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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=616

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Trade Performance for Today: +8.30 points or $830 dollars in the ICE Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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 Higher After Obama Speech

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By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter
September 8, 2010: 4:25 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks ended Wednesday higher as investors shifted their focus from worries about European banks to President Obama's $350 billion jobs recovery plan.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 46 points, or 0.45%, to 10,387 the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 7 points, or 0.6%, to 1,099 and the Nasdaq (COMP) Composite climbed 20 points, or 0.9%, to 2,229.

Stocks are coming off losses Tuesday, when all three major indexes fell more than 1% as investors worried that European banks are in worse shape than previously believed.

But those fears subsided a bit Wednesday morning after the Portuguese debt auction was met with healthy demand. Experts caution that concern about Europe's banks may have eased but the problems are far from disappearing.

As austerity measures take effect in several European countries and various data continue to point to slower economic growth globally, sovereign credit spreads have started widening again, nearing the levels they were at in the spring, said David Chalupnik, the head of equities at First American Funds.

Wider credit spreads are a sign that funding government debt could become more challenging for debt-laden European countries, he explained.
Bank stress socks the Continent

Economy: The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a snapshot of economic conditions across the central bank's 12 districts, suggested the economy continued to grow between mid-July and the end of August, but with "widespread signs of a deceleration" compared with earlier periods.

A separate report from the Fed showed that consumer debt fell by $3.6 billion in July -- far less than the $5.25 billion decrease predicted by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Obama: President Obama officially unveiled three new proposals aimed at bolstering the shaky economic recovery in a speech in Cleveland.

They include an estimated $200 billion in tax breaks for businesses that invest in new plants and equipment; a $100 billion extension of the business tax credit for research and development; and $50 billion over the next decade to improve roads, rails and other infrastructure.

Congress is not expected to pass the proposals soon.

Companies: Shares of BP (BP) surged more than 3% at the opening bell after Fitch upgraded the company's rating three notches.

The ratings firm said the upgrade "primarily reflects an end to the threat of further leaks from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico."

World markets: European shares gained. The CAC 40 in France rose 0.9%, the DAX in Germany added 0.8%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.4%.

Asian markets ended sharply lower after the yen hit another 15-year high against the dollar. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index tumbled 2.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.5%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.1% lower.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the Japanese yen after sinking to a fresh 15-year low earlier, and the greenback fell against the euro and the British pound.

Oil futures for October delivery rose 41 cents to settle at $74.67 a barrel.

Gold for December delivery fell $1.80 to settle at $1,257.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.65% from 2.61% late Tuesday.



Yahoo! Finance

4:30 pm : Stocks edged their way higher through the first half of the session, but they lost direction in afternoon trade. The major averages still settled with solid gains, though.

Early support was underpinned by strong gains in Europe, where participants responded positively to news that of strong demand at a Portuguese debt auction. The successful debt offering also won modest support for the euro, which finished the day with a 0.3% gain against the greenback. The British pound saw an even bigger gain of 0.7% versus the dollar.

BP Plc (BP 38.37, +1.18) released results from an internal investigation on the events leading up to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The company concluded that no single factor was responsible.

Domestic news was light, but there were reports that Goldman Sachs (GS 147.54 +2.33) is in talks with several firms about its Principal Strategies prop trading group. However, the nature of the talks may not lead Goldman Sachs to actually sell the unit. Strength in shares of GS helped drive investment bank and brokerages stocks to a 1.4% gain.

Regional banks were the strongest performers in the financial sector. The group rallied 2.5% after falling 3.9% in the prior session. Their rebound helped the financial sector tack on 1.1%, which was the biggest percentage gain of any of the major sectors in the S&P 500.

Utilities made up the only sector to settle in the red. They lost 0.5% after outperforming in the prior session.

Broad-based strength helped stocks remain strong into the close, though some afternoon volatility led the major indices to finish off of their highs with varied gains.

