel, down 0.8%.
Natural gas prices fared well, though. Contracts for the commodity closed at $4.43 each, up 2.0%.
Precious metals had a bit of a rough start, but were able to garner support in afternoon action. In turn, gold prices closed 0.6% higher at $1148.40 per ounce. Silver prices settled 1.5% higher at $18.49 per ounce.
The CRB Commodity Index is currently up 0.1%.DJ30 -12.16 NASDAQ -10.52 SP500 -3.41 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1088/1.62 bln/1566 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1173/857 mln/1806
3:00 pm : After making their way to afternoon highs, stocks have started to roll over and head deeper into negative territory -- the turnabout has kept the Dow from getting back into positive territory, which it hasn't touched since the first few minutes of trade.
Energy stocks continue to hamper trade. The sector is down 1.2%, worse than any other major sector. Its downturn comes as drillers drop 3.6% amid broader market weakness and lower oil prices, which settled pit trade $0.63 lower at $76.83 per barrel.DJ30 -25.99 NASDAQ -14.41 SP500 -4.85 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 992/1.51 bln/1637 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1082/806 mln/1900
2:30 pm : Stocks continue to trim their losses. That has taken the Dow within striking distance of positive territory. Still, its declining issues outnumber its advancers by slightly more than 2-to-1.
Though stocks are improving their position, current losses have stocks on track for a fractional week-to-date decline. That would be the first weekly downturn of the month. DJ30 -14.96 NASDAQ -11.95 SP500 -3.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 994/1.40 bln/1630 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1067/758 mln/1893
2:00 pm : Stocks recently made a sudden, pronounced upturn that has put the major indices at their best level since late-morning trade. There aren't any immediate news items to account for the swing, but financials have exhibited particular strength. The sector is now up 0.4% after being down as much as 1.0%.
Diversified financial services stocks (+0.2%) are providing leadership to the sector. As such, Bank of America (BAC 16.15, +0.07) is sporting a solid gain. Meanwhile, insurer Aflac (AFL 44.32, +0.48) is sporting a nice gain of its own; the stock was recently upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley.DJ30 -28.87 NASDAQ -13.45 SP500 -4.59 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 943/1.29 bln/1666 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1013/714 mln/1954
1:30 pm : Stocks have entered into a rather narrow trading range, which has been established just above session lows.
Gold prices have made their way to positive ground, though. Prices for the yellow metal was last quoted 0.2% higher near $1144.50 per ounce. The advance comes in the face of a 0.6% gain by the Dollar Index.
Trading volume has been rather high today, but that's largely due to the expiration of options at the close.DJ30 -44.51 NASDAQ -17.90 SP500 -6.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 870/1.20 bln/1745 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 899/670 mln/2034
1:05 pm : The major indices are trading lower at midday, near session lows that were reached around 11:30ET. Overall it has been a slow session with no economic data and only a handful of earnings reports.
Losses are broad-based, with eight of the ten sectors in the red. Energy stocks are the worst performers, down 1.2% as crude prices slide 0.6% to $77 per barrel. Defensive sectors are outperforming, with healthcare (+0.3%) and utilities (+0.1%) both posting modest gains.
The tech sector is down 0.9% as Dell (DELL 14.29, -1.58) slides 10% following its disappointing earnings report. Dell reported earnings of $0.23 per share, missing the $0.28 consensus. As a result, shares are off 9.8%.
In other earnings news, Gap (GPS 21.65, -0.21) met earnings estimates, while JM Smucker (SJM 56.27, +2.79) topped estimates.
In currency trading, the Dollar Index is higher by 0.5%.DJ30 -47.91 NASDAQ -17.58 SP500 -6.77 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 911/1.17 bln/1719 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 900/615 mln/2031
12:30 pm : The major indices trade slightly above recently reached lows. Losses remain broad-based, with eight of the ten sectors in the red.
