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: +15.30 points or $1530 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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=1271.

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

-----------------------------

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 Falter On Global Growth Fears, Earnings


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell Thursday as fears about a global economic slowdown and disappointing corporate results weighed on the market.

Investors are concerned that global central banks are unable or unwilling to stimulate economic activity even though growth remains sluggish.

Federal Reserve officials are wary of launching more asset purchases, according to minutes from the central bank's latest meeting.

Concerns about corporate profits also took a toll on sentiment following weaker-than-expected second-quarter reports. Shares of Supervalu sank 48% after the grocery chain reported weak results and suspended its dividend payment as the board explores "strategic alternatives."

"The market is wary of earnings," said Clark Yingst, chief market analyst at broker-dealer Joseph Gunnar. "I think we will either get earnings that fall short of expectations or disappointing guidance."

A drop in claims for unemployment benefits, which came during the 4th of July holiday week, failed to brighten the gloomy mood.

Investors were rattled by a weak report on employment in Australia and speculation that Chinese gross domestic product, due after the market closes, will disappoint.

"The market is being pressured by lack of confidence in global growth," said Nick Kalivas, market analyst at New York-based investment management firm Hadrian Partners.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 31 points, or 0.2%, to end at 12,573. The S&P 500 (SPX) slid 7 points, or 0.5%, to 1,335. The Nasdaq (COMP) declined 22 points, or 0.7%, to 2,866. All three indexes were down about 1% earlier in the day.

In the currency market, the euro fell below $1.22 to a fresh two-year low against the dollar.
Fear & Greed Index

Investors remain concerned that political headwinds in Europe will stymie the latest rescue plan for the euro currency union, which eurozone leaders announced at a summit meeting late last month.

Specifically, the German constitutional court could take months to issue a ruling on the legality of a crucial bailout fund called the European Stability Mechanism.

* Related: More volatility coming. Thanks, Congress!

The initial euphoria from the recent European summit has faded, according to Gerry Davies, a ForexLive currency analyst in London.

"All that excitement has effectively evaporated," Davies said.

U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, with the Dow falling for the fifth day in a row.

World markets: European stocks ended lower. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) shed 1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany lost 0.5% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) slid 0.7%.

The selling in Europe came despite a report that industrial production in June was stronger-than-expected across several euro-area nations.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) added 0.5%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong fell 2% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) dropped 1.5%.

Economy: The Labor Department reported 350,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits during the week ended July 7 -- beating expectations and reaching a four-year low. The latest numbers showed a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's 376,000.

* Related: Wall Street's latest sucker: Your hometown

Import prices excluding fuels dropped by 0.3% in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices have continued to fall for most of the year so far.

Companies: Shares of Supervalu (SVU, Fortune 500) plunged after the grocery store chain said Wednesday that quarterly sales and earnings fell. Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert said the company is working with its financial advisors on "strategic alternatives" as it struggles under a mountain of debt.

Groupon (GRPN) shares hit a fresh 52-week low as investors continue to fret about the health of the online deals site.

Shares of Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) jumped after the company's osteoporosis drug Odanacatib showed positive results in the lab. The results caused outside observers to suggest that the company stop the study early.

Shares of India-based technology company Infosys (INFY) fell sharply after it lowered its full-year profit outlook.

United Continental (UAL, Fortune 500) announced plans to buy 150 planes from Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) over the next several years. At list prices, the planes would be valued at $14.9 billion.

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

Oil for August delivery rose 27 cents to settle at $86.04 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $10.40 to end at $1,565.30 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.49% from 1.50% late Tuesday.



Market Update

4:10 pm : The major averages opened sharply lower before stabilizing and working their way to session highs in the final half-hour of trade. However, they were unable to hold those levels as sellers took control in the final minutes, and prevented the averages from seeing their first winning session in six days. The Dow climbed into positive territory late in the session, but ended down 0.3%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fared worse, shedding 0.5% and 0.8% respectively.

