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: +15.80 points or $1580 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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 #TheStrategyLab chat room. You can read today's #TheStrategyLab 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=1274.

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.





Market Update

4:10 pm : Stocks finished just off their best levels of the session as traders bought the dip that occurred following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" in front of the Senate Banking Committee. The S&P 500 led the way with a gain of 0.7% while the Nasdaq lagged with a 0.4% advance. Economic data mostly topped expectations as CPI was mixed while industrial production and the Housing Market Index beat forecasts.

Earnings season picked up as Goldman Sachs (GS 97.98, +0.30), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 69.00, +0.55), Mosaic (MOS 58.21, +2.84) and Coca-Cola (KO 77.69, +1.21) all announced their results for the quarter. Other releases showed toy maker Mattel (MAT 34.05, +3.01) rally 9.7% after reporting better than expected second quarter results. The stock almost made a fourteen-year high this morning.

On the other hand, Mattress retailer Mattress Firm (MFRM 25.96, -3.81) lowered revenue guidance after yesterday’s close. Mattress maker Select Comfort (SCSS 21.12, -1.98) fell in response to the news.

Elsewhere, New Oriental Education (EDU 14.62 -7.64) closed down sharply despite better than expected fourth quarter results after the company disclosed it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yahoo! (YHOO 15.60, -0.05) fell 0.3% after announcing the hiring of Google’s Marissa Mayer as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mrs. Mayer joined Google in 1999 and was most recently responsible for Local, Maps, and Location services for Google.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.42, +0.03) finished with fractional gains despite the better than expected Housing Market Index reading. Lennar (LEN 31.15, -0.24) and D.R. Horton (DHI 18.64, -0.26) were among the worst performers in the space.

Precious metals climbed off their lows to finish with small losses as gold fell $7 and silver slipped $0.05 to their respective $1585 and $27.25. Aurizon Mines (AZK 4.47, -0.05) and Silver Wheaton (SLW 26.00, +0.00) were in-line with their underlying metals.

Treasuries ended on session lows as the complex found itself under pressure amid today’s rally in equities. Selling at the long end dropped the 30-yr bond 20/32 to 108 13/32 while producing a rise of almost 5 bps in yield to 2.595%. A less pronounced drop in the 10-yr note led to a 4 bp jump in yield as it settled today’s session at 1.501%. Steepening along the yield curve saw the 2-10-yr spread widen to 126 bps.

Tomorrow’s data includes the weekly MBA Mortgage Index at 7 AM ET, housing starts and building permits at 8:30 AM ET, and the Fed’s Beige Book which crosses the wires at 2 PM ET. Chairman Bernanke will give his semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” in front of the House Financial Services Committee beginning at 10 AM ET. DJ30 +78.33 NASDAQ +13.10 SP500 +10.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1382/1.70 bln/1110 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2043/697.7 mln/999

3:30 pm : Crude oil slid into negative territory and to a floor session low of $87.41 per barrel as the dollar rallied in response to Chairman Bernanke's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee where he repeated that the Fed is prepared to take further action to promote a stronger recovery. However, crude was able to recover its losses as the dollar began to pull back. It popped to a session high of $89.46 per barrel before it settled pit trade with a 0.7% gain at $89.07 per barrel.

Natural gas came off its pit session low of $2.77 per MMBtu set in morning action and chopped around in positive territory for the remainder of floor trade. A sell-off heading into the close erased the day's gains and had natural gas settle flat at $2.80 per MMBtu.

Gold dipped to a floor session low of $1571.00 per ounce in response to the pop in the dollar. However, buyers stepped in and were able to push prices up, such that the yellow metal closed just 0.2% lower at $1589.20 per ounce, or just below its session high of $1592.20 per ounce.

Silver followed gold's move and also fell to a pit session low of $26.72 per ounce in morning action. It then trended higher and erased the day's losses as it settled 0.1% higher at $27.34 per ounce.DJ30 +70.01 NASDAQ +11.71 SP500 +8.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1363/1433.8 mln/1090 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1969/489 mln/1044

3:00 pm : Equity markets breaking to new highs. Technology remains the modest laggard, with Nasdaq up 0.6% (vs S&P +0.8% and Dow +0.7%) ahead of heavyweight Intel Corporation (INTC 25.55, +0.42) earnings after the close.DJ30 98.62 NASDAQ 18.04 SP500 17.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1437/1292 mln/1016 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2017/444 mln/993