In Treasury trading, the 10-year and 30-year are currently flat.DJ30 -48.74 NASDAQ -18.65 SP500 -6.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 878/1.0 bln/1693 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 895/569 mln/2002
12:00 pm : The S&P 500 recently came within close contact of last week's lows, but it has since rebounded to help moderate its losses. Still, weakness remains widespread as declining issues outnumber advancers by 4-to-1 in the broader market.
A pullback by the Dollar Index has also helped stocks improve their position. The Dollar Index has nearly halved recent gains; it is now up less than 0.5% this session.DJ30 -43.75 NASDAQ -16.32 SP500 -5.68 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 861/947 mln/1669 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 898/568 mln/1984
11:30 am : At the moment, health care is the only major sector to trade in positive territory. It is up 0.3%, thanks to strength in shares of pharmaceuticals (+0.9%), health care services (+0.5%), and health care distributors (+0.5%).
At the other end of the spectrum is the energy sector, which is down 1.3%. Its weakness comes from both broader market pressure and lower oil prices, which were last quoted at $76.55 per barrel, down 1.2%. The confluence of negative factors has been particularly troublesome for oil and gas drillers (-4.0%).DJ30 -54.64 NASDAQ -18.88 SP500 -7.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 854/835/1671 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 845/520 mln/2035
11:00 am : Stocks have slipped another leg lower amid choppy trade. That has put the Dow and S&P 500 at fresh session lows. Meanwhile, the Nasdadq is in-line with the lows that it set earlier this morning.
Losses in the Nasdaq are steeper than those in the Dow or S&P 500, though. Most of that is attributable to weakness among semiconductors, which have extended their slide from the previous session by dropping 1.3% this session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 3% in the previous sesson as participants reacted to news that analysts at Merrill Lynch downgraded the space.DJ30 -41.86 NASDAQ -17.64 SP500 -7.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 906/719 mln/1549 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 917/472 mln/1928
10:30 am : The stock market opened modestly lower and has recovered around half of its losses in morning trade. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index is slightly pulling back off of this morning's high.
Crude oil traded in positive territory for half of the overnight session before beginning to trend lower. This morning, crude put in session lows of $76.20 per barrel and after attempting to rally off those lows twice, crude is trading back near its low at $76.38, down 1.4%
Natural gas tracked crude overnight and put in its own lows of $4.22 per MMBtu after falling a quick $0.10. However, natural gas reversed quickly and recovered all of its losses and recently moved back near the unchanged line and is down $0.011 at $4.331 per MMBtu.
Despite this morning's strength in the US Dollar Index, gold moved back into positive territory in recent trading and off lows of $1132.50 per ounce. However, that move was short-lived as gold is 0.2% lower at $1139.30 per ounce. Silver put in lows at $18.035 per ounce and remains in negative territory at $18.30, down 0.8%.
DJ30 -11.63 NASDAQ -14.40 SP500 -4.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 928/555.0 mln/1446 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 901/401.8 mln/1879
10:00 am : After attempting to pare opening losses and make a move toward the unchanged, stocks have fallen back under another fit of selling pressure. That has the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq at fresh morning lows. The Dow is also down, though to a lesser degree.
The Dow's ability to hold up stems from strength in shares of Merck (MRK 36.00, +0.67), which announced that one of its drugs has been recommended for approval by a committee under the European Medicines Agency.
Advancing Sectors: Consumer Staples (+0.3%), Health Care (+0.1%), Telecom (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Tech (-0.7%), Energy (-0.6%), Materials (-0.6%), Industrials (-0.5%), Financials (-0.4%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.3%), Utilities (-0.1%)
Early Movers: Trading up -- NLST +16.8%, DYAX +7.7%, KIRK +6.9%, ZUMZ +6.8%, VRGY +6.7%, DDS +6%, CYBX +5.6%; Trading down -- EFUT -28.8%, TYH -15.9%, EDC -15.1%, ADCT -12.5%, BGU -12.4%, TNA -12.2%, ERX -11.5%, CHRD -10.3%, TMV -9.8%, DRN -8.3%, DELL -8%, NVAX -7.7%DJ30 -11.26 NASDAQ -15.45 SP500 -3.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 928/385 mln/1372 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 805/333 mln/1894
09:45 am : Despite a weak start, stocks have managed to pare their opening losses. In turn, the Dow is flirting with a gain, while the broader S&P 500 is within striking distance of the neutral line.