Shares of Infosys (INFY 38.75, -4.87) plunged 11.2% after the company missed on the bottom line and lowered its full-year 2013 revenue guidance. The company reported earnings of $0.73 per share on expectations of $0.74, and saw revenues climb 4.8% to $1.75 billion to narrowly beat the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.73 billion. Full-year 2013 revenue guidance was lowered to plus 5% from plus 8.0%.

Hotel stocks were under pressure after Marriott International (MAR 35.58, -2.45) reported in-line earnings per share of $0.42, and announced revenues fell 6.6% year over year to $2.78 billion which missed the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.84 billion. Notable was the weakness in markets outside of North America as business in both the Middle East and Asia saw a slowdown in the luxury market. Peers Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT 48.66, -2.72) and Hyatt Hotels (H 34.10, -1.65) piggybacked the losses.

Wells Fargo (WFC 32.85, -0.42) lost 1.3% after the company announced a $125 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving previous claims some of the company’s mortgages may have discriminated against select African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The settlement comes ahead of the company’s earnings which are due out before tomorrow’s opening bell. Rival J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM 34.04, -0.55) will also release earning’s ahead of tomorrow’s open.

Merck (MRK 42.91, +1.70) gained 4.1% after the company announced it was concluding its Phase 3 trial for Odanacatib, its investigational cat-K inhibitor for osteoporosis, early after the study met its primary efficacy outcomes at its first planned interim analysis. Citigroup upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ on the news.

Grain prices pushed higher following yesterday’s pullback as the worst drought since 1988 continued to put upward pressure on prices. The Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN 47.39, +1.44) and iPath Dow Jones-UBS Grains Subindex ETF (JJG 57.82, +1.08) saw notable outperformance.

Treasuries ended with solid gains as today’s buying dropped the 10-yr yield to 1.479% where it settled just less than 4 bps above its June 1 low print of 1.440%.

Tomorrow will see PPI and core PPI will be released at 8:30 am ET, and will be followed by the latest Michigan Sentiment reading at 9:55 am ET. DJ30 -31.26 NASDAQ -21.79 SP500 -6.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 997/1.67 bln/1459 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1119/763.8 mln/1906

3:35 pm : Crude oil began pit trade in negative territory, dipping to a session low of $84.14 per barrel. However, the energy component began to trade upwards and broke into the black in afternoon action. It responded to news that the US is expanding sanctions against Iran and popped to a session high of $86.37 per barrel moments before settling with a 0.1% gain at $85.94 per barrel.

Natural gas slid to a floor session low of $2.72 per MMBtu following weak inventory data that showed a build of 33 bcs when a build of 30 bcf was anticipated. Despite the decline, it was able to recover all of the loss and settled 0.3% higher at $2.87 per MMBtu.

Gold prices extended overnight losses during today's pit trade as the dollar advanced. Sellers also reacted to yesterday's FOMC minutes released after the pit close that lacked commitment to more monetary stimulus. The yellow metal dipped to a session low of $1554.40 per ounce and a rally mid-session pushed prices as high as $1569.40 per ounce. God ultimately settled at $1565 per ounce, or 0.7% lower.

Silver, on the other hand, was able to find buying support and broke into positive territory, even after trading as low as $26.42 per ounce in morning action. It popped to a session high of $27.33 per ounce but pulled back as it headed into the close and settled with a 0.5% gain at $27.16 per ounce.DJ30 +4.16 NASDAQ -13.5 SP500 -2.1 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1047/1383.9 mln/1407 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1285/532.8 mln/1739

