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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 to provide that context to better understand the trading day. 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 provides details about each trade from entry to exit along with commentary as the trade traversed...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=626

click on the below image to view normal size

Trade Performance for Today: +9.60 points or $960 dollars in the ICE Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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.

Bloomberg Video Summary @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWHKV0vwh7A
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Courtney Donohoe reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. U.S. stocks fell, dragging the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its biggest decline in two weeks, as a weakening earnings outlook for technology and financial companies overshadowed speculation the Federal Reserve will take steps to bolster the economy. Bloomberg's Pimm Fox also speaks.

Stocks Slump, Gold Surges

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By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter
September 22, 2010: 4:32 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slumped Wednesday, with the Dow ending a 5-day winning streak, as gold prices hit new highs and investors remained on edge about the recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) finished 22 points lower, or 0.2%, and the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 6 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq (COMP) declined 15 points, or 0.6%, as the tech-heavy index was dragged down by Adobe's (ADBE) 20% plunge. Investors were disappointed after the software developer said that sales and earnings for its next quarter might fall short of expectations.

Stocks have already logged significant gains in September and are still on track to post the biggest monthly gains since April 2009. So far this month, the S&P 500 is up more than 8%.

"Sentiment has really changed this month," said Ron Kiddoo, CIO at Cozad Asset Management. "Investors are thinking maybe things aren't quite as bad, and the economy isn't headed for a double-dip."

Because of the nice run over the past few weeks, Kiddoo expects stocks to trade in a narrow range through the end of the month.

"There's no major catalyst to move the market due until the monthly jobs report in early October, and then earnings season," he said.

Stocks rallied Tuesday after the Fed said it would take any action necessary to support the recovery, but gains were short-lived as investors considered the Fed's downbeat economic outlook.

While the Fed said it expects improvement ahead, the central bank also cautioned that "the pace of economic recovery is likely to be modest in the near-term."

* Gold rush continues toward $1,300

The uncertainty drove investors toward gold, with the precious metal surging to a new record.

Traders are also closely watching the Fed's securities purchases for any indication of how Tuesday's statement about the possibility of more quantitative easing (buying long-term U.S. Treasurys to boost the economy) translates into real action.

The yields on the 2-year and 5-year notes eased toward new lows, signaling some strong buying as prices and yields move in opposite direction.

Companies: Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) said late Tuesday that it was hiking its quarterly dividend by 23% to 16 cents a share. Shares of Microsoft fell 2.2%.

Shares of Adobe Systems (ADBE) got slammed after the company issued a sales and earnings outlook that fell far short of analysts estimates. After the closing bell Tuesday, Adobe reported a solid quarterly profit but the disappointing guidance sent the stock tumbling. Shares closed down 19%.

World markets: Stocks in Europe closed lower. Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.4% while the CAC 40 in France sank 1.3% and Germany's DAX declined about 1.1%.

Asian shares ended the session mixed. The Nikkei in Japan lost 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Shanghai Composite closed the session with modest gains.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar tumbled against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Crude oil for November delivery, the most active contract, fell 26 cents to settle at $74.71 a barrel.

Gold futures continued their march toward $1,300 an ounce. Gold for December delivery climbed $17.80 to settle at all-time high of $1,292.10 an ounce, after posting a new intra-day record of $1,298.00 earlier.

Bonds: The price on the 10-year Treasury note was higher, pushing down the yield to 2.56% from 2.62% late Tuesday.



Yahoo! Finance

4:30 pm : The three major indices ended lower on Tuesday with varied losses as tech stocks and financial shares were cut down by participants, many of whom showed favor for precious metals amid a drop in the dollar.

Stocks attempted a modest move higher in the early going, but fleeting support resulted in a broad wave of selling. Early pressure was most pronounced among large-cap tech plays after Adobe (ADBE 26.67, -6.27) issued mixed guidance that overshadowed better-than-expected earnings from the company. Meanwhile, Microsoft (MSFT 24.61, -0.54) was pressured after it announced that it will hike its dividend by 23%. eBay (EBAY 24.34, -0.40) failed to find support following an improved outlook, which is still on par with what has been projected by analysts. Tech stocks recovered some of their losses to finish 0.6% in the red.

Financials fell the most. Their 1.6% decline came on top of a 1.0% loss in the prior session and marks the sector's fourth slide in five sessions. Insurers were initially the weakest performers in the sector, but bank stocks proved to be the biggest drag as the KBW Bank Index dropped 1.8%.

With two of the more widely followed sectors under pressure, the broader market violated near term support before it stabilized along secondary support lines. Still, stocks spent the afternoon chopping along in negative territory.

A 0.6% gain made utilities the strongest sector of the session. Many investors remain attracted to the sector's 4.3% dividend yield, based on current prices.

