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Trade Journal 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, this public trade journal contains useful trading tips a few times per week to encourage readers to return for more information and to help ensure I myself don't forget the importance of basic concepts within my own trading plan. Further, there are market summaries from Youtube Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo Finance as a quick archive of what happened in the markets on a particular day of trading. Thus, if you're looking for trading tips and market summaries that can improve your trading and/or understanding of what happen on a particular day that 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.

Today's #FuturesTrades chat room logs is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=618

click on the below image to view normal size

Trade Performance for Today: +3.30 points or $330 dollars in the ICE Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures.
1 tick or 0.10 = $10 dollars and to find out more contract information about the Russell 2000 Emini TF...click here.

FYI - You can ask me questions here at the forum or you can tweet me on twitter about any thing 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).

WRB Analysis Tutorials @ 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/viewforum.php?f=119. However, you must join the TSL Support Forum to access the free study guide. To register...click here.

Volatility Trading Report (VTR) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm

Daily Trade Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=121&t=761

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

Stocks End The Week Barely Up

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By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter
September 10, 2010: 4:22 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Trading was choppy and light Friday, with stocks barely ending the week higher as investors wavered between mildly upbeat data and ongoing fears about a slowing economy.

For the overall week, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 15 points, closing at at 10,463 on Friday. The S&P 500 (SPX) added 5 points to end at 1,109, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) Composite rose 10 points to 2,243, according to early tallies.

All three stock indexes posted gains in the two prior trading sessions, but those were modest compared to losses on Tuesday. The Dow needed to rise above 10,448 to breakeven for the week, and after hovering all day around that level, rallied late Friday to rise slightly higher.

Trading volume was exceptionally light during the shortened holiday week. U.S. stock markets were closed Monday for Labor Day, and trading desks were staffed lightly Thursday and Friday due to Rosh Hashanah.
0:00 /2:442010: A repeat of 2008 crisis?

Economy: Earlier Friday, a government report showed that wholesale inventories rose 1.3% in July, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase the month before. Investors took the unexpected rise as a positive sign for the economic recovery.

In a White House press conference, President Obama continued his push for a $350-billion jobs recovery plan and a small business tax cut currently stalled in Congress.

Companies: Shares of Nokia (NOK) gained more than 2%, after the mobile phone maker named Stephen Elop -- the head of Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) business division -- as its CEO. Elop will begin as president and CEO on Sept. 21, replacing Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG, Fortune 500) tumbled more than 8% Friday after a gas pipeline in California exploded and erupted into flames. The blast occurred in San Bruno, near San Francisco, after a gas transmission line owned by the company ruptured. The cause of the rupture is still being investigated.

World markets: European closed mixed. The CAC 40 in France and Britain's FTSE 100 both rose 0.1%, and the DAX in Germany fell 0.1%.

Asian markets ended higher, after the Japanese government unveiled a $10.9 billion stimulus package aimed at boosting employment, consumer spending and corporate investment.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei index rallied 1.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.3% lower.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, but rose against the British pound and the Japanese yen.

[urlnew=Stocks end the week barely up]* What peak oil? Why an oil glut is ahead[/urlnew]

Oil futures for October delivery climbed $2.20 to settle at $76.45 a barrel, after reports of a pipeline leak and the government's latest supply report spurred speculators to short-cover their oil positions.

Gold for December delivery dipped $4.40 to settle at $1,246.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.8% from 2.76% late Thursday.



Yahoo! Finance

4:15 pm : The major market averages closed up between the Nasdaq's +0.3% and the S&P's +0.5%. Stocks got off to a slow start, but pushed higher throughout most of the session following a better-than-expected July wholesale inventories report. Today's gains marked the sixth time in seven September sessions that the major indices have recorded gains.

Energy stocks led throughout most of the session, closing higher by 1.0%. Shares of BP (BP 38.22, +0.20) lagged the energy sector as the company announced it has delayed the release of its third quarter earnings results until November 2, which is one week after they had previously planned to post results.

Consumer discretionary stocks were among the best performers with the sector seeing a boost from Viacom (VIA 37.91, +0.97), McGraw-Hill (MHP 30.25, +0.87), Sears Holdings (SHLD 66.80, +1.89), and Goodyear Tire (GT 10.36, +0.25).

