TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)


click on the above image to view today's performance verification

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: +1.50 points or $150 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($TF_F) Futures.
Russell 2000 Emini TF Futures - 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ The ICE.
S&P 500 Emini ES Futures - 1 tick or 0.25 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup.

In addition, all trades were posted real-time in the free #FuturesTrades chat room. You can read today's #FuturesTrades trading chat room logs for details (e.g. time, price, contract size) about each one of my trades from entry to exit along with price action commentary as the trade traversed in comparison to what's shown in the above image...all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=106&t=1264.

To join our free chat room...log-in instructions located at a different forum @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=630

Also, posted below are direct links to information about my price action trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) 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/bar 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/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=718.

Volatility Trading Report (VTR) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm and there's a free trade signal strategy @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=89 so that you can freely test drive one of our price action trade strategies with support prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=163&t=1526

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Market Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/IMF actions or any important global economic events that had an impact on today's price action. Simply, I'm a strong believer that many variables (key market events) causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility that results in swing points and strong continuation price actions. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context for my technical analysis. Just as important, these summaries becomes my archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past...something I can not get from my broker statements alone.

Stocks Rally On Strong Auto Sales, Factory Orders


click on the above image to view today's price action of key markets

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks rallied on a holiday-shortened trading day, as investors reacted to strong auto sales and an increase in U.S. factory orders for May.

But the big market-moving news will come Friday when the government releases June unemployment numbers.

Many investment professionals are off for the week. U.S. markets closed at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and will remain dark Wednesday to celebrate Independence Day.

All three indexes closed higher on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 72 points, or 0.6%, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 9 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) added 25 points, or 0.8%.

CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index hit 58, back in "Greed" territory after a long stint in "Extreme Fear" during the worst of Europe's debt crisis. Before last Friday, the index hadn't been above 50 since April 9 -- the day markets sold off on a lousy jobs report.

Though Tuesday's economic reports boosted markets for most of the day, disappointing manufacturing data released Monday continued to temper optimism.

"Vehicle sales coming in better [helped] the market today, and we're still getting a bounce from decisions out of Europe at the end of last week," said Bernie Williams, vice president of discretionary money management at USAA. "But there's no question that the economic slowdown in Europe is impacting the U.S., as we saw with manufacturing numbers."

The Institute for Supply Management said its June Purchasing Manufacturers Index fell to 49.7, down from 53.5 in May. It was the first time the index fell below 50, which signals expansion in the sector, since July 2009.
Barclays not alone in rate-fixing scandal

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in the euro area continued to decline in June, while the region's unemployment rose to a record high. The Chinese government's report of manufacturing activity declined slightly, but remained above the level indicating expansion.

U.S. stocks finished mixed Monday as investors digested news of the manufacturing slowdown.

World markets: European stocks all closed higher on Tuesday. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) added 0.8%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany jumped 1.3% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) gained 1%.

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) closed up 0.1%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong rose 1.5%, and Japan's Nikkei (N225) finished 0.7% higher.

Economy: Factory orders for May rose by 0.7%, after increasing 0.4% in April. That beat expectations; economists at Briefing.com forecast the number to climb by 0.5%.

Companies: Automakers reported June sales figures Tuesday. Ford (F, Fortune 500) posted a 7% gain from last June, with 208,000 vehicles sold. Ford had warned last week that second-quarter losses from overseas operations -- particularly in Europe -- would be bigger than expected.

Chrysler sold 145,0000 vehicles in June, a 20% gain from a year ago, while General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) sold nearly 249,000 vehicles, a 16% increase. Toyota (TM) saw a 60% increase, selling 177,795 vehicles. Ford's stock rose 2%, and shares of GM jumped 6%.

Barclays (BCS) chief executive Bob Diamond will step down from his post, the bank said Tuesday. The news came a day after chairman Marcus Agius announced his own resignation amid the widening scandal surrounding the bank's manipulation of interbank lending rates. However, Agius was renamed chairman to lead the search for a new CEO on Tuesday. Barclays closed down more than 2%.

Seven additional banks are cited but not named in documents made public as part of Barclays' settlement with the Financial Services Authority, the British banking regulator.

Deutsche Bank (DB), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and UBS (UBS) are among the banks that have acknowledged they are being investigated.

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) is also reportedly being investigated but has not made any public statements about the scandal, and a spokesperson declined to comment.

After Monday's close, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) announced it would take a $6.2 billion writedown on its aQuantive acquisition. It purchased the online advertising company in 2007 for $6.3 billion in cash.

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

Oil for August delivery rose $3.84 to $87.57 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery gained $24.40 to $1,623.20 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.62% from 1.58% late Monday.



Market Update

1:05 pm : After starting the day flat, a bullish bias intraday left stocks to close with decent gains ahead of the holiday. The S&P 500 finished the shortened session up by 0.6%.