Treasuries were strong in the early going, but they finished mixed. For example, the 10-year Note gained just a few ticks so that its yield moved to just below 2.56% after it had been down to a three-week low of about 2.50%.

Among the more widely watched commodities, precious metals outperformed as the continuous gold contract price set a new all-time high of $1296.20 per ounce. Prices settled at $1292.10 per ounce with a 1.4% gain. Meanwhile, silver prices rallied to a new 30-month high of almost $21.14 per ounce. They settled with a 2.4% gain at $21.05 per ounce.

The big bounce by the metals came amid a 0.8% drop by the dollar, which set a fresh five-month low against competing currencies.

Advancing Sectors: Utilities (+0.6%), Materials (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Financials (-1.6%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.7%), Tech (-0.6%), Industrials (-0.5%), Energy (-0.5%), Telecom (-0.1%)DJ30 -21.72 NASDAQ -14.80 NQ100 -0.3% R2K -1.2% SP400 -0.8% SP500 -5.50 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 859/2.20 bln/1755 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1126/953 mln/1873

3:30 pm : Among the more widely watched commodities, precious metals outperformed as the continuous gold contract price set a new all-time high of $1296.20 per ounce. Gold contracts for December settled at $1292.10 per ounce with a 1.4% gain. Meanwhile, silver prices rallied to a new 30-month high as prices for the December contract hit almost $21.14 per ounce. They settled with a 2.4% gain at $21.05 per ounce.

The big bounce by the metals came amid another sharp downturn by the dollar, which set a fresh five-month low against competing currencies.

Crude oil prices started the session in higher ground, but finished with a 0.3% loss at $74.94 per barrel on the back of the latest inventory data, which showed a build of 970,000 barrels when a draw of some 1.75 million barrels had been expected.

Natural gas prices managed to make a 0.9% gain to settle at $3.97 per MMBtu.

Overall action among commodities left the CRB Commodity Index to finish with a 0.2% gain. DJ30 -26.52 NASDAQ -18.45 SP500 -5.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 776/1.83 bln/1809 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1070/680 mln/1913

3:00 pm : The Dow's recent upturn was rebuffed at the neutral line. It is now back to trading with a slight loss.

Alcoa (AA 11.72, +0.55), Procter & Gamble (PG 61.95, +0.43), and IBM (IBM 132.43, +0.45) are among the best performing blue chips, while Microsoft (MSFT 24.45, -0.70), JPMorgan Chase (JPM 40.08, -0.51), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 39.44, -0.48) are atop the list of laggards. DJ30 -0.64 NASDAQ -14.63 SP500 -3.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 784/1.67 bln/1778 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1177/616 mln/1803

2:30 pm : The broader market is range bound as it drifts along in negative territory. Meanwhile, shares of Las Vegas Sands (LVS 32.73, +1.20) recently lifted to fresh session highs as it probes the upper end of their two-week range near their 52-week high of $32.85 per share. DJ30 -22.78 NASDAQ -19.19 SP500 -5.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 762/1.58 bln/1786 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1107/565 mln/1866

2:00 pm : Stocks have retraced their latest leg of losses, but the general tone of trade is still one of relative weakness as the three headline indices remain in the red.

For the second straight session small-cap stocks are down with outsized losses. Their collective drop of 1.4% today is more than double the loss of the broad-based S&P 500. In the prior session small-caps fell 0.8% while the S&P 500 finished flat. DJ30 -23.50 NASDAQ -18.87 SP500 -5.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 744/1.46 bln/1789 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1096/521 mln/1859

1:30 pm : Stocks fractionally extended their session lows in recent trade. Commodities also set a collective session low in recent action -- the CRB Commodity Index had been up about 1% in the early going, but it is now down with a 0.1% loss.

Volatility is up for the second straight session. The 2.6% increase in the Volatility Index has the Fear Gauge back near its 200-day moving average. DJ30 -34.17 NASDAQ -22.37 SP500 -6.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 663/1.36 bln/1862 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 974/480 mln/1957

1:00 pm : Stocks are down with varied losses following a brief move higher in the early going.

The major equity averages attempted to challenge the prior session's highs within the first hour of action, but the climb was stymied by resistance, which invited sellers into the fold. Subsequent pressure sent stocks through near-term support, though secondary support has generally held.

Losses are steepest among financials and tech plays, which are down 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.

Weakness is widespread in the financial sector, but insurers have been dealt the biggest blow.

Losses among large-cap tech have hampered the Nasdaq, which has lagged the other headline indices all session. The underperformance comes after mixed guidance from Adobe (ADBE 26.36, -6.57) overshadowed the company's upside earnings surprise. Also, Microsoft (MSFT 24.45, -0.70) has been hit following its choice to raise its dividend by 23%. Even eBay (EBAY 24.09, -0.65) has been hurt, though it improved its profit outlook to the upper end of its previously stated range.