Athletic wear stocks were boosted by strong top and bottom line results from Lululemon Athletica (LULU 40.59, +4.74) which surged 13.2%. Other stocks in the space seeing gains were Under Armour (UA 39.89, +0.29), Gildan Activewear (GIL 28.50, +0.12), and V.F. Corporation (VFC 75.47, +0.40).

The utilities sector was the weakest performer as PG&E (PCG 44.17, -4.07) shares were hit hard following last night's explosion and fire in San Bruno, California. Other utilities laggards included Dominion Resources (D 43.31, -0.63), Public Service Enterprise (PEG 31.89, -0.47), and Edison International (EIX 34.38, -0.31).

Downside guidance from National Semiconductors (NSM 12.07, -0.83) combined with a narrowed third quarter outlook for Texas Instruments (TXN 23.72, -0.12) weighed on the semiconductor sector as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid 1.3%.

Volume was once again light as only 754 million shares changed hands on the floor of the NYSE.

Treasuries remained under pressure as a lack of market moving economic data all week long benefited stocks, and sent treasuries lower. The 10-yr yield finished the week at 2.790%, up from last week's settlement of 2.706%.

Advancing Sectors: Energy (+1.0%), Health Care (+0.9%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Industrials (+0.7%), Materials (+0.7%), Consumer Staples (+0.6%), Telecom (+0.2%), Financials (+0.1%), Tech (+0.1%)

Declining Sectors: Utilities (-0.5%) DJ30 +47.53 NASDAQ +6.28 SP500 +5.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1402/1.70 bln/1155 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1922/754.8 mln/1049

3:30 pm : The CRB Commodity Index finished 0.7% higher with 11 of the 19 CRB components in negative territory. The top three performers were in the energy sector.

Dec corn futures gained 1.7% today, closing at $4.7875 following bullish data from the USDA this morning. Dec wheat closed 0.2% higher at $7.395, while Nov soybeans ended 1.3% lower at $10.3275.

Oct crude oil futures closed higher by 2.5% to $76.45 per barrel, after trending higher all session. Highs of $76.59 per barrel were put in late in the session, which is where the energy component closed today.

Oct natural gas closed down 1.4% to $3.88 and had a similar pattern as crude today. Natural gas began to rally about an hour before pit trading began and this continued until it hit session highs of $3.94 per MMBtu. By the end of the day, natural gas finished just under this level.

Precious metals finished the day modestly lower. . Dec silver closed lower by 0.5% to $19.84 per ounce, but it just under its 26 months high. Dec gold ended lower by 0.2% to $1248.00 per ounce after a somewhat volatile session. Gols fell sharply around the open, hitting session lows of $1237.90 per ounce. The precious metal recovered back into positive territory, but once again couldn't hold it gains. (Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.4%. S&P +0.6%) DJ30 +52.67 NASDAQ +8.07 SP500 +6.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1425/1401.2 mln/1121 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1985/538.9 mln/959

3:00 pm : The Dow and S&P recently pushed to their best levels of the session while the Nasdaq lagged behind, but all three major indices are comfortably in positive territory as they head into the final hour of trading for the week.

Treasuries are seeing some selling after moving to their best levels of the session around midday. The 10-yr yield is back near 2.795% after seeing 2.773% a few hours prior. The 2-10-yr spread is back above 223.0, once again testing early September resistance, with stronger resistance near 230. If the curve were to steepen further, it must push through its 50-day moving average which is just above current levels. DJ30 +42.91 NASDAQ +5.74 SP500 +5.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1380/1.28 bln/1140 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1973/485.1 mln/975

2:30 pm : The major U.S. equity indices are near their best levels of the session as stocks continue to grind higher amid low volume.

Shares of Lululemon Athletica (LULU 40.23, +4.38) are trading higher by more than 12% after the company announced better-than-expected Q2 2010 results on both the top and bottom lines.

