TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Written By M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis)

Trade journals are crucial in preventing us traders from becoming complacent or content with our trading plan or the markets because without having the ability to review archives of past trading days in a forever changing market...we won't know it's time to adapt when change occurs in the markets because broker statements alone doesn't help us keep that edge in comparison to a trade journal. In addition, although this journal contains advertisements involving my trade methods, it does contain useful trading tips a few times per week. Thus, if you're looking for trading tips that can improve your trading and understand that profitable trading involves more than just entry signals...consistently read this trade journal and the #FuturesTrades chat room logs where I post my trades in real-time from entry to exit (see link below) via my IRC user name wrbtrader that's the same as my user name on twitter.

Today's #FuturesTrades chat room logs is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=457.



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/wrbtrader

In 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, if you're interested in having free access to one of my profitable trade strategies along with earning extra income with little effort...join my referral program @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ReferralProgram.htm

My Trading Performance: +10.70 points in the ICE Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures

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Stocks Lose Big Early, Then Cut Losses
Stocks lose big early, then cut losses
By Alexandra Twin, senior writer
February 25, 2010: 4:20 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks ended with modest losses Thursday, off a bigger decline that surrounded the latest worries about Greece's debt crisis and weaker-than-expected reports on the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 53 points or 0.5%, according to early tallies. The S&P 500 index (SPX) fell 2 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 2 points or 0.1%.

Stocks tumbled out of the gate after both Standard & Poor's and Moody's said they may have to cut Greece's debt rating if the country doesn't implement its so-called austerity measures, meant to rein in its deficit.

But after a bigger selloff through the early afternoon, stocks cut losses heading into the final hour of the session.

Greece has said it will raise the retirement age and have civil servants take bonus cuts, among other measures. A workers' strike Wednesday added to questions about the nation's ability to cut its debt. Investors are concerned about the broader implications for other euro zone countries, and the euro, should Greece default.

"It seems like the market doesn't know how worried it should be about Greece, which is why we're rallying off the lows of the day," said Ryan Atkinson, market analyst at Balestra Capital.

While the Greek debt situation is a serious one for the market, it's probably going to come in waves over the next six to nine months, Atkinson said. "Maybe they'll cut a deal initially [with officials], but longer term there are going to be more issues."

He said that investors were likely just as concerned about the day's economic news, including worse-than-expected reports on jobless claims and factory orders.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners eight to seven on volume of 950 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers eight to five on volume of 2.1 billion shares.

Greece: The threat of a Greek default rattled global markets earlier in the month, pushing U.S. stocks to three-month lows and causing the S&P 500 to lose over 9%, just shy of the technical definition of a correction.

Investors worried that Greece's problems could reflect a broader euro zone debt crisis that could impact Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy and other debt-challenged European nations.

But European officials said earlier this month that they were ready to step in and help Greece if need be, and that seemed to calm investors for a few weeks. S&P and Moody's downgrade talk revived the worries.

In addition, stocks have been rising for the last two weeks, setting the market up for a little pullback, particularly in the aftermath of last year's big rally.
0:00 /3:17Bailout rage is back. Thanks, Greece!

Bernanke: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Senators Thursday that the central bank is looking into whether Goldman Sachs and other big banks worsened Greece's debt crisis.

News reports have said that Goldman and other banks helped arrange deals that may have disguised the extent of Greece's debt problems. In addition, the banks have made bets that Greece will default on loans it took from U.S. financial institutions, according to a New York Times article.

Bernanke spoke before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday in his second day of Congressional testimony on the economy.

On Wednesday he told a House committee that while the economic recovery is chugging along, the job market remains weak. Against that backdrop, interest rates will stay low for the foreseeable future. That seemed to reassure investors worried about the outlook for the economy and stocks rallied Wednesday.

Jobs: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment jumped last week to 496,000 from a revised 474,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 460,000 new claims.

Claims have jumped 12% over the past two weeks, due in part to the impact from the severe winter storms on the east coast.

Durable goods orders: Orders for big-ticket items meant to last three years or more jumped in January, with aircraft demand fueling the rise.