Defensive-oriented utilities stocks have found favor this session. The sector's 0.8% gain makes it the best performing sector of the session.

An interest in less risky holdings has helped prop up Treasuries, too. The benchmark 10-year Note is off of its high, but earlier strength had sent its yield down toward 2.50% for the first time in three weeks while the yield on the 2-year Note set a new record low of less than 0.41%.

The dollar hasn't found any favor, though. It actually dropped to a fresh five-month low before paring its loss against competing currencies, namely the yen and the euro. The Dollar Index is currently down 0.7%. DJ30 -36.63 NASDAQ -21.44 SP500 -6.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 701/1.25 bln/1787 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 994/440 mln/1934

12:30 pm : The major equity averages have moderately improved their positions by staging a gradual climb up from session lows. Losses persist, though.

As for Treasuries, they continue to trade in the green, but they have handed back some of their gains.

Meanwhile, the dollar has healed a bit. In turn, it is now off by 0.7% against competing currencies. DJ30 -21.87 NASDAQ -17.15 SP500 -5.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 751/1.16 bln/1711 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1033/405 mln/1869

12:00 pm : A handful of names were out with earnings since the prior session's close. Among them, CarMax (KMX 25.81, +1.69), General Mills (GIS 36.68, +1.01), and Darden (DRI 43.15, -0.87) posted positive earnings surprises. Adobe (ADBE 26.46, -6.48) also posted better-than-expected earnings, but that has been overshadowed by the company's mixed outlook. Shares of ADBE set a fresh 52-week low earlier this morning and remain on pace for their worst single-session performance by percent lost in more than a year. DJ30 -29.55 NASDAQ -17.60 SP500 -5.46 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 774/1.05 bln/1665 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1035/368 mln/1865

11:30 am : Sellers have redoubled their efforts to take stocks down through initial support levels to fresh lows for the day. The latest leg down comes amid broad-based selling, but pressure has become particularly intense around financials (-1.5%) and tech stocks (-1.3%).

Of the major sectors in the S&P 500, only defensive-oriented telecom (+0.2%) and utilities (+0.5%) have managed to remain in higher ground. The materials sector is holding out at the neutral line as it tries to resist efforts to take it to a loss.

An interest in safety has propped up Treasuries, too. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is back near 2.50% for the first time in three weeks. Just seven sessions ago the yield on the Note was above 2.80%. DJ30 -42.23 NASDAQ -22.65 SP500 -6.83 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 708/925 mln/1707 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 911/325 mln/1953

11:00 am : The S&P 500 steadied its recent slide near the prior session's lows, but it remains under modest pressure.

In contrast, financials have extended their slide amid increased selling pressure. In turn, the sector is now down 0.9%, which makes it the worst performing sector this session. Weakness is widespread among financials as only E*Trade (ETFC 14.58, +0.26), Public Storage (PSA 101.62, +0.58), and Discover Financial (DFS 16.11, +0.15) are the only three names in the sector stage gains. Insurers Lincoln National (LNC 24.26, -0.78), MetLife (MET 39.62, -1.48), and Hartford Financial (HIG 22.44, -0.72) are the heaviest drags on the financial sector. DJ30 +3.07 NASDAQ -11.10 SP500 -2.07 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 873/770 mln/1486 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1261/265 mln/1589

10:30 am : Most commodities are trading higher this morning due to weakness in the dollar index.

November crude oil moved back into positive territory just before 5:00am ET. The energy component hit session highs of $76.00 per barrel at 9am ET and was 0.5% higher at $75.38 per barrel ahead of inventory data. The data, which showed a build of 970K barrels versus consensus of a draw down of 1.75 million, pushed crude into negative territory, but is now trading 0.2% higher at $75.12 per barrel.

October natural gas was just above the flat line around 9:00am ET when it spiked ~2.3% to new session highs of $4.01 per MMBtu. The energy component has since pulled back and is 0.9% higher at $3.95 per MMBtu.

This weakness contributed to December gold futures hitting another new all-time high. Shortly after the open of pit trading, gold pushed to its new all-time highs of $1298.00 per ounce and is currently 1.5% higher at $1293.10 per ounce.

December silver hit session highs of $21.20 per ounce around 9:00am ET. In current action, silver is trading at $21.07 per ounce, up 2.1%.
DJ30 -3.14 NASDAQ -13.41 SP500 -2.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 910/561.0 mln/1369 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1331/192.9 mln/1436

10:00 am : The major equity averages were recently undercut by a flurry of selling pressure before they could run into the prior session's highs.

Selling is most intense within the tech sector, which is the largest sector of any in the S&P 500. Tech stocks are now down 0.5%, collectively.