Other companies in the athletic wear space have seen a small bid as a result of Lululemon's earnings. Those stocks include Under Armour (UA 40.10, +0.50), Gildan Activewear (GIL 28.54, +0.16), and V.F. Corporation (VFC 75.28, +0.21). DJ30 +38.14 NASDAQ +2.85 SP500 +4.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1293/1.17 bln/1227 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1865/440.1 mln/1069

2:00 pm : The Nasdaq briefly moved into positive territory, but has since turned negative as today's trade remains listless amid light volume.

Consumer discretionary stocks are trading higher by 0.7% led by Viacom (VIA 37.83, +0.89), McGraw-Hill (MHP 30.13, +0.75), Sears Holdings (SHLD 66.85, +1.94), and Goodyear Tire (GT 10.36, +0.25). Within the S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Index 65 of 81 stocks are trading to the plus side. DJ30 +31.03 NASDAQ -0.52 SP500 +3.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1183/1.07 bln/1296 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1807/401.1 mln/1114

1:30 pm : The major market indices are mixed with the Dow and S&P 500 trading in positive territory, and the Nasdaq trading lower.

The utilities sector is one of only two sectors trading lower, and is currently posting a loss of 0.4% for the session. Utility stocks are seeing broad based selling as 22 of 34 stocks within the sector are trading to the downside. PG&E (PCG 45.56, -2.68) is leading the sector lower following yesterday's explosion and fire in San Bruno, California. Other laggards include Dominion Resources (D 43.36, -0.58), Public Service Enterprise (PEG 32.00, -0.36), and Edison International (EIX 34.30, -0.39). DJ30 +25.81 NASDAQ -2.59 SP500 +3.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1126/989.3 mln/1336 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1755/369.1 mln/1154

1:00 pm : Stocks staged solid gains in the early going, but resistance invited some moderate selling that has left the major equity averages to trade mixed at midsession.

Upward momentum from recent sessions helped stocks start the day in positive territory. Following a momentary slip shortly after the open broad support surfaced to drive the S&P 500 up to the 1110 line, but for the second straight session stocks failed to break above that line.

Failure to extend the early advance opened the door for selling. Following a gradual downward drift, stocks have been left to trade with mixed results.

The tech sector, which is the largest by market weight, has slid to a 0.5% loss. Most of that is owed to weakness among semiconductor stocks, which have been dropped to a 2.5% loss following downside guidance from National Semiconductors (NSM 11.97, -0.93). Texas Instruments (TXN 2338, -0.46) failed to garner support for the semiconductor space with its narrowed third quarter outlook, which remains in-line with Wall Street's projections.

Energy stocks have been strong this session. The sector is up 1.1% at the moment. Higher energy prices have helped. At the moment, oil prices are up 2.5% to $76.10 per barrel, while natural gas prices are up 3.7% to $3.91 per MMBtu following a natural gas pipe explosion in California.

In contrast with recent sessions, financials have had a quiet day, so far. Heading into today the sector climbed in six of the past seven sessions for a cumulative gain of almost 8%, but the sector is flat today. The calm comes ahead of new regulatory requirements in Basel III.

The only item on today's economic calendar was wholesale inventory data for July. Inventories increased 1.3%, which is a stronger than what had been expected, but the report has had no real impact on trade.

Participation remains unimpressive in that share volume on the NYSE is still at depressed levels. The lack of trading in recent sessions has left volume on the NYSE to averaged just 1.0 billion shares per session this past week. Over the past 200 days trading volume on the Big Board has been closer to 1.2 billion shares per session.

Lackluster action in the stock market hasn't done anything to bolster Treasuries. Instead, they have been in the red all session. Earlier, the benchmark 10-year Note dropped enough to drive its yield is up above 2.8% for the first time in one month. Yields have since backed down a couple of basis points. DJ30 +25.43 NASDAQ -1.61 SP500 +3.78 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1161/915 mln/1280 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1793/340 mln/1093

12:30 pm : Oil prices have rallied to $76.10 per barrel, which makes for a 2.5% gain. Natural gas has been an even stronger performer; the commodity was last quoted with a 3.4% gain at $3.90 per MMBtu.

Higher energy prices have bolstered the energy sector, which continues to outperform the broader market. Energy stocks are up 0.8% at the moment. That's more than double the gain currently displayed by the S&P 500.DJ30 +19.52 NASDAQ -3.91 SP500 +2.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1114/835 mln/1293 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1730/310 mln/1144

12:00 pm : Stocks have gradually extended their downturn. The result is a slight loss for the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, the Dow and S&P 500 are holding on to slight gains.