Durable goods orders rose 3% in January, the biggest increase since last summer and better than the 1.5% jump forecast by economists. Orders rose 1.9% in the previous month.

Orders excluding transportation fell 0.6% after rising 2% in December. Economists expected a rise of 1%.
Duck! Falling home prices

Coke: Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) said it will buy the North American operations of its biggest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE, Fortune 500) (CCE) in a deal that would cut costs and give it more control of its distribution.

The multi-layered deal has Coca-Cola giving up its 34 percent stake in CCE, worth about $3.4 billion, and taking on $8.88 billion in debt.

Additionally, the companies agreed that CCE will buy Coke's bottling operations in Norway and Sweden for $822 million and that it has the right to buy Coke's 83% stake in its German bottling operations.

The deal comes as rival PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500) is about to close a $7.8 billion deal to buy Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, its largest bottlers.

Coke shares plunged 4% and CCE shares rallied 32%.

Palm: Palm (PALM) said it expects revenue to fall far below current forecasts due to worse-than-expected sales of its new smartphones. Shares plunged 16% on the forecast.

Health care: The Obama administration's health care summit was underway Thursday, with Republican and Democratic leaders from both houses of Congress debating ways to reform the system.

The president said that both sides agree that costs need to be contained, but they remain bitterly divided over whether to press through with the current bill or start over.

World Markets: In overseas trading, major European and Asian markets ended lower.

The dollar and commodities: The dollar fell versus the euro, reversing earlier gains. The greenback also fell against the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell $1.83 to settle at $78.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for April delivery rose $11.30 to settle at $1,108.50 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.64% from 3.69% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.



Yahoo! Finance

4:30 pm : The S&P 500 gapped down in the early going and traded with a 1.7% loss at its session low, but a downturn by the dollar caused stocks to rally into the afternoon. The major indices were able to reverse nearly all of their losses and finish near session highs.

Stocks looked like they were headed for a dismal session as all 10 of the major sectors in the S&P 500 dropped to losses in excess of 1% in the early going. Pessimism among participants was rooted in a disappointing batch of economic data and moderate strength in the dollar.

According to the latest weekly jobless claims figures, initial claims climbed for the week ended Feb. 20 totaled 496,000, up 22,000 week-over-week. Not only was that worse than expected, it was the highest initial claims count since November. Continuing claims were worse than expected; they totaled 4.62 million.

Durable goods orders failed to temper the negative reaction to the jobless claims numbers. Specifically, durable goods orders increased a stronger-than-expected 3.0% in January, but orders less transportation made a surprise 0.6% decline.

Housing prices for December made a 1.6% monthly decline. They had been expected to increase 0.4%.

Fed Chairman Bernanke testified on monetary policy and economy conditions before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, but his comments reflected those that he offered to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. In turn, the testimony was generally a non-factor.

In addition to a disappointing lot of data, participants had to grapple with gains by the greenback. The dollar garnered support amid news that Moody's believes ratings on Greece hinge on the country's fiscal reform follow through. Though that comment didn't offer anything new, it had substance in the sense that Moody's is the last ratings agency to have an 'A' rating on Greek sovereign debt. An 'A' rating is required of a country to exchange its bonds with the European Central Bank as collateral for loans under rules that will go into effect at the end of this year. Failure to maintain such a rating could prove problematic as Greece attempts to remedy its fiscal woes.

Despite such consideration, the euro eventually bounced back and pressured the dollar, which finished the session with a 0.1% loss against a basket of foreign currencies. The dollar's reversal helped the stock market break free from range-bound trade near session lows.

Materials stocks were among the primary beneficiaries. The sector had been down more than 2% at its session low, but settled with a modest 0.2% loss. Newmont Mining (NEM 49.02, +2.54) was a primary leader, thanks to better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter.

Better-than-expected earnings from Limited Brands (LTD 22.15, +0.61) and Kohls (KSS 54.08, +2.49) helped retailers outperform the broader market for the third straight session. Retailers finished with a 0.4% gain, collectively, which helped the consumer discretionary sector settle with a fractional loss. That made it the best performing sector in the broader market.

One of the session's strongest gains was made by Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE 25.48, +6.30), which surged amid news that its North American bottling business will be acquired by Coca-Cola (KO 53.12, -2.04).