Financials have also faltered. The sector is down 0.1% as multiline insurers (-1.0%) and life and health insurers (-1.5%) succumb to pressure.

Defensive-oriented utilities stocks have found favor, though. The sector is up an enviable 1.0% as electrical utilities stocks (+1.0%) and independent power producers (+1.0%) show strength.

Housing prices for July were just released. They showed a 0.5% month-over-month decline after a 0.3% monthly decline in June. DJ30 +21.35 NASDAQ -2.22 SP500 +1.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1154/335 mln/997 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1707/120 mln/977

09:45 am : Despite a slightly lower start, the major equity averages are up with modest gains in the first few minutes of trade. The Dow and S&P 500 have benefited from a nice bounce by natural resource plays within the energy (+0.9%) and materials (+0.6%) sectors while the Nasdaq has worked through weakness among large-cap tech issues.

Support for Treasuries has cooled a bit since earlier this morning. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note is only slightly above the neutral line. DJ30 +34.44 NASDAQ +4.46 SP500 +3.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1204/220 mln/896 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1836/85 mln/824

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.50. Broader market index futures suggest that a negative start to trade is in order. Weakness is most pronounced among tech issues after Adobe (ADBE) issued mixed guidance and investors reacted negatively to the dividend increase chosen by Microsoft (MSFT). Such weakness has imbued eBay (EBAY), which actually improved its profit outlook to the upper end of its previously stated range. A pall has also been cast over premarket trade by lackluster action in Asia and renewed weakness in Europe. Meanwhile, both the yen and the euro have made sharp gains against the greenback, which is currently at a fresh five-month low. Amid the dollar's decline gold prices have ascended to new record highs and silver prices have set fresh 30-month highs. Oil prices are also up. The latest inventory data on oil is due at 10:30 AM ET.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -2.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.50. Stock futures continue to trade below fair value, but commodities futures have had a strong morning. The CRB Commodity Index is up 0.8% as oil prices climb 1.1% to $75.75 per barrel ahead of the latest weekly inventory report (10:30 AM ET). Precious metals have also put together an impressive start that has gold prices up 1.7% to $1294.20 per ounce, which puts the continuous contract at a new record high. Silver was last quoted with a 2.3% gain at $21.12 per ounce, which puts it up near new 30-month highs.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.30. Futures for the S&P 500 continue to trail fair value by a modest margin. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX is down 0.9% at the moment. Weakness there is broad based, but losses are most pronounced among health care stocks, which are down a collective 1.7% as Merck KGAA and Bayer AG lead a list of laggards. France's CAC has fallen to a 1.0% loss. Losses are worst within the telecom sector, which is down 1.7% amid weakness in France Telecom, but energy giant Total (TOT) has been one of the heaviest drags on overall trade. BNP Paribas has managed to put together a strong gain in the face of widespread weakness. Britain's FTSE is off by 0.4% as HSBC (HBC) and BP Plc (BP) falter, but strength among natural resource plays like Rio Tinto (RTP), BHP Billiton (BHP), and Xstrata have helped offset losses. Eurozone economic data indicated that new industrial orders for the area fell 2.4% in June. That followed a 2.4% increase in the prior month.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei shed a modest 0.4% as telecom stocks sank 1.2% and tech stocks fell 0.8%. Energy was strong with a 0.8% gain. At the individual level, Fast Retailing outperformed, but Softbank and Honda Motor (HMC) lagged. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng mustered a 0.2% gain as Sun Hung Kai Properties, Cheung Kong, and China Construction Bank showed strength. HSBC and Tencent Holdings detracted from the advance. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite was closed and will remain so for the rest of this week.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.00. Modest weakness in premarket trade has followed a mixed finish for the prior session. Varied losses among Europe's major bourses haven't helped the tone, though the euro is up sharply against the greenback. Shares of Adobe (ADBE) are down about 20% after the company issued mixed guidance, which has overshadowed better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. The stock has also been hit with a series of downgrades since the announcement. Meanwhile, eBay (EBAY) improved its outlook, but the forecast remains in stride with what Wall Street has projected, and Microsoft (MSFT) increased its quarterly dividend by 23%. Shares of EBAY are currently down almost 5% and MSFT shares are down 1% ahead of the open. Treasuries are strong this morning, such that the yield on the 2-year Note slipped to a new record low of less than 0.41%. Housing prices for July are due at 10:00 AM ET. That makes up the only item on today's economic calendar. Weekly oil inventory figures follow at 10:30 AM ET.

06:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.30.

06:30 am : Nikkei...9566.32...-35.80...-0.40%. Hang Seng...22047.71...+45.10...+0.20%.

06:30 am : FTSE...5560.33...-15.90...-0.30%. DAX...6236.34...-39.60...-0.60%.

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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