The broader market's downturn has taken several sectors to fresh session lows. Specifically, the utilities sector is now down 0.8%, which makes it the worst performing sector of the day. Many multi-utilities stocks have been implicated by the natural gas explosion in California. DJ30 +8.70 NASDAQ -3.93 SP500 +1.54 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1155/741 mln/1228 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1695/275 mln/1152

11:30 am : The broader market remains in positive territory, but it lacks clear direction. The choppy trade comes despite considerable strength in energy stocks (+0.9%), industrial shares (+0.9%), materials stocks (+0.8%), and consumer discretionary stocks (-0.8%).

However, tech stocks, which collectively represent almost 20% of the market weight of the S&P 500, have fallen to a 0.2% loss. Such weakness has undercut the tech-rich Nasdaq, which now lags the other headline indices. Among tech stocks, National Semiconductors (NSM 11.97, -0.93) and Microchip (MCHP 27.85, -1.19) are especially weak following downside guidance from NSM. DJ30 +34.58 NASDAQ +2.28 SP500 +4.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1340/618 mln/1026 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1980/235 mln/860

11:00 am : Just as it did in the prior session, the S&P 500 encountered resistance at the 1110 line. Upon being rebuffed, the broad market measure has pulled back a bit, though modest gains persist.

Energy stocks remain in strong shape. The sector is up 1.0% at the moment. Although energy stocks are leaders this session, they have underperformed, so far, this year. Specifically, the sector is down more than 5% year-to-date, which is considerably worse than the 0.5% year-to-date loss of the S&P 500.

BP Plc (BP 37.89, -0.13) has failed to follow the broader energy sector higher this session. The stock is in red following its announcement that it has delayed the release of its third quarter earnings results until November 2, which is one week after they had previously planned to post results. DJ30 +41.85 NASDAQ +6.76 SP500 +5.24 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1431/509 mln/867 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2038/195 mln/768

10:35 am : The US Dollar Index has moved back into positive territory. However, energy and precious metals commodities have risen despite the recent dollar strength. Currently, 11 out of the 19 commodities in the CRB Index are trading higher. Natural gas is the best performer so far today.

October crude oil has been in positive territory all session. Earlier this morning, crude hit new session highs of of $76.35 minutes ago and is currently jsut under that level at $74.31, up 2.8%.

October natural gas has also spent all session in positive territory. The energy component sat in positive territory, just above the flat line for the overnight session. it wasn't until almost 8:00am ET that natural gas gained steam and began to rally. It hit session highs of $3.89 per MMBtu and is just under that level at $3.89 per MMBtu, up 3.2%.

December gold and December silver both rallied in recent trade. Gold rallied off morning lows of $1237.90 per ounce, but just couldn't break back into positive territory and is currently 0.3% lower at $1247.70 per ounce. Silver also rallied a couple of hours ago, pushing into positive territory and to new session highs of $20.05 per ounce. Silver is currently just above the $20 level at $20.01, up 0.8%.DJ30 +32.77 NASDAQ +8.47 SP500 +4.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1440/361.6/778 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 106.7/140.9 mln/31.3

10:00 am : A slow start had stocks muddled at the neutral line in the first few minutes of trade, but the major averages have since bounced upward so that they now sport modest gains.

The only item on today's economic calendar was just released. Data indicated that wholesale inventories for July increased 1.3%, which is a stronger increase than the 0.4% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. Wholesale inventories for June were revised upward to reflect a 0.3% increase after the initial report showed a 0.1% increase. DJ30 +12.03 NASDAQ +4.19 SP500 +2.49 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1294/236 mln/810 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1806/96 mln/829

09:45 am : Stocks have slipped a bit since opening the session. They are now near the neutral line. Leadership is lacking.

The two largest sectors in the S&P 500, tech and financials, are in the red with losses of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Their weight has been partly offset by a 0.6% gain among energy stocks, which collectively make up the fifth largest sector in the S&P 500.

