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: +13.70 points or $1370 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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=1278.

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.

Skittish Investors Hold Stocks Lower


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks pared losses on Monday, but all three indexes still closed lower as worries that Spain may need a full-blown bailout sparked a global sell-off.

"There seems to be a pattern whereby markets sell hard into the close of European markets and then see some relief," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "Despite the comeback, Europe will continue to waffle the markets. It's all predicated on whether anything will be done to triage Spain's duress."

U.S. stocks remained under pressure as markets closed. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) sank 101 points, or 0.8%, after earlier shedding more than 220 points earlier. The S&P 500 (SPX) dropped 12 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) lost 35 points, or 1.2%.

The selling was widespread, with oil prices tumbling 4% and copper prices skidding 3.3%. The euro weakened further, falling as low as $1.207.

Investors flocked to traditional safe havens, such as U.S. Treasuries, where the 10-year yield hit a fresh record low of 1.395%. The German 10-year yield also fell to a record low of 1.127%.

Fears over the debt crisis plaguing Europe pushed the yield on the 10-year Spanish bond up to a euro-area record high of 7.565% -- a level that flashes the first bailout signals and one that Spain's leaders have said is unsustainable.

Securities regulators in Spain and Italy both instituted temporary short-selling bans Monday to try to stop the heavy selling in European markets.

Eurozone finance ministers finalized initial bailout terms for Spanish banks last week, but observers fear that may not be enough. Spain's regional economies are also showing signs of struggle, with Valencia said to have requested emergency funding last Friday.

* Video - Fears Grow Spain May Need Bigger Bailout

The Bank of Spain also reported that the nation's economy contracted by 0.4% in the second quarter -- that's the third quarterly contraction and shows the eurozone's fourth-largest economy could be mired in recession for some time.

While Europe continued to dominate trading Monday, investors also had some corporate earnings to contend with. But analysts say Europe's debt problems will show up there, as well.
Fear & Greed Index

"Eurozone news is beginning to manifest itself in the earnings seasons, since we're seeing the erosion of profits, with the dollar gaining strength," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist for Prudential Financial.

While nearly all companies that have reported so far have topped earnings expectations, analysts' forecasts were very low to begin with. In addition, just 45% of companies that have reported have topped revenue expectations, the lowest percentage since the first quarter of 2009, according to FactSet.

* Spain and Italy ban short selling

World markets: European stocks closed deep in the red. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) lost 2.1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany fell 3.2% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) dropped 2.7%.

Spain's IBEX 35 slid 1.1% Monday. Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB index fell 3%, while borrowing costs spiked. The 10-year Italian yield rose to 6.3% from 6.166% late Friday.

Asian markets ended sharply lower. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) fell 1.3%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong tumbled 3% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) dropped 1.9%.

Companies: McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) shares slipped after the fast-food restaurateur missed earnings and revenue expectations, citing a slowing global economy.

Hasbro's (HAS) stock rose after the toymaker reported second-quarter earnings beat analyst expectations. But the gains were limited as the company's revenue dropped 11% and missed Wall Street's forecast.

Shares of Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500) edged higher after the oil and natural gas services company posted better-than-expected earnings as strong drilling activity in international markets offset a slowdown in North America.

Later this week, UPS (UPS, Fortune 500), AT&T (T, Fortune 500), Ford (F, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) are slated to open their books. Facebook (FB) is also set to report its first quarterly earnings as a public company.

* China oil giant buys into North America

Shares of Nexen (NXY) jumped more than 50% after China's state-owned oil producer CNOOC (CEO) agreed to buy the Canadian oil and gas producer for $15.1 billion.

Shares of GenOn (GEN) and NRG Energy (NRG, Fortune 500) climbed after NRG agreed to buy the Houston-based wholesale power provider in an all-stock deal worth about $1.7 billion.