The upward move off of session lows comes even though the dollar continues to trade with a health gain; the greenback is currently up 0.6% against a major basket of foreign currencies. DJ30 +4.16 NASDAQ -7.06 SP500 -1.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1097/268 mln/1116 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 978/286 mln/1636
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.30. Stock futures are off of their morning lows, but they continue to point to a lower start for the session. Such a move would likely put the stock market on track to log the first weekly loss of the month. The selling interest stems largely from continued gains by the U.S. dollar, which has managed to advance 0.5% against a basket of major foreign currencies this morning. That comes on the heels of a modest 0.1% gain in the previous session. Earnings haven't done much to rekindle interest among buyers, who had spent the previous session on the sidelines. A miss from Dell (DELL) has been the biggest mar among the reports. There haven't been any economic releases this morning, but several international officials and domestic pundits have caused concern with comments regarding the prospect of asset bubbles in conjunction with liquidity measures and easy monetary policy.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.80. The Dollar Index has eased off of its morning high, but it continues to trade with a healthy gain of 0.6%. Though the pullback has been modest, it has helped stock futures rise from morning lows. They still trade with weakness, however. Commodities also continue to feel pressure. As such, gold prices are down 0.3% to $1138.00 per ounce. Oil prices are down 0.9% to $76.75 per barrel in the first few minutes of pit trade.
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.00. Europe's major bourses are trading lower amid reports that European Central Bank (ECB) President Trichet discussed withdrawing liquidity measures. Trichet indicated that any nonstandard measure that, if continued, would pose a threat to the achievement of price stability must be undone promptly and unequivocally. He also indicated that banks run the risk of becoming addicted to cheap and abundant central bank funds. Following those remarks, declining issues outnumber advancers by more than 2-to-1 in Britain's FTSE, which is currently down 0.5%. Natural resource plays are the primary laggards. In France, the CAC is off by 0.7%. Energy giant Total (TOT) is showing considerable weakness, but financial players Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are also among the primary laggards. In Germany, the DAX is down 0.6%. Its losses are broad-based, but engineering giant Siemens (SI) is the primary laggard. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.5%. Sony (SNE) slid after its new growth strategy failed to reassure investors. Advantest (ATE) and other tech stocks fell. Separately, Japan left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.1%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed 0.8% lower. ICBC slid and Bank of Communications slipped. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite closed 0.4% lower. That put an end to a five-session streak of gains. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index closed -0.5% lower.
08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.00. Thursday's 1.3% slide has left the S&P 500 up fractionally week-to-date, but continued pressure ahead of this morning's opening bell could make any weekly gain hard to come by. Extended selling comes as the U.S. dollar advances against foreign currencies; that has the Dollar Index up a hefty 0.7%. An earnings miss from Dell (DELL) has also dampened this morning's mood. The company was expected, on average, to bring in $0.28 per share, but instead brought in an adjusted $0.23 per share. Its stock is down nearly 7% to $14.80 per share in premarket action. Several retailers are out with their latest earnings results, as well, but their numbers haven't done much to improve the overall mood. Gap (GPS) brought in in-line results of $0.44 per share, helping its stock climb 1.6% to $22.21 per share. Foreign markets aren't providing much support, either. All three of Europe's major bourses are in the red, while Asia's headline indices already booked losses. There aren't any items on today's economic calendar, so the number of trading catalysts this session will likely be minimal.
06:33 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -2.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.30.
06:33 am : Nikkei...9497.68...-51.80...-0.50%. Hang Seng...22455.84...-187.30...-0.80%.
06:33 am : FTSE...5264.66...-3.00...-0.10%. DAX...5700.51...-1.60...0.00.
M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis)
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