The early bid was helped by a better-than-expected Factor Orders report, which came in at +0.7% vs. the +0.4% Briefing.com consensus. Equities moved to session highs on the data, after drifting higher off the open.

The energy sector was the biggest outperformer today, gaining 2.4% alongside strength in crude oil, which surged 4.6%. Crude oil is now up roughly 13% since last week's low of $77.20 per barrel that was set during Thursday's pit action. The move began on Friday in response to stronger sentiment and a drop in the dollar following the agreement between EU leaders to provide relief fund access to sovereign debt and Spanish banks. Oil saw continued strength yesterday on headlines suggesting that Iranian lawmakers are drafting a bill to propose blocking the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers. Strength continues today as buyers act on more reports stating that delivery of millions of barrels of crude oil from Iran to China may be at risk following freight disputes, and as the U.S. sends additional military units to the Persian Gulf in order to deter Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

European markets gained for third consecutive session. Resource-related companies outperformed today alongside the strength in commodities. The current theme in the marketplace is central bank action, and investors are looking ahead to Thursday's ECB meeting, where expectations of a 25-bp cut are being priced in. Germany's DAX finished higher by 1.3% and the UK's FTSE gained 0.8%.

In Asia, China's non-manufacturing PMI came in at a 3-month high, and there were reports suggesting the potential for more reserve requirement cuts in China before the end of 2012. China's Shanghai Composite showed a slight gain of +0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei was +0.7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished +1.5%, after it was closed for a holiday yesterday.

U.S. corporate news was light. Microsoft (MSFT 30.76, +0.20) recouped initial losses and finished the day higher by 0.7% after announcing it would write down its Online Services Division goodwill by $6.2 billion. The non-cash charge is mostly related to its 2007 aQuantive acquisition. After a busy day of M&A news yesterday, there was another deal announced today. MModal (MODL 14.02, +1.09) will be acquired by One Equity Partners, the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase (JPM 35.88, -0.10) for $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.1 billion and the purchase price represents an 8% premium to yesterday's closing price for MModal.

U.S. markets will be closed tomorrow for the 4th of July holiday.DJ30 72.43 NASDAQ 24.85 SP500 8.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1763/993 mln/657 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2374/458 mln/633

12:30 pm : August crude oil has been on a steady climb during today's pit trade as buyers reacted to strong factory orders data and reports suggesting that delivery of millions of barrels of crude oil from Iran to China may be at risk following freight disputes. The energy component touched a session high of $88.04 per barrel and is now just below that level, sporting a gain of over 4%.

Natural gas also has been in positive territory, trading as high as $2.87 per MMBtu in morning floor action. It has since slightly pulled-back but is still up over 1%.

Precious metals have been advancing gains in their pit sessions. Gold recently touched a floor session high of $1625.70 per ounce and is currently up about 1.5%. Silver climbed to a pit session high of $28.44 and is now just below that level, up 2.9%.

Briefing.com note: Despite an early close in U.S. equity markets today, trading in oil, nat gas, gold, silver and copper will all close at their normal times today.DJ30 +47.49 NASDAQ +19.9 SP500 +6.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2253/767.4 mln/761 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2223/283 mln/727

12:05 pm : There is a bullish pre-holiday bias in the equity markets today. With just an hour to go in today's shortened session, the S&P 500 is +0.6%. |

Notably, crude oil is +4.5% today at 87.21, and up ~ 13% since last week's low of $77.20 per barrel that was set during Thursday's pit action. The move began on Friday in response to stronger sentiment and a drop in the dollar following the agreement between EU leaders to provide relief fund access to sovereign debt and Spanish banks. Oil saw continued strength yesterday on headlines suggesting that Iranian lawmakers are drafting a bill to propose blocking the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers. Strength continues today as buyers act on more reports stating that delivery of millions of barrels of crude oil from Iran to China may be at risk following freight disputes, and as the U.S. sends additional military units to the Persian Gulf in order to deter Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.DJ30 62.89 NASDAQ 17.01 SP500 8.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1684/632 mln/682 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2327/245 mln/644

11:25 am : U.S. equities extend their advance and climb to fresh session highs. Eight of the 10 sectors are now in the green, with only utilities and telecom posting small losses.

As stocks advance, Treasury prices extend their decline.DJ30 +69.29 NASDAQ +19.73 SP500 +8.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1505/452.95/797 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2135/171.49/716

10:55 am : The major indices are trading with modest gains, recently hitting session highs. Small-cap stocks are outperforming this session.