Despite the lackluster action of the early going, Treasuries are under modest pressure. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note is down about seven ticks and its yield is up to 2.78%, which puts it near its 50-day moving average and at its highest level in one month. DJ30 -3.56 NASDAQ -1.54 SP500 +0.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1153/127 mln/846 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1577/62 mln/969

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.30. Stock futures point to a slightly higher open for Friday. Such a start would put stocks on track for their seventh gain in eight sessions. Despite the bullishness of that streak, there hasn't been much conviction behind the move -- specifically, trading volume on the NYSE has averaged just 1.0 billion shares per session this past week. Such lack of participation comes partly as a result of a late summer lull and vacationing around Labor Day. Catalysts that typically attract traders have been limited too. Such is the case again this morning, given the limited number of headlines being promulgated by the financial media. The only item on the economic calendar is the Wholesale Inventory Report for July (10:00 AM ET). Recent overseas action featured varied gains by Asia's major averages, but Europe's bourses have been lackluster so far. With the exception of a marked drop by the yen, most currencies are making muted moves. There is some chatter about what may be featured in the new regulatory requirements included in Basel III, but nothing has been confirmed at this point.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.00. The Japanese yen is now down 0.6%, which puts it at its worst level of the day. Meanwhile, the euro is flat and the U.S. dollar is up a tepid 0.1%. Separately, energy prices and precious metals prices are split this morning. Crude oil prices just opened up pit trade with a 1.8% gain at $75.55 per barrel, while natural gas prices also sport a 1.8% gain at $3.83 per MMBtu. Gold was last quoted with a 0.8% loss at $1239 per ounce, while silver is off by 0.3% at $19.75 per ounce.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.50. Domestic futures continue to trade with a narrow lead over fair value. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX is currently down 0.2% as Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank (DB) succumb to selling. Rumors continue to circulate that DB will look to raise capital ahead of the new Basel III requirements. Automakers BMW, Volkswagen, and Daimler (DAI) are strong, though. Shares of DAI have consistently outperformed in recent sessions, such that they are currently on pace for a weekly gain of more than 5%. In France, the CAC is down 0.2%. BNP Paribas has been a primary drag on trade there. Britain's FTSE has slipped to a fractional loss. Barclays (BCS) has been a heavy drag on trade. The stock was recently downgraded by analysts at Citigroup. In contrast, Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) has been a source of support for the FTSE.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei swung to a 1.6% gain. Gains were broad based, but Fast Retailing and Canon (CAJ) were primary leaders. Exporters were helped by a pullback in the yen, which set a 15-year high against the greenback just two days ago. Japan's second quarter GDP was revised higher to an annualized rate of 1.5%, as expected. Their government also announced a stimulus plan of 915 billion yen, or about $11 billion. China's Shanghai Composite managed a 0.3% gain after it dropped sharply in the prior session. Ping An Insurance and Industrial & Commercial Bank helped lead the rebound. PetroChina (PTR) was a notable laggard, though. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4%. It was led by HSBC (HBC) and CNOOC, which recently appointed a new CFO. Industrial & Commercial Bank lagged there as well.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.50. Broader market futures lacked direction overnight, but they have since mustered a modest lead over fair value. Though moderate, the generally positive tone to premarket trade marks a continuation of the stock market's upward momentum of recent sessions - it has already advanced in six of the past seven sessions for a cumulative gain of more than 5%. Unlike recent sessions, stock futures aren't getting much help from Europe's bourses, which are currently down with narrow losses. Asia's major averages booked varied gains overnight. Japan's Nikkei led the way with a 1.6% climb. The country's second quarter GDP was revised upward to reflect annualized growth of 1.5%, instead of 0.4% growth. The U.S. economic calendar is light - only wholesale inventory figures for July are scheduled for release today (10:00 AM ET). As for corporate news, Texas Instruments (TXN) narrowed its third quarter outlook yesterday. That hasn't done anything to excite traders, though; the stock is down 1% ahead of the open.

06:12 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.50.

06:12 am : Nikkei...9239.2...+140.70...+1.50%. Hang Seng...21257.4...+90.10...+0.40%.

06:12 am : FTSE...5483.5...-10.60...-0.20%. DAX...6191.3...-29.40...-0.50%.

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

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

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