Economic data was generally inconsequential as stocks showed little reaction to the Fed's latest Beige Book, which is generally a collection of anecdotal data from the various Fed districts. One of the more notable takeaways from the Beige Book was that consumer spending has increased, on balance. However, discretionary purchases continue to be governed by caution.

Consumer credit data was released at the close. After falling $1.0 billion in June, July data showed that credit fell another $3.6 billion. Consumer credit has tightened for six straight months and in 17 of the last 18 months.

A $21 billion auction of 10-year Notes drew a yield of 2.67%, which is below what had been anticipated, but the bid-to-cover proved strong at 3.2. The indirect bidder participation take of 54.7% was the best since September 2009.

Participation on the part of traders remains extremely unimpressive. Specifically, this was the fourth straight session that share volume on the NYSE failed to break 1 billion. That has helped drag down the 50-day moving average to less than 1.1 billion shares. Just two months ago the 50-day moving average for trading volume on the NYSE stood at 1.5 billion.

Advancing Sectors: Financials (+1.1%), Industrials (+1.0%), Energy (+0.9%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.7%), Materials (+0.7%), Telecom (+0.6%), Health Care (+0.5%), Tech (+0.4%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%)
Declining Sectors: Utilities (-0.5%)DJ30 +46.32 NASDAQ +19.98 NQ100 +1.3% R2K +0.8% SP400 +0.6% SP500 +7.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1725/2.03 bln/882 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2082/879 mln/896

3:30 pm : The CRB Commodity Index finished modestly better today, despite the sizeable 1.5% sell of in the grains sector. Dec wheat futures plunged 3.3% to close at $7.11 per bushel on news of a bullish supply report in Canada.

Oct crude oil futures closed higher by 0.6% to $74.67 per barrel, after it pulled back from its best levels of the session heading into the close. Oct natural gas closed down 0.9% to $3.813 in what was an uneventful session. Dec silver closed higher by 0.3% to $20.01 per ounce. It traded to a fresh ~2.5 year high at $20.10, but sold off from those highs heading into the close.

Dec gold ended lower by 0.2% to $1257.50 per ounce. It put in highs at $1264.70 earlier in the session, just points from the continuous contract all time high at $1266.50, but gave back those gains to close modestly lower on the day. DJ30 +46.17 NASDAQ +19.68 SP500 +7.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1700/1.7 bln/888 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2056/578.6 mln/942

3:00 pm : The S&P 500 has bounced back to the 1100 line to enter the final hour of trade with a healthy gain. Should the move hold into the close, stocks will book their fifth gain in six sessions.

Participation remains entirely unimpressive, however. Even at this point in the session share volume on the NYSE stands just above a half billion shares. During the prior session, share volume on the Big Board didn't even break 1 billion. The lack of trading volume is often indicative of a lack of conviction among investors. DJ30 +53.43 NASDAQ +20.45 SP500 +8.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1737/1.51 bln/847 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2098/521 mln/870

2:30 pm : Stocks have steadied since rolling over, but shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 38.48, -1.44) are near session lows following news that they were downtraded by analysts at UBS. Western Digital (WDC 26.10, +0.08) was also downgraded at UBS, but the stock has managed to muster a modest gain.

Shares of Staples (SPLS 19.05, +0.38) are up nicely following news that it was upgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs. Costco (COST 59.01, +0.37) was also upgraded at Goldman Sachs, but the stock is only up in-line with the broader market. DJ30 +49.91 NASDAQ +18.87 SP500 +7.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1691/1.40 bln/869 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2062/482 mln/895

2:00 pm : The S&P 500 failed to stabilize at the 1100 line and has since rolled over to its lowest level of afternoon trade. Still, overall gains remain solid and broad based as nine of the 10 sectors remain in positive ground.

With a 0.3% loss, utilities stocks are in the worst shape and represent the only sector currently in the red. Their lagging effort follows their relatively solid performance of the prior session, when the sector limited its loss to 0.6% as the broader market dropped more than 1%.