Cyclical sectors are outperforming, in part due to the sharp increase in many commodity prices (the CRB Index is up 1.9%). The energy sector is the top gainer, up 1.4%, followed by materials, up 1.1%. DJ30 +42.80 NASDAQ +14.52 SP500 +5.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1370/329.33/844 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2037/130.11/766

10:30 am : As mentioned earlier, Factory Orders came in slightly better than expected. This led to a move to highs in equity markets, and a bit of weakness at the long end of the treasury curve. The 10- and 30-year maturities both spiked to their high yields of the day, but are still only 2 to 3 bps higher than where they started the session. The front end of the curve is still up a touch on the day, possibly from participants positioning themselves into shorter securities for the holiday.
DJ30 27.89 NASDAQ 8.39 SP500 3.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1383/220.7/838 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1999/104.5 mln/759

10:00 am : May Factory Orders came in at +0.7%, which was better than the +0.4% Briefing.com consensus. Equities have moved to session highs on the data, after drifting higher off the open.
DJ30 +28.08 NASDAQ +7.38 SP500 +3.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1133/185 mln/965 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1913/84 mln/852

09:50 am : Equities opened flat, after a quiet pre-market. It is likely to be a quiet day ahead of the holiday, with lighter volumes expected. Notably, crude oil is surging higher, now +4.7%.DJ30 -0.49 NASDAQ 1.39 SP500 1.20 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1100/119 mln/943 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1781/64 mln/920

09:15 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.90. Futures are pointing to a flat open. With U.S. equity markets closing at 1:00 ET today, and closed for the 4th of July holiday tomorrow, it is likely to be a very quiet morning.

08:58 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.10. U.S. futures remain close to the neutral line, confined to a tight morning range amid quiet pre-holiday trade. Commodities continue to show strength however, with crude oil +3.3% and gold +1.2%. Overseas markets also traded higher.

European markets are showing a greater degree of strength than U.S. futures, and are gaining for third consecutive session. Resource-related companies are outperforming today alongside the strength in commodities. The current theme in the marketplace is central bank action. Investors are looking ahead to Thursday's ECB meeting, where expectations of a 25-bp cut are being priced in. The euro is down slightly against the dollar. Germany's DAX is +0.6% and the UK's FTSE is +0.3%.

In Asia, China's non-manufacturing PMI came in at a 3-month high, and there were reports suggesting the potential for more reserve requirement cuts in China before the end of 2012. China's Shanghai Composite showed a slight gain of +0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei was +0.7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished +1.5%, after being closed for a holiday yesterday.

08:28 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.70. Futures continue to drift around the neutral line this morning, ahead of a shortened trading session and tomorrow's holiday. While the broader equity market is showing a flat indication, commodities markets are showing notable strength.

Crude oil has extended gains in recent activity, now +2.5% at $85.83/barrel.

Gold is +1.2% or roughly $19, currently trading at $1616 per oz. Silver is +1.9% at $28.02/oz.

Corn futures rose as much as 1.8% in electronic trade, following the USDA crop progress report released late yesterday. Currently, corn is +1.0% at $6.62/bu.

08:00 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.20. Futures are trading nearly flat this morning, after markets spent most of yesterday recovering from a disappointing ISM Index. European and Asian markets traded higher overnight. Corporate news is light and trading action is likely to be limited in the U.S. ahead of today's early close and tomorrow's 4th of July holiday.

The strength in Europe precedes Thursday's ECB and Bank Of England policy decisions. Many expect the ECB to cut rates and the Bank of England is expected to increase its asset purchase program. Germany's benchmark index is currently +0.8%, while the UK's benchmark index is +0.3%.

In Asia, China's non-manufacturing PMI came in at a 3-month high, and there were reports suggesting the potential for more reserve requirement cuts in China before the end of 2012. China's Shanghai Composite showed a slight gain of +0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei was +0.7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished +1.5%, after being closed for a holiday yesterday.

In U.S. corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT 30.09, -0.47) is -1.5% after announcing it would write down its Online Services Division goodwill by $6.2 billion. The non-cash charge is mostly related to its 2007 aQuantive acquisition.

After a busy day of M&A news yesterday, there was also another deal announced today. MModal (MODL 12.93, +0.00) will be acquired by One Equity Partners, the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase (JPM 36.00, -0.28) for $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.1 billion and the purchase price represents an 8% premium to yesterday's closing price for MModal.

Today's economic calendar is light, with the 10:00 ET Factory Orders report being the only scheduled release. There are no companies scheduled to report earnings today. Keep in mind that U.S. equity markets close at 1:00 ET today, and will be closed for the 4th of July tomorrow.

07:28 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.40.

07:23 am : Nikkei...9066.6...+63.10...+0.70%. Hang Seng...19735.50...+294.10...+1.50%.

07:23 am : FTSE...79.84...+16.00...+0.30%. DAX...5656.60...+16.00...+0.30%.

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/bar analysis)
@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader, http://stocktwits.com/wrbtrader and http://chart.ly/users/wrbtrader

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