Though the stock market was able to rally amid the greenback's pullback, commodities had a mixed response as the CRB Commodity Index stayed stuck near its session low. It finished with a 1.4% loss. Oil prices gradually made their way off of session lows, but still settled pit trade with a 2.3% loss at $78.17 per barrel. Meanwhile, gold closed with a 1.0% gain at $1108.50 per ounce.

Treasuries traded with moderate strength. They were partly supported by strong results from an at-record $32 billion auction of 7-year Notes. The auction attracted a yield of 3.08%, which was a bit below what had been expected, and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.98, which was above the recent average of 2.75. However, the indirect bid hit 40.3%, which was below the recent average of 54.4%.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-0.4%), Utilities (-0.3%), Financials (-0.3%), Industrials (-0.3%), Tech (-0.2%), Materials (-0.2%), Energy (-0.2%), Consumer Staples (-0.1%), Health Care (-0.1%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%)DJ30 -53.13 NASDAQ -1.68 NQ100 +0.00% R2K +0.1% SP400 +0.0% SP500 -2.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1121/2.27 bln/1500 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1512/1.15 bln/1504

3:30 pm : Weak economic data and a strong dollar in the morning led to selling pressure in the commodities space, along with the equity markets. The CRB Commodities Index lost 1.4% this session.

Energy was especially weak, losing 2.3% of their value this session. Crude oil futures sold off in the morning but found support just above the $77 level in the mid morning. Crude oil futures trended higher for the rest of the session as the dollar pared its gains. April crude oil closed 2.3% lower at $78.17 per barrel. April natural gas also traded in negative territory for the entire session. The inventory report this morning was generally in-line with analyst expectations. Still, April natural gas closed 1.6% lower at $4.78 per MMBtu.

Precious metals, however, were able to net gains as the dollar index retreated back to the flat line late in the session. April gold closed 1.0% higher at $1108.50 per ounce. March silver closed 1.1% higher at $16.11 per ounce. DJ30 -67.18 NASDAQ -6.56 SP500 -5.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 888/1.88 bln/1727 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1270/821 mln/1732

3:00 pm : Retailers have made their way to a 0.2% gain, collectively. Kohls (KSS 54.28, +2.68) and Limited Brands (LTD 22.11, +0.57) are primary leaders in the group, thanks to better-than-expected earnings. Big Lots (BIG 32.65, +0.87) is also a source of support after analysts at JPMorgan Chase opted to upgrade shares of the discount retailer.

Materials stocks have pulled back a bit in recent action. The sector is now down 0.7%, but well above its session low, which came with a loss of more than 2%. Olympic Steel (ZEUS 29.61, -2.95) has been a heavy drag on the sector. The company came short of the consensus earnings estimate for its latest quarter. However, diversified metals and miners stocks have managed to make their way to a 1.3% gain. That strength comes after Newmont Mining (NEM 48.59, +2.11) announced better-than-expected results for its latest quarter. DJ30 -91.14 NASDAQ -12.68 SP500 -7.20 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 846/1.70 bln/1768 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1101/740 mln/1887

2:30 pm : The stock market's recent rally has stalled with the S&P 500 within just a couple of points of the 1100 line. The pause has coincided with the dollar's hesitation; it remains fractionally negative relative to competing currencies.

Mid-caps and small-caps have managed to trim some more of their losses, however. In turn, the S&P 400 trades with a modest loss of 0.5% and the Russell 2000 is down 0.6% for the session. DJ30 -99.53 NASDAQ -14.69 SP500 -8.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 820/1.57 bln/1786 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1032/684 mln/1948

2:00 pm : The greenback has completely surrendered its gains, and then some, such that it is now down 0.1% against a basket of major currencies. The retreat has helped the stock market recover roughly half of its losses.

The dollar's decline has been particularly helpful for materials stocks, which were down more than 2% at their session low, but they now trade with a tepid 0.3% loss.

Retailers have also displayed strength. The group actually poked into positive territory after it was down more than 1%. Such strength has helped the group outperform for the third straight session.