The latest Beige Book from the Fed was just released. It indicated that five western districts reported modest growth, while a limited number of eastern districts saw improvement and some midwestern districts saw mixed data. The Beige Book also indicated that consumer caution has governed discretionary purchases, but that consumer spending has increased, on balance. DJ30 +43.67 NASDAQ +15.20 SP500 +5.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1617/1.28 bln/906 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1957/435 mln/976

1:30 pm : The S&P 500 has eased back a couple of points to the 1101 line after setting a session high just above the 1103 line.

Financials remain out in front. The sector is up 1.5%. In contrast to the prior session, bank stocks are particularly strong. In turn, the KBW Bank Index is up 2.1%. It still has a ways to go before it completely offsets its 3.2% dive in the prior session, however.

Industrials are also still in strong shape. The sector currently trades with a 1.5% gain, too. It is led by the likes of FedEx (FDX 84.44, +2.58) and Textron (TXT 18.70, +0.48). DJ30 +67.96 NASDAQ +24.35 SP500 +10.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1829/1.14 bln/709 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2212/382 mln/714

1:00 pm : After opening modestly higher, the major equity averages spent the first hour of the day adding to the modest gains. Since the first hour, however, the major averages have spent plenty of time moving sideways until a recent upward push to test the best levels of the day with the Nasdaq out in front.

European stocks finished near their best levels of the day following strong demand at a Portuguese debt auction. Meanwhile, BP (BP 38.43, +1.24) shares remain higher by approximately 3% after the company released results from its internal investigation, which concluded that no single factor caused the Macondo well tragedy, and that decisions made by "multiple companies and work teams" contributed to the accident. Well partners Transocean (RIG 54.13, +1.08) and Anadarko (APC 51.51, +1.24) are +1.8% and 2.5%, respectively. In other European news, reports indicate that Anglo Irish Bank will be split in two, but the likes of Bank of Ireland (IRE 3.68, -0.05) and Allied Irish Banks (AIB 1.95, -0.04) haven't seen a big reaction to the news.

The euro had been on the rise prior to the Anglo Irish reports, but it is now nearly unchanged. Meanwhile, the British pound remains near its session high.

U.S. corporate news flow has been relatively light since the open, though CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs's (GS 149.32, +4.11) Principal Strategies prop trading group could go to KKR, Perella Weinberg, PIMCO, Carlyle or Blackrock (BLK 152.10, +1.32). The report indicated that that the discussions are more individual traders talking to buy side firms about opportunities as opposed to GS actually selling something, so GS may not get any payment for relinquishing the unit.

M&A rumors have a number of stocks moving, including shares of New York Times (NYT 7.99, +0.23), Netezza (NZ 23.45, +2.11), and Capital One (COF 39.41, +0.56), all of which have seen gains amid increased options activity.

Results of the 10-year Notes auction at 1:00 PM ET were viewed as positive, though they came with a lower-than-expected yield.

Over the remainder of the day, the 2:00 p.m. ET Beige Book has the potential to add some volatility to what has been relatively quiet trading since the open. Consumer Credit follows at 3:00 p.m. ET, but this report tends to have little impact on trading. DJ30 +79.35 NASDAQ +27.51 SP500 +10.70 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1869/1027216.02/628 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2269/345804.96/660

12:30 pm : Equity averages are currently challenging their morning highs after trading in a sideways range right around those highs for the past two hours.

U.S. corporate newsflow has been relatively light since the open. CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs's (GS) Principal Strategies prop trading group could go to KKR, Perella Weinberg, PIMCO, Carlyle or Blackrock (BLK). The report indicated that that the discussions are more individual traders talking to buy side firms about opportunities as opposed to GS actually selling something, so GS may not get any payment for relinquishing the unit.

As a reminder, the results of the 10-year Notes auction are on tap at 1:00 ET.DJ30 75.57 NASDAQ 25.60 SP500 9.99 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1852/923525.6/632 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2211/315872.96/694

12:05 pm : The major equity averages continue to hang out near the intraday highs. The 1:00 p.m. ET 10-year notes auction and the 2:00 p.m. ET Beige Book have the potential to add some volatility to what has been relatively quiet trading since the open. Consumer Credit follows at 3:00 p.m. ET, but this report tends to have little impact on trading.