2:30 pm : The Dollar Index has erased its gains and now holds flat near 83.10. The euro has witnessed nearly a 100 pip reversal off this morning’s lows, and is now back to the flat line near 1.2270 as it trades at levels last seen in the moments ahead of Chairman Bernanke’s testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee. A move through 1.2300 resistance may result in a test of the 1.2400/1.2450 level. A small gain of 10 pips has the pound holding near 1.5640 ahead of tomorrow’s British jobs data. The pair’s 50-day moving average is aiding resistance in the vicinity. Today’s biggest beneficiary of the flight to risk is the Australian dollar which has run to 1.0305 and is back above its 200-day moving average. The hard currency has been outperforming all session long following the somewhat upbeat Reserve Bank of Australia minutes that were released overnight. DJ30 +81.25 NASDAQ +13.10 SP500 +9.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1406/1.18 bln/1020 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1985/407.2 mln/10235

2:00 pm : The major averages have pushed to fresh session highs as both the Dow and S&P 500 hold gains of close to 0.7%. Slight underperformance can be found in the Nasadaq which is holding a gain of 0.5%.

The precious metals have pared their losses along with equities as both gold and silver now hold little changed at their respective $1589 and $27.35 per ounce. Aurizon Mines (AZK 4.52, +0.00) and Silver Wheaton (SLW 25.94, -0.06) are trading in-line with their underlying metals.DJ30 +81.59 NASDAQ +12.60 SP500 +8.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1427/1.09 bln/991 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2001/375.0 mln/990

1:30 pm : Equity markets are at fresh session highs. Industrials and Financials lag the broader market gains.

Looking at some corporate news, toy maker Mattel (MAT 34.24 +3.20) is up 10% after reporting better than expected Q2 results. The stock almost made a fourteen year high this morning.

On the other hand, Mattress retailer Mattress Firm (MFRM 25.01 -4.76) lowered revenue guidance after the market closed last night. Mattress maker Select Comfort (SCSS 21.32 -1.78) is also trading lower.

New Oriental Education (EDU 15.62 -6.64) is getting crushed despite better than expected Q4 results after the company disclosed the SEC was investigating the company.DJ30 +79.70 NASDAQ +14.07 SP500 +8.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1408/1.01 bln/1006 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1950/343 mln/1054

1:00 pm : Stocks are back on session highs after erasing their losses that occurred as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” in front of the Senate Banking Committee got underway. The testimony suggested the Fed was “ready to act” if necessary, but details were few and far between. Today’s economic data was mostly better than expected as CPI was mixed, industrial production topped forecasts, and the Housing Market Index beat expectations.

Earnings season continues to pick up with Goldman Sachs (GS 98.05, +0.37), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 68.72, +0.27), Mosaic (MOS 57.55, +2.29) and Coca-Cola (KO 77.67, +1.19) being some of the more notable names out. Meanwhile, guidance has been a little less impressive as Johnson & Johnson provided a lower outlook for 2012. Other comapnies guidance include Host Hotel (HST 15.37, -0.01), JAKKS Pacific (JAKK 16.02, +0.21), New Orient Education (EDU 15.72, -6.54), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD 16.14, -0.26) with the forecasts being mixed to in line.

Yahoo! (YHOO 15.60, -0.04) is down 0.4% after announcing the hiring of Google’s Marissa Mayer as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mrs. Mayer joined Google in 1999 and was most recently responsible for Local, Maps, and Location services for Google.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.29, -0.11) is under pressure despite the better than expected Housing Market Index reading. Lennar Corp. (LEN 30.64, -0.75) and D.R. Horton (DHI 18.57, -0.33) are among the worst performers in the space.

Fertilizer names are seeing strong gains after Mosaic (MOS 57.55, +2.29) reported solid second quarter results. The company announced earnings of $1.25 per share which topped the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16, and said revenues slid 1.4% year over year to a better than expected $2.82 billion. Competitors Potash Corp. (POT 45.28, +1.20) and Agrium (AGU 92.68, +1.13) are piggybacking gains with respective advances of 2.7% and 1.2%.

Treasuries have recently slipped to session lows with a loss of 20/32 in the long bond pacing the decline. Light selling of the 10-yr note has its yield up almost two basis points near 1.500%. A steeper yield curve remains in play with the 2-10-yr spread wider at 125.5 basis points.DJ30 +58.47 NASDAQ +8.27 SP500 +5.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1334/913.4 mln/1055 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1778/313.3 mln/1169

12:30 pm : The major averages are decidedly in positive territory with all three holding gains of 0.3%.