RailAmerica's (RA) stock was higher after Genesee & Wyoming agreed to buy the company for $1.39 billion in cash.



Market Update

4:20 pm : U.S. equity markets opened the session sharply lower on renewed European worries. International Monetary Fund officials voiced concerns over Greece being able to continue servicing its debt. In addition, Spain instated a three-month short selling ban on all stocks, while Italy did the same for financial and insurance firms. Despite the early selling pressure and flight to safety, markets recovered more than half of their losses, as sellers lacked a catalyst to push stocks to new lows.

European financials were under severe pressure this morning as sellers attacked the complex on renewed sovereign debt concerns. Traders continued to watch peripheral yields as both the Italian and Spanish 10-yr yields surged to 6.317% and 7.431% respectively. Deutsche Bank (DB 28.76, -1.29) and Barclays (BCS 9.58, -0.33) saw heavy losses of 4.3% and 3.3% respectively.

The ability for U.S. equities to see some safe-haven buying may very well rest on the performance of companies over the next few weeks. Restaurants continued to record poor performances with industry bellwether McDonalds (MCD 88.94, -2.64) missing expectations as headwinds from overseas and on rising costs of food products weighed on results. Industrial goods producer Eaton (ETN 40.57, +1.51) beat on the bottom line but failed to match revenue expectations. Elsewhere, Oil services giant Halliburton (HAL 31.51, +0.74) was one of the few bright spots as it beat on bottom and top line expectations.

The consumer discretionary sector was down 1.3%. Toy maker Hasbro (HAS 35.19, +1.35) bucked the trend today after reporting better than expected second quarter earnings. On the other hand, women's clothing retailer Wet Seal (WTSLA 2.66, -0.30) was lower after the company terminated its Chief Executive Officer and lowered second quarter guidance.

Nexen (NXY 25.90, +8.84) was up 51.8% after announcing it will be acquired by Chinese energy giant CNOOC (CEO 193.96, -8.79) for $27.50 per share in cash. The deal values Nexen at approximately $15.1 billion while keeping the total debt burden of the company at $4.3 billion. Canada’s Industry Minister has recently confirmed the deal is under foreign investment review.

GNC Holdings (GNC 37.40, -0.25) was down 0.6% after announcing the Board of Directors elected Chief Executive Officer Joseph Fortunato to replace Norman Axelrod as Chairperson of the Board. The stock opened on session lows, touching $35.50 before buyers emerged at near support dating back to the middle of June.

Thirty-eight companies are scheduled to report earnings after hours. Texas Instruments (TXN 26.82, -0.43) will be in focus, as technology stocks have been underperforming early in the earnings season. In addition, Steel Dynamics (STLD 12.22, -0.20) may provide a glimpse into the health of the construction and durable goods sectors.

Second quarter earnings continue to flow this week with notables Baidu.com (BIDU 107.10, -3.13), Altria (MO 35.49, -0.42), Apple (AAPL 603.83, -0.47), and Ford Motor Company (F 9.17, -0.04) all scheduled to release their latest quarterly results.

Treasuries saw steady selling over the course of the session after the early morning flight to safety dropped yields into record territory. Early buying saw the benchmark 10-yr yield hit an all-time low of 1.395% before selling ran it back up to its current 1.438%. A flatter yield curve has the 2-10-yr spread trading tighter at 121.5 bps.

After opening the session at 20.41, the Volatility Index, or VIX, eased to 18.62, which was a 14.3% gain for the session.DJ30 -101.11 NASDAQ -35.15 SP500 -12.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 509/1.53 bln/1990 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 712/743.1 mln/2344

3:30 pm : Crude oil struggled in negative territory for its entire pit session as the dollar strengthened in response to renewed European sovereign debt concerns. The energy component touched a session low of $87.94 per barrel in morning action and inched to a session high of $89.78 per barrel. However, a sell-off heading into the close left crude to settle with a 4.2% loss as it closed at $88.09 per barrel.