3:00 pm : The Dollar Index has held small gains throughout the course of U.S. trade as early buying propelled the index through the 83.80 level and to its highest level in two years. The flight into dollars weighed on both the euro and the pound which are both trading lower by close to 0.5%. Early weakness dropped the euro to a two-year low near 1.2165 as bears look to test the June 2010 low in the 1.1900 area. The pound briefly broke the 1.5400 level, but quickly climbed back above the mark, breaking the downtrend that has been in place since Wednesday morning. The 1.5250/1.5300 level continues to act as critical support for sterling. Meanwhile, today’s flight into the yen has pushed the currency up to 79.30 per dollar. Yen bulls are looking to test the 79.00 resistance level that is aided by the 200-day moving average. Heavy selling has pressured the Australian dollar after the country’s disappointing jobs data. The hard currency hit a session low of 1.0100 before seeing a slight rebound.DJ30 -3.75 NASDAQ -18.30 SP500 -4.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 939/1.21 bln/1496 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1090/463.2 mln/1924

2:30 pm : The Dow has slipped back into negativer territory after briefly climbing above the breakeven mark. It continues to ouperform the other major averages, trading off 0.1%. The Nasdaq remains the worst performer, sporting a loss of 0.8%.

Merck (MRK 43.00, +1.79) is up 4.4% after the company announced it was concluding its Phase 3 trial for Odanacatib, its investigational cat-K inhibitor for osteoporosis, early after the study met its primary efficacy outcomes at its first planned interim analysis. Citigroup upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ on the news. Today's gains have propelled the stock to levels not seen since April 2008. DJ30 -8.33 NASDAQ -22.17 SP500 -5.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 847/1.12 bln/1571 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1056/425.3 mln/1962

2:00 pm : The Treasury Budget for June came in at -$59.7 billion, which is on par with -$60.0 billion that had been broadly expected. That report has mattered little to market participants, though.DJ30 -11.28 NASDAQ -24.41 SP500 -6.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 789/1030 mln/1635 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 995/386 mln/2002

1:30 pm : Treasuries are seeing some modest buying following this afternoon's $13 billion 30-yr bond reopening. The auction drew an at-auction record low yield of 2.580% and saw a strong 2.70x bid/cover as indirect bidders took down 36.8% of the supply. Maturities across the complex hold solid gains as the long bond continues to outperform. An advance of almost one point has dropped the 30-yr yield close to four basis points on the session to 2.576%. Narrowing of the knob of the curve has the 10-30-yr spread tighter at 108.5 basis points. Elsewhere, precious metals are mixed with gold down $9 at $1567 and silver up $0.15 near $27.20.DJ30 -10.52 NASDAQ -18.17 SP500 -4.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 763/936.9 mln/1620 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 991/349.8 mln/2008

1:00 pm : Stocks have rebounded off their early lows, but remain under pressure. A loss of X% has the Nasdaq pacing the decline while the Dow and S&P 500 outperform with respective losses of % and %. Today’s selling comes as markets around the world traded lower after yesterday’s FOMC minutes failed to give the nod to further Fed action. This morning’s data topped forecasts as both initial and continuing claims numbers eased from last week’s levels.

Shares of Infosys (INFY 38.54, -5.08) are down 11.6% after the company missed on the bottom line and lowered its full-year 2013 revenue guidance. The company reported earnings of $0.73 per share on expectations of $0.74, and saw revenues climb 4.8% to $1.75 billion to narrowly beat the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.73 billion. Full-year 2013 revenue guidance was lowered to plus 5% from plus 8.0%.

Hotel stocks are seeing selling after Marriott International (MAR 35.75, -2.28) reported in-line earnings per share of $0.42, and announced revenues fell 6.6% year over year to $2.78 billion which missed the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.84 billion. Notable was the weakness in markets outside of North America as business in both the Middle East and Asia saw a slowdown in the luxury market. Peers Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT 48.55, -2.83) and Hyatt Hotels (H 34.32, -1.43) are both lower as they piggyback losses.

Wells Fargo (WFC 32.94, -0.33) is lower by 1.0% after the company announced a $125 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving previous claims some of the company’s mortgages may have had a disparate impact on some African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The settlement comes ahead of the company’s earnings which are due out before tomorrow’s opening bell. Rival J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM 34.36, -0.23) will also release earning’s ahead of tomorrow’s open.