The major European averages closed near their highs, up between +0.4% and +1.0% following a Portuguese bond auction that showed encouraging demand. Interestingly, Portugal's stock index closed down -0.8%.DJ30 70.12 NASDAQ 21.72 SP500 9.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1840/851579.9/636 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2216/292270.81/671

11:35 am : Equity averages continue to hold near their intraday highs, regaining the majority of yesterday's losses. The next item of interest today is the 1:00 ET bond auction, in which the Treasury is reopening $21 billion in 10-year Notes.

Reports indicate that Anglo Irish Bank will be split in two, part of which will be wound down. Although the other Irish bank ADRs (IRE and AIB) haven't seen a big reaction to the news, it does provide some clarity to a situation involving a troubled European bank. Also, the European currencies are trading near highs of the day following the news. The euro had been on the rise prior to the announcement (currently +0.0064 at $1.2746/euro), but the British pound has just risen to highs (+0.0162 at $1.5519/pound).DJ30 76.33 NASDAQ 23.79 SP500 9.68 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1850/728226.25/570 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2269/255941.02/591

11:00 am : Stocks have improved further off the open, with the major averages currently trading just off their highs of the session. Today's bounce has recouped a good portion of yesterday's losses, which came on light volume. Considering the trend of low-volume Mondays we've recently seen, it will be interesting to see how volume shapes up today and over the remainder of the week.

Both the yen and the euro have improved further vs. the dollar, helping the bid in stocks and some commodities. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has declined a bit on today's equity gains, falling -2.7% to 23.17. Despite today's pullback, after yesterday's rise the VIX remains well above the multi-month low of 21.21 set ahead of the 3-day weekend. However, this should not be alarming, as volatility tends to decline ahead of holiday periods as the opportunity for variance in prices is reduced amid the closure. DJ30 70.54 NASDAQ 20.71 SP500 8.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1813/586112.56/567 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2246/209994.04/584

10:35 am : The US Dollar Index fell to new session lows of around 82.429 in recent trade, but this has only benefitted select commodities.

October crude oil began to rally when pit trading began, pushing into positive territory, and extended its gains on weakness in the dollar index. Crude eventually hit new session highs of $74.78 per barrel this morning and is currently 0.3% higher at $74.31 per barrel.

October natural gas trended lower during the overnight session and fell in the red after 7:00am ET. Natural gas hit today's currently lows of $3.80 per MMBtu just after floor trading began and is now back near the flat line at $3.85 per MMBtu.

December gold rallied into positive territory and to new session highs of $1264.70 per ounce about an hour ago. However, gold lost its steam and is back just under the unchanged line at $1256.90 per ounce. December silver has spent most of the session in positive territory. Silver hit its own session highs of $20.18 per ounce earlier this morning and is now 0.4% higher at $19.99 per ounce. DJ30 +71.33 NASDAQ +17.02 SP500 +7.99 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1722/439.2 mln/583 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2194/158.2 mln/583

10:00 am : Equity averages remain modestly higher off the open, about in line with the pre-market bid. The early recoups a portion of yesterday's light volume selloff that took the major averages down over more than 1%.

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, the Treasury's $21 billion 10-year Note auction will be in focus at 1:00 p.m. ET. Today's economic calendar features the release of the Fed's Beige Book at 2:00 p.m. ET and the Consumer Credit report for July at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Earlier this morning, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 1.5% decline in mortgage applications for the week ending Sept. 3 versus a 2.7% increase in the prior week. The decline in the latest report was driven by a 3.1% drop in refinancing applications; however, it is worth noting that purchase applications increased 6.3%, which marks the seventh increase in the last eight weeks. DJ30 +44.12 NASDAQ +10.37 SP500 +4.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1597/249413.79/589 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2044/92831.77/599

09:45 am : Stocks are up modestly in the first few minutes of trade, tracking the pre-market bid in futures. Gains are broad based, but natural resource plays are out in front.