Commodities haven't shown much of a response to the greenback's pull back, however. Instead, the CRB Commodity Index remains near its session low with a 1.4% loss. DJ30 -95.52 NASDAQ -12.04 SP500 -6.71 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 851/1.45 bln/1742 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1087/629 mln/1874

1:30 pm : Treasuries continue to trade with strength. As such, the benchmark 10-year Note is up 15 ticks at the moment. Its gains have held steady following the release of results from an at-record $32 billion auction of 7-year Notes. The auction attracted a yield of 3.08%, which is a bit below what had been expected. The auction also attracted a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.98, which is above the recent average of 2.75. However, the indirect bid hit 40.3%, which is below the recent average of 54.4%. DJ30 -161.50 NASDAQ -29.58 SP500 -15.12 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 596/1.27 bln/1992 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 701/555 mln/2268

1:00 pm : The tone of trade this session has been negative since the start. Sellers were initially stirred to action by a bounce in the Dollar Index, but pressure picked up in the wake of a disappointing dose of economic data.

Currency traders bid the dollar moderately higher in the early going amid reports that Moody's indicated ratings changes for Greece hinge on fiscal reform follow through. Yet those comments didn't reflect anything new. In fact, Standard & Poor's had already stated yesterday that a Greece downgrade of one or two notches within a month is possible and the dollar still finished the prior session with a loss, though off of its lows.

The dollar has continued to oscillate in recent action, but is presently in positive territory with a 0.2% gain.

Weekly jobless claims tallies proved detrimental to the mood of participants this session. The latest initial total climbed 22,000 week-over-week to 496,000, which was worse than expected. Continuing claims were also worse than expected at 4.62 million.

Durable goods orders failed to temper the negative reaction to the jobless claims numbers. Specifically, durable goods orders increased a stronger-than-expected 3.0% in January, but orders less transportation made a surprise 0.6% decline.

Housing prices for December made a surprise 1.6% monthly decline of their own.

The culmination of a stronger dollar and dour data has evoked widespread weakness, such that more than 90% of the names in the S&P 500 are in negative territory and all 30 Dow components are in the red.

There have been a couple of patches of strength, though. Both Limited Brands (LTD 22.03, +0.49) and Kohls (KSS 53.77, +2.18) have put together strong gains following better-than-expected earnings. Kohls did issue mixed guidance, though.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE 25.53, +6.35) has surged amid news that its North American bottling business will be acquired by Coca-Cola (KO 52.72, -2.44) and beverage business Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS 31.13, +2.48) has spiked on a positive earnings surprise.

Treasuries are solid this session, but participants await results from an at-record $32 billion auction of 7-year Notes at 1:00 PM ET.

As an aside, Fed Chairman Bernanke testified on monetary policy and the economy before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, but his comments merely reflected those offered to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. DJ30 -156.44 NASDAQ -29.10 SP500 -14.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 579/1.18 bln/2004 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 675/515 mln/2282

12:30 pm : Amid persistent pessimism, the stock market has been stuck in a sideways drift since the start of the session. At the moment, more than 90% of the names in the S&P 500 are in negative territory, while all 30 Dow components reside in the red. DJ30 -156.21 NASDAQ -31.40 SP500 -15.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 530/1.05 bln/2015 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 615/470 mln/2338

12:00 pm : After a recent pullback toward the unchanged mark, the dollar has reclaimed its earlier gains. It is now up 0.4% for the session.

Meanwhile, stocks are still stuck in a funk as all 10 major sectors are down by 1% or more.

Even retailers, which outperformed the broader market in each of the past two sessions, are down 1.1%. Despite their weakness, apparel retailer Limited Brands (LTD 22.03, +0.49) has managed to put together a strong gain, thanks to better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter. Kohls (KSS 53.53, +1.94) has also made its way higher on better-than-expected earnings of its own. Kohls did issue mixed guidance, though. DJ30 -177.30 NASDAQ -34.44 SP500 -17.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 488/965 mln/2037 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 560/417 mln/2381

11:30 am : Weakness remains widespread, but shares of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE 25.63, +6.45) have surged in one of their strongest single-session performances on record. Underpinning the move is news that CCE's North American bottling business will be acquired by Coca-Cola (KO 52.72, -2.44). The two companies have agreed in principle that Coca-Cola Enterprises will buy Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Norway and Sweden. Coca-Cola Enterprises has also announced that it will provide its shareowners, excluding The Coca-Cola Company, with a special one-time cash payment of $10 per share.