Grain prices are pushing higher following yesterday’s pullback as the worst drought since 1988 continues to put upward pressure on prices. The Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN 47.36, +1.41) and iPath Dow Jones-UBS Grains Subindex ETF (JJG 58.10, +1.36) are notable outperformers in this down session.

Treasuries continue to hold solid gains with outperformance coming from the long bond. The 10-yr yield is down 2.6 basis points on the session at 1.491%. Treasury will hold a $13 billion 30-yr bond reopening at the top of the hour. The Treasury budget will be released at 2 pm ET.DJ30 -47.15 NASDAQ -34.36 SP500 -9.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 544/832.7 mln/1848 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 746/312.9 mln/2237

12:30 pm : Stocks remain near their best levels of the session as the Dow outperforms with a loss of 0.4%.

Wells Fargo (WFC 32.97, -0.30) is lower by 0.9% after the company announced a $125 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving previous claims some of the company’s mortgages may have had a disparate impact on some African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The settlement comes ahead of the company’s earnings which are due out before tomorrow’s opening bell. Early selling dropped the stock to almost $32.60, but it was supported near its 100-day moving average.DJ30 -41.21 NASDAQ -32.39 SP500 -8.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 544/763.1 mln/1829 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 737/287.1 mln/2229

12:00 pm : Stocks have trimmed their losses and trade at their best levels since the open. The Nasdaq is now down 1.0% after seeing a loss of 1.7% and its worst point. Significant outperformance can be seen in the Dow which is lower by just 0.2%.

Grain prices are pushing higher following yesterday’s pullback as the worst drought since 1988 continues to put upward pressure on prices. The Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN 47.11, +1.16) and iPath Dow Jones-UBS Grains Subindex ETF (JJG 57.75, +1.01) are notable outperformers in this down session.DJ30 -30.73 NASDAQ -28.68 SP500 -7.74 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 559/684.1 mln/1791 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 713/258.9 mln/2241

11:30 am : A light morning for earnings, but there were some bottom line beats that have momentarily reversed the trend from the sea of red witnessed earlier in the week. Still the two largest names on the board, Infosys (INFY 38.99, -4.63) and Progressive Corp. (PGR 19.61, -0.94), missed on the bottom line. Both companies saw a small beat on revenues. Perhaps the biggest news came from European where software giant SAP (SAP 58.03, +1.30) guided revenue above consensus. A notable preannouncement given the German company's exposure to Europe. An in-line revenue with the new guidance would mark the 10th straight double digit quarter of revenue growth for the company. Markets attention will turn to J.P. Morgan (JPM 34.14, -0.45) and Wells Fargo (WFC 32.87, -0.40) which are due out tomorrow morning. J.P. Morgan is clearly the focus as investors look to see how big of an impact the infamous 'London Whale' trade had on second quarter results.DJ30 -56.23 NASDAQ -37.35 SP500 -10.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 437/590.8 mln/1898 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 586/223.6 mln/2369

11:00 am : Stocks continue to slide lower as markets trade on session lows. A loss of 1.5% has the Nasdaq leading the decline while both the S&P 500 and Dow outperform with respective losses of 0.7% and 1.0%.

Hotel stocks are seeing selling this morning after Marriott International (MAR 36.21, -1.82) reported in-line earnings per share of $0.42, and announced revenues fell 6.6% year over year to $2.78 billion which missed the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.84 billion. Notable was the weakness in markets outside of North America as business in both the Middle East and Asia saw a slowdown in the luxury market. The company’s full-year 2012 guidance earnings per share guidance was in-line with expectations at $1.65-1.75. Peers Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT 49.39, -1.99) and Hyatt Hotels (H 34.83, -0.92) are both lower as they piggyback losses. DJ30 -94.83 NASDAQ -45.40 SP500 -14.40 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 378/474.1 mln/1920 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 450/178.1 mln/2465

10:40 am : The dollar index rallied earlier this morning and has since consolidated just under its current session high and is now sitting 0.2% higher at 83.72, which is weighing on the commodity complex.
0
In the energy complex, Aug crude oil has been in a downtrend all session and just hit a new session low of $84.14 and is now -1.7% at $84.38/barrel.