Fertilizer names are seeing strong gains after Mosaic Co. (MOS 57.56, +2.19) reported solid second quarter results. The company announced earnings of $1.25 per share which topped the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16, and said revenues slid 1.4% year over year to a better than expected $2.82 billion. Today’s advance has the stock trading at its best level since the end of March as bears look to defend resistance near the $58.00 level. Competitors Potash Corp. (POT 45.21, +1.13) and Agrium (AGU 92.59, +1.04) are piggybacking gains with respective advances of 2.6% and 1.1%.DJ30 +56.92 NASDAQ +9.52 SP500 +5.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 13110/836.7 mln/1055 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1777/286.9 mln/1166

12:00 pm : Stocks have trimmed their losses with all of the major averages now flat as traders stepped in to buy the dip that accompanied Chairman Bernanke’s testimony.

Yahoo! (YHOO 15.50, -0.15) is down 0.9% after announcing the hiring of Google’s Marissa Mayer as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mrs. Mayer joined Google in 1999 and was most recently responsible for Local, Maps, and Location services for Google. Today’s weakness has dropped Yahoo! shares to levels last seen at the end of June. DJ30 +27.62 NASDAQ -0.27 SP500 +2.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1170/735.9 mln/1172 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1606/252.6 mln/1322

11:35 am : Earnings season continues to pick up with Goldman Sachs (GS 98.01, +0.33), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 68.12, -0.33), Mosaic (MOS 57.67, +2.30) and Coca-Cola (KO 77.35, +0.87) being some of the more notable names out. Compared to the early returns we saw last week, results have improved in terms of actuals verse consensus. But, the reaction remains muted as the consensus levels being beaten are viewed as very low bars for the companies. Still, the numbers are outpacing expectations which is providing some relief to markets given the pessimism surrounding the numbers a few weeks ago. Goldman Sachs reflects the mood of the market as it handily beat it's top and bottom line expectations. Shares jumped to the $100 level but have since given up some of the early gains as the stock faded back to the $98 level. The reason being that the quarter in the overall scheme continues to show a weak economic environment. Guidance has been a little less impressive as Johnson & Johnson provided a lower outlook for 2012. Other comapnies guidance include Host Hotel (HST 15.29, -0.09), JAKKS Pacific (JAKK 16.01, +0.20), New Orient Education (EDU 15.94, -6.32), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD 16.07, -0.33) with the forecasts being mixed to in line. DJ30 -35.57 NASDAQ -12.34 SP500 -2.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 847/658.8 mln/1478 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1205/226.4 mln/1693

11:00 am : The major averages have tumbled to session lows following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” in front of the Senate Banking Committee in which he gave a rather downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy and suggested the Fed stands “ready to act,” if needed. A loss of 0.7% has the Nasdaq leading the decline while the S&P 500 and Dow are both off 0.5%.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.15, -0.25) is under pressure despite the better than expected Housing Market Index reading. Lennar Corp. (LEN 30.72, -0.67) and D.R. Horton (DHI 18.62, -0.28) are among the worst performers in the space.DJ30 -64.41 NASDAQ -18.91 SP500 -5.95 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 765/523.5 mln/1527 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 981/182.5 mln/1876

10:35 am : The dollar index spiked in recent trade, which weighed on commodity stocks. Aug crude oil has pulled back over $1/barrel from its HoD of $89.28/barrel. It also fell into negative territory, but in the last 20 minutes or so the stock has consolidated around the unchanged line and is now -0.3% at $88.15/barrel.

Aug natural gas has been rather volatile this morning and began early morning trade by selling off to a new LoD of $2.76. Over the next hour, nat gas rallied 3.3% to a new HoD of $2.85 and is now +0.7% at $2.82/MMBtu.

Gold and silver have both been trending lower all session. Gold just recently hit a new session low of $1578.90 and Sept silver hits its own new session low of $26.95. Gold is now -0.7% at $1581.00/oz and silver is -1% at $27.06/ozDJ30 -17.56 NASDAQ -9.03 SP500 -2.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1052/391.9 mln/1170 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1274/142 mln/1545

10:00 am : The Housing Market Index for July registered a reading of 35. That is up from the prior month, and better than the reading of 30 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com.

Separately, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” testimony is just getting underway in front of the Senate Banking Committee. Mr. Bernanke will hold a similar testimony tomorrow in front of the House Financial Services Committee.DJ30 +11.92 NASDAQ -0.18 SP500 -0.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1160/238.5 mln/985 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1438/93.7 mln/1304

09:45 am : Stocks hold solid gains in the opening minutes of trade as all three of the major averages trade up close to 0.4%. Materials, telecom, and consumer discretionary names are pacing the early advance. The NAHB Housing Market Index will cross the wires at the top of the hour. DJ30 +49.38 NASDAQ +10.31 SP500 +4.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1406/131.6 mln/691 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1920/62.8 mln/759

09:17 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.50. The major market averages point to modest gains at the open. Goldman Sachs (GS), Coca-Cola (KO), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) will be in focus following this morning's earnings reports. The NAHB Housing Market Index will cross the wires at 10 AM ET.