Elsewhere in the beverage business, Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS 30.89, +2.24) reported for its fiscal fourth quarter earnings of $0.44 per share, which is one penny better than what Wall Street had surmised. The company went on to issue upside 2010 guidance, which ranged from $2.27 to $2.35 per share. The company's Chief Executive stated that it would be premature to comment on the Coke-CCE deal, according to Reuters. DJ30 -176.69 NASDAQ -32.52 SP500 -16.68 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 502/867 mln/1986 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 571/375 mln/2343

11:00 am : The greenback continues to surrender its gains. It is now up less than 0.1% against a basket of foreign currencies.

Despite the greenback's pullback, both stocks and commodities remain under considerable pressure.

Such widespread weakness has helped prop up Treasuries, however. The benchmark 10-year Note is up a solid 12 ticks, which has trimmed its yield back to 3.65%. Action in Treasuries could swing with the release of results from an at-record $32 billion auction of 7-year Notes at 1:00 PM ET. DJ30 -160.44 NASDAQ -31.18 SP500 -15.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 493/705 mln/1962 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 587/306 mln/2280

10:30 am : Negative sentiment among participants this session has weighed heavily on commodities. Modest support for the greenback hasn't helped; the dollar is currently up 0.2%.

Selling interest has the CRB Commodity Index down 1.4%, which puts it at a fresh weekly low. It appears to have found a floor of support at last week's lows, though.

Oil is a primary source of weakness for the CRB. The commodity is currently down 2.5% to $78.00 per barrel. Oil prices are only slightly above their 50-day moving average of $76.78 per barrel.

Natural gas prices quickly dropped to a session low of $4.75 per MMBtu with the release of inventory data for the week ended Feb. 19. According to the report, inventories had a draw of 172 million bcf, which is greater than the draw of 169 million bcf that had been expected. Natural gas contract prices have come back a couple of cents in the last few minutes to trade with a 1.6% loss at $4.78 per MMBtu.

Precious metals prices currently trade with varied losses. As such, gold was last quoted at $1095.10 per ounce, down 0.2%, while silver was last quoted at $15.75 per ounce, down 1.2%. DJ30 -156.36 NASDAQ -30.41 SP500 -14.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 458/552 mln/1945 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 518/245 mln/2315

10:00 am : The dollar has surrendered some of its morning gain so that it is now up a rather modest 0.2% against a basket of foreign currencies, but stocks haven't made much of a reaction. In turn, weakness in the equity market remains widespread and losses are still steep.

Commodities haven't been able to secure much more support amid the dollar's recent slip, either. That has left the CRB Commodity Index to continue to trade near its session low with a 1.4% loss.

Due imminently is the Housing Price Index for December. It is expected to make 0.4% increase after a 0.7% increase in the prior month. DJ30 -156.36 NASDAQ -32.06 SP500 -15.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 395/341 mln/1945 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 386/154 mln/2358

09:45 am : Stocks have started the session with sharp, broad-based losses, such that all 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 are in negative territory and eight of them are down in excess of 1%. The gap down has completely erased the prior session's gains and put stocks at a fresh weekly low.

With a 2.0% loss, industrial stocks are among the worst performers in the early going. Industrials have actually been among the better performers in the new year. Specifically, the sector is one of only three major sectors to trade with a gain since the start of 2010; it is up 0.9% year-to-date. DJ30 -173.82 NASDAQ -36.97 SP500 -18.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 324/239 mln/1951 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 312/115 mln/2400