July natural gas has spent almost all session in the red. Nat gas recovered its losses, but this move back to the flat line was short-lived ahead of inventory data. Following the inventory data, nat gas fell sharply and a new LoD as the inventory showed a build of 33 bcf vs consensus of a build of 30 bcf. Nat gas is now -3.4% at $2.76/MMBtu.

In metals, August gold and Sept. silver have also been in negative territory all session and just put in new session lows (Gold $1555.50, Silver $26.42). Gold is now -1.1% at $1558.70/oz, while silver is -1.3% at $26.69/oz.DJ30 -100.58 NASDAQ -45.59 SP500 -14.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 372/353.1 mln/1873 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 407/152 mln/2460

10:00 am : The major average continue to push their way lower with the Nasdaq now leading to the downside with a loss of 1.3%.

Shares of Infosys (INFY 38.55, -5.07) are down 11.5% after the company missed on the bottom line and lowered its full-year 2013 revenue guidance. The company reported earnings of $0.73 per share on expectations of $0.74, and saw revenues climb 4.8% to $1.75 billion to narrowly beat the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.73 billion. Full-year 2013 revenue guidance was lowered to plus 5% from plus 8.0%. The stock looks to be checking up near $38.00 per share, a level it has not seen since July 2009. DJ30 -91.65 NASDAQ -40.19 SP500 -13.74 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 339/201.9 mln/1795 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 363/90.9 mln/2434

09:45 am : Stocks are under pressure in the opening minutes of trade. The broad-based S&P 500 is pacing the decline with an early loss of 1.0%. All sectors are trading lower with financials, materials, and industrials seeing the heaviest selling.DJ30 -101.27 NASDAQ -14.35 SP500 -13.15 NASDAQ Vol 121.4 mln NYSE Vol 67.5 mln

09:13 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -21.30. Equity futures point to a heavy open, but are off their worst levels following the better than expected claims data. The better than expected initial claims number was driven by seasonal factors rather than labor market improvements which may explain just the slight uptick in equity futures. Infosys (INFY) will be in focus after the company reported a mixed quarter ahead of the bell. The stock is down close to 10% in pre-market trade. Data still to be released is limited to the Treasury budget which is due out at 2 pm ET. Treasury will hold a $13 billion 30-yr bond reopening.

08:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -22.50. Markets around the globe are lower this morning, appearing disappointed after yesterday’s FOMC minutes did not go far enough in calling for more easing. Central banks were also in focus overnight with the Bank of Japan failing to add more stimuli of its own and the Bank of Korea surprising markets with a 25 bp cut to 3.00%. Employment figures in Australia were disappointing as the economy shed 27,000 jobs on expectations of an addition of 2,000 jobs while the country’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.2%. Elsewhere, China released its new loans number after the close with that figure surging to CNY920 bln (CNY887 bln expected). In Europe, markets are under pressure as peripheral yields are seeing a modest rise and as the euro trades at a two-year low near 1.2170. The ECB Monthly Bulletin was released early this morning, and suggested further downside risks have developed as market dislocation has begun to spill over into the real economy.

All of the major Asian bourses, aside from China’s Shanghai Composite finished with heavy losses as worries of a slowdown persist. The Nikkei fell 1.5% and slipped back below its 50-day moving average as electronics and machinery names were weak. Sharp plunged 7.0% and hit its lowest level in 33 years while Komatsu was among the worst performers in the machinery space, shedding 3.7%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.0% as heavyweights China Construction Bank and China Mobile were under pressure. China Construction Bank fell 3.7% as concerns continue to mount over the company’s exposure to bankrupt property and investment firm Zhejiang Zhongjiang. Selling also weighed on China Mobile which slipped 2.2%. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.5% and was the only major average in the region to finish in positive territory. Energy and mining names outperformed as coal-based China Shenhua Energy jumped 3.3% and rare-earth miner Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech gained 2.6%.