Energy stocks currently boast the biggest gains. The sector has jumped out to a 1.0% gain, though energy prices are currently down with modest losses.

Materials stocks have also caught a bid. The sector is up 0.6% amid strength in steel stocks (+1.6%) and diversified metals and miners (+1.5%). DJ30 +45.48 NASDAQ +12.99 SP500 +4.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1617/153362.54/484 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2082/63500.85/504

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.50. Stock futures are off of their morning highs, but a slightly higher start still looks to be in order. Initial strength, though moderate, has been largely underpinned by gains in Europe, where Portugal helped alleviate debt concerns with a successful debt offering. Participants are also looking ahead to a U.S. offering of 10-year Notes at 1:00 PM ET, given the lack of corporate news this morning. Also on the agenda are the latest Beige Book from the Fed (2:00 PM ET) and the latest in consumer credit (3:00 PM ET). Treasuries are under a mild fit of pressure this morning, and so is the dollar. Meanwhile, commodities are generally mixed, but silver prices continue to climb, such that the precious metal set a new 29-month high of about $20.11 per ounce earlier this morning.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.50. The CRB Commodity Index is down 0.2% at the moment. Most of that is owed to lower energy prices, including a 0.4% decline in price of crude oil to $73.80 per barrel and a 0.9% decline in the price of natural gas to $3.82 per MMBtu. Gold prices are down 0.1% to $1256.10 per ounce, but silver is up 0.5% to $19.99 per ounce. Silver set a fresh 29-month high of about $20.11 per ounce earlier this morning.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.00. Action in Europe has been helped by news of a successful debt offering in Portugal. As such, Germany's DAX is now up 0.4% after a weak start. Strength is most pronounced in BMW and Daimler (DAI), but Deutsche Bank (DB) and Commerzbank continue to lag. Germany recently reported surprise declines in both exports and imports for July. France's CAC is up 0.6% at the moment. It is currently led by Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Total (TOT). Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are still in the red, though. Their weakness marks an extension of the losses that they saw in the prior session, when rekindled concerns about the health of Europe's banks induced selling. Britain's FTSE is now up 0.3%. It was down as much as 0.9% at its session low. BP Plc (BP) is a primary leader following the release of the company's internal investigation report on the company's oil spill in the Gulf. HSBC (HBC) and Barclays (BCS) have ensnared by sellers.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei sank 2.2% in the wake of Wall Street's loss on Tuesday. Of the 225 members in the Nikkei, only a handful managed to make gains. Kirin Holdings and Asahi Breweries were among the few that advanced, while Fast Retailing and Kyocera (KYO) were both atop the list of key laggards. Exporters certainly weren't helped by the yen's overnight climb to a fresh 15-year high of about 83.4 yen per dollar. The yen has since pulled back to the flat line at 83.8 yen per dollar. In China, the Shanghai Composite managed to limit its loss to 0.1%. It was helped by Inner Mong Bao and Jiangxi Copper. Banking issues like Industrial & Commercial Bank and energy plays like PetroChina (PTR) were primary sources of weakness. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 1.5%. China Mobile was the heaviest drag. BOC Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific were the only two names in the 45 member index that managed a gain.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.00. Stock futures are up marginally this morning. Their gains reflect those made by Europe's major bourses, which overcame early weakness with help from news of a successful debt offering by Portugal. News of the offering's success has overshadowed disappointing import and export data out of Germany. The euro is also up modestly this morning, as is the yen, which extended its recent run overnight to a fresh 15-year high of 83.4 yen per dollar. Corporate news flow is light again, so many market participants are looking ahead to results from a $21 billion auction of 10-year U.S. Notes at 1:00 PM ET. The Fed's latest Beige Book will be released at 2:00 PM ET. Consumer credit data for July will be posted at 3:00 PM ET.

07:26 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.00.

07:26 am : Nikkei...9024.60...-201.40...-2.20%. Hang Seng...21088.86...-312.90...-1.50%.

07:26 am : FTSE...5417.89...+10.30...+0.20%. DAX...6142.94...+25.10...+0.40%.

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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