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -15.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.50. Stock futures have weakened further as the greenback extends its morning advance against competing currencies. Many reports have tied the dollar's strength to a weaker euro since Moody's said that ratings changes for Greece hinge on whether the country's fiscal reform plans are run smoothly. However, those comments seem to have acted as more of an excuse for reporters since the words do not reflect any sort of new sentiment regarding the matter and have followed Standard & Poor's statement yesterday that a Greece downgrade of one or two notches within a month is possible. Still, the greenback's early gain has held strong in the face of a disappointing dose of economic data, which featured worse-than-expected weekly jobless claims tallies. Durable goods orders for January were better than expected, but when transportation is excluded orders actually made an unexpected decline. Corporate news has offered little support to sentiment this morning. Even news that Coca-Cola (KO) will acquire the North American bottling business of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has generally been shrugged off by the broader market, though shares of CCE have surged in premarket trade. Fed Chairman Bernanke has started his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, but his words are unlikely to vary from those that he delivered yesterday to the House Financial Services Committee, so it is likely to be a non-event. Still to come, though, is an index on housing prices during December (10:00 AM ET) and the results from an auction of 7-year Treasuries (1:00 PM ET).

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -12.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.00. Europe's major bourses have extended their losses in the wake of a disappointing U.S. jobless claims number. According to media, their initial weakness had stemmed from word that Moody's said ratings changes for Greece hinge on whether the country's fiscal reform plans are run smoothly. However, those comments do not reflect any sort of new sentiment regarding the matter, and come one day after Standard & Poor's said that a downgrade of one or two notches for Greece is possible within a month. Nonetheless, weakness is widespread in Europe. As such, declining issues outnumber advancers by 5-to-1 on Germany's DAX, which is currently down 0.7%. Siemens (SI) has sunk to a 2.4% loss. In France, the CAC is down 1.1% as energy giant Total (TOT) retreats. Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE is off by 0.8%. Natural resource plays are among the weakest performers as Rio Tinto (RTP), BHP Billiton (BHP), Anglo American, and BP PLC (BP) lead losses. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has provided support to bank stocks, though. The company reported that its net loss narrowed in the fourth quarter. In Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.7% and Japan's Nikkei shed 0.9%. Denso fell sharply amid reports that the FBI has raided three Detroit-area Japanese auto parts makers for a federal antitrust investigation. However, Tokyo Electron was a primary laggard amid a stronger yen. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.3% amid persistent caution regarding tighter monetary policy. That put pressure on banks Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, otherwise ICBC, and China Construction Bank. Property stocks helped offset losses among banks, though. For the second straight session mainland China's Shanghai Composite bucked the negative trend. It advanced 1.3% amid leadership from Petrochina and China Petroleum. Also in contrast to the other indices, ICBC garnered support.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -10.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.00. Stock futures have dropped to their morning lows in response to the latest dose of economic data, which included a 3.0% increase in January durable goods orders. The increase was much sharper than the 1.5% increase that had been widely expected and marked an acceleration from the upwardly revised 1.9% increase in the prior month. Excluding transportation, orders actually slipped 0.6%, which is a disappointment relative to the 1.0% increase that had been widely anticipated after an upwardly revised 2.0% increase in the prior month. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 20 totaled 496,000, which is worse than the 460,000 initial claims that had been expected and marks an increase of 22,000 from the previous week. Continuing claims came in at 4.62 million, which is worse than the 4.57 million continuing claims that had been expected and marks an increase from the upwardly revised 4.61 million continuing claims that had been filed the week before.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -6.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.80. Stocks had a strong finish to the previous session, but weakness among overseas markets and a rebound by the greenback have weighed on stock futures this morning. As a result, a firmly lower start for the major U.S. equity averages looks to be in order. Still to come, though, are plenty of catalysts for trade. Specifically, weekly jobless claims results are due at the bottom of the hour, along with durable goods orders numbers for January. At 9:00 AM ET Fed Chairman Bernanke will testify about the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee. His comments are expected to reflect those given to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. An index for housing prices during December will follow at 10:00 AM ET and results from an auction of 7-year Treasury Notes are due at 1:00 PM ET.

06:58 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.30.

06:58 am : Nikkei...10101.96...-96.90...-1.00%. Hang Seng...10399.57...-68.20...-0.30%.

06:58 am : FTSE...5340.27...-2.80...-0.10%. DAX...5621.25...+5.70...+0.10%.

Special thanks to Yahoo! Finance and CNNMoney for their market summaries.

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

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