In Europe, all of the major averages are in the red. Spain’s IBEX is the worst performing index in the region, currently trading lower close to 2.0%. Britain’s FTSE trades down 1.1% as mining shares pace the decline. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are seeing some of the biggest losses, lower by 3.5% and 2.4% respectively. In France, the CAC is off 0.5% as Capgemini holds a 2.8% loss and leads technology names lower. Automaker Peugeot is up 0.3% after announcing it was shuttering a French factory and laying off 8000 workers. Elsewhere, Germany’s DAX is weaker by 0.6% as financials underperform. Deutsche Bank and Commzerbank are seeing the heaviest selling with respective losses of 2.8% and 2.5%.

08:35 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.20. The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 350,000, which is better than what had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The latest tally is also down from the upwardly revised prior week count of 376,000. As for continuing claims, they declined to about 3.304 million from 3.318 million.

Seprately, export prices, excluding agriculture, declined by 1.4% in June after they had decreased by 0.6% in the prior month. Excluding oil, import prices were down in June by 0.3%, which follows the 0.1% decrease experienced in the prior month.

08:01 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -10.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.80. Yesterday's FOMC minutes were seen as a disappointment to risk assets, as they failed to indicate a greater potential for additional quantitative easing. Initially, stocks and precious metals moved lower and the dollar gained. However, the move in equities reversed as the afternoon progressed and the S&P 500 managed to finish flat on the day. The Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day lower by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

This morning, the tone is more negative, with S&P futures lower by 0.8% following weakness in Asia and Europe. Most Asian markets declined as central bank actions around the region failed to offset ongoing macro concerns. Japan's Nikkei finished lower by 1.5% after the Bank of Japan adjusted its asset purchase plan, increasing T-bill asset purchases by JPY5 trillion, while cutting fixed-rate funds by the same amount. The BOJ also lowered its GDP forecast by 10 basis points. The Bank of Korea surprisingly lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points; Korea's KOSPI index finished lower 2.2%. China's central bank did nothing, and China's Shanghai Composite was the only Asian market to finish in positive territory, with a 0.5% gain. The relative strength in China comes ahead of tonight's release of Q2 GDP there.

In Europe, major markets are lower and the euro is at new multi-year lows below $1.22. Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE are each down 1.0%, while France's CAC is down 0.5%. Spain continues to see wider moves, with its IBEX index -2.1% as bond yields edge slightly higher there after initially declining. Italy successfully sold 7.5 billion euros worth of 1-year bills earlier today.

In U.S. news, grocery-chain operator Supervalu (SVU 3.76, -1.53) is lower by 29% after reporting earnings that were well below expectations, suspending its guidance and dividend and announcing a review of strategic alternatives... Marriott (MAR 37.21, -0.82) traded lower in after-hours after reporting in-line earnings on revenues that were slightly below consensus, and guiding FY12 earnings in-line... In non-earnings news, Merck (MRK 42.92, +1.71) is higher by 4% after its odanacatib osteoporosis drug met its primary efficacy outcomes and showed a favorable benefit-risk profile. Merck anticipates submitting regulatory applications for approval of odanacatib in the U.S., European Union and Japan in the first half of 2013.

Looking at the economic calendar, weekly initial jobless claims data is due at 8:30 ET this morning, and could create some volatility in pre-market trading. The Briefing.com consensus calls for an initial claims reading of 375K. Export/Import prices data is also due at 8:30, but shouldn't impact markets like the claims data could.

06:23 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.00.

06:23 am : Nikkei...8720.01...-131.00...-1.50%. Hang Seng...19025.11...-394.80...-2.00%.

06:23 am : FTSE...5626.29...-38.20...-0.70%. DAX...6402.90...-51.00...-0.80%.

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

http://www.thestrategylab.com
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
Skype Messenger: kebec2002
questions@thestrategylab.com
Go Back To TheStrategyLab.com Homepage