Just released, industrial production increased during June by 0.4%, which contrasts with the 0.3% increase that had been widely expected to follow the 0.2% decrease experienced in the prior month. Capacity utilization hit 78.9%, which is worse than the 79.2% that had been widely expected and down from the prior month. Still to come is the NAHB Housing Market Index; it is due at 10 AM ET.

09:00 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.50. Global equity markets are higher this morning as markets rally on hopes Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will hint at more easing during today’s semi-annual testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee. The Reserve Bank of Australia minutes were released overnight, suggesting “China may not be slowing much further, although the outlook remained uncertain.” Meanwhile, In Europe, both German and Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment surveys missed expectations while British CPI printed a cooler than expected 2.4% year over year.

It was a sea of green across Asia as all of the major averages (Nikkei +0.4%, Hang Seng +1.8%, Shanghai +0.6%) finished in positive territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng outperformed the other bourses in the region, climbing 1.8% as financials and real estate paced the advance. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rallied 2.0% while Sino Land climbed 4.3% to lead their respective sectors. A 0.6% advance lifted China’s Shanghai Composite off a three-year low as brokerage firms outperformed. Hong Yuan Securities led the space, surging 6.5%. All was not well as ship maker CSSC Jiangnan Heavy Industrial shed 5.1% after suggesting its first-half net profit may be down as much as 80%. In Japan, the Nikkei added 0.4% as heavyweights Fast Retailing and Softbank saw respective gains of 4.8% and 1.0%.

European markets (FTSE -0.4%, CAC +0.4%, DAX +0.5%) are mixed in afternoon trade as news flow out of the region remains light. Britain’s FTSE is down 0.4% as security firm G4S paces the decline on news the company had understaffed the Olympic Games until recently. The stock is down 5.5%. Financials are mostly lower with HSBC off 1.0% following a U.S. money laundering probe. France’s CAC trades up 0.4% as financial giants Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are higher by 2.3% and 0.8% respectively. Elsewhere, Germany’s DAX is seeing a 0.4% advance with steelmaker ThyssenKrupp leading the way with a 1.4% gain.

08:32 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.00. Consumer prices held steady during June, which is slightly cooler than the 0.1% gain that had been generally expected. Core prices increased by 0.2%, which was on par with expectations of economists polled by Briefing.com.

07:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +5.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.30. After a lackluster start to the week, stock markets rose around the world overnight and U.S. equity futures are higher by 0.5%. The flow of earnings reports picked up this morning, and so far several big names have reported more encouraging Q2 results. After the open, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will present his semi-annual "Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" in front of the Senate Banking Committee, beginning at 10:00 am ET. He will testify to the House tomorrow. It is expected that Bernanke will reiterate that the Fed still has tools to stimulate the economy, and that the Fed stands ready to act, if needed.

Looking at this morning's earnings, Goldman Sachs (GS 99.50, +1.82) is higher by around 2% after beating top and bottom line estimates. Mosaic (MOS 57.10, +1.73) is up 3% after it too beat EPS and revenue expectations. Coca-Cola (KO 76.97, +0.49) is slightly higher on better than expected results. On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 67.70, -0.75) is down 1% after missing revenue expectations and lowering FY12 guidance.

In non-earnings news, Yahoo (YHOO 15.89, +0.15) is up 2.2% after naming Google's (GOOG 574.92, +0.00) Marissa Mayer as its new CEO. Mayer joined Google in 1999 as its 20th employee and most recently was responsible for Local, Maps, and Location Services for Google. European and Asian stocks traded higher overnight.

European markets are currently trading with modest gains, with Germany's DAX up 0.5% and France's CAC up 0.6%, while the UK's FTSE is -0.3%. Stocks in Europe saw some weakness as German sentiment data came in worse than expected, but the major averages have since recovered those losses... Asian markets saw bigger gains overnight, with China's Shanghai gaining 0.6% after the government suggested economic growth could improve in the second half and boosted railway investments. Additionally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.8% and Japan's Nikkei added 0.4%.

There are several pieces of economic data due out this morning, beginning with the June CPI reading at 8:30 ET. May Net Long-term TIC Flows, June Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization and the July NAHB Housing Market Index are due out later in the morning. While the economic data will be of interest, Fed Chairman Bernanke's testimony is likely to be the biggest item of interest today.

06:23 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.50.

06:23 am : Nikkei...8755.00...+30.90...+0.40%. Hang Seng...19455.33...+334.00...+1.80%.

06:23 am : FTSE...5639.08...-23.40...-0.40%. DAX...6580.49...+14.80...+0.20%.

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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