Despite opening pit trade in the red and brushing a session low of $2.99 per MMBtu moments later, natural gas was able to find buying support and pop into positive territory to a session high of $3.13 per MMBtu. After chopping around near the unchanged line in afternoon action, it settled at $3.12 per MMBtu, booking a gain of 1.3%. The stronger dollar also put pressure on precious metals.

Gold dipped to a floor session low of $1562.00 per ounce but was able to recover some losses as it traded up to a session high of $1579.70 per ounce and later settled with a 0.4% loss at $1577.10 per ounce.

Silver fell to a pit session low of $26.61 per ounce in morning action and trended higher for the remainder of its session to close at $27.02 per ounce, or 1.0% lower.DJ30 -86.24 NASDAQ -29.00 SP500 -10.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 564/1286.5 mln/1912 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 768/517 mln/2271

3:00 pm : Equities are leveling off after a slow afternoon rally. Action continus to stall near session highs as a loss of 1.3% has the Nasdaq pacing the decline.

Low volumes and a lack of notable economic data today have contributed to a lackluster trade. After opening the session at 20.41, the Volatility Index, or VIX, is holding on session lows near 18.50, which is a 14% gain for the session.DJ30 -127.60 NASDAQ -40.28 SP500 -15.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 499/1.14 bln/1981 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 647/462.1 mln/2390

2:30 pm : Stocks continue their slow climb off day's lows, while Nasdaq remains as the weakest of the three major indicies today. Crude oil has recovered some of its early session losses and is hovering around 89.30.

The euro has rebounded slightly with the EUR/USD pair trading around Monday's opening level of 1.2126.

Thirty-eight companies are scheduled to report earnings after hours. Texas Instruments (TXN 26.86, -0.39) will be in focus, as technology stocks have been underperforming early in the earnings season. In addition, Steel Dynamics (STLD 12.16, -0.26) may provide a glimpse into the health of the construction and durable goods sectors.DJ30 -123.47 NASDAQ -36.83 SP500 -14.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 488/1.06 bln/1982 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 630/432.2 mln/2403

2:00 pm : Equities are holding just beneath midday highs. The homebuilders continue to outperform the broad weak market following Goldman sector upgrade premarket.DJ30 -129.49 NASDAQ -40.03 SP500 -14.93 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 488/973 mln/1970 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 598/398 mln/2413

1:30 pm : Equities are challenging their best levels of the session, although they are still down considerably.

The defensive Utility sector (-0.6%) is outperforming while the materials and energy sectors are leading to the downside, they are off 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Consumer discretionary sector is down 1.4%. Toy maker Hasbro (HAS 35.08 +1.24) is bucking the trend today after reporting better than expected Q2 earnings. On the other hand, women's clothing retailer Wet Seal (WTSLA 2.60 -0.36) is lower after the company terminated its CEO and lowered Q2 guidance.DJ30 -129.23 NASDAQ -43.01 SP500 -15.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 463/912 mln/1988 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 579/366 mln/2466

1:00 pm : The major averages continue to hold near their best levels of the session, but remain under singificant pressure as all three trade down in excess of 1.0%. Selling is heaviest in the Nasdaq where losses are holding at 1.7% while the Dow and S&P continue to see relative outperformance with respective losses of 1.0% and 1.2%.

European financials are under severe pressure this morning as sellers attack the complex on renewed sovereign debt concerns. Reports out over the weekend suggest Greece may see its aid cut off if it does not meet its commitments. Both Italy and Spain announced short-selling bans this morning, and that has their listings here in the U.S. under pressure. Traders continue to watch peripheral yields as both the Italian and Spanish 10-yr yields are up close to 20 basis points at their respective 6.31% and 7.40%. Deutsche Bank (DB 28.72, -1.33) and Barclays (BCS 9.55, -0.36) are seeing heavy loss of 4.4% and 3.6% respectively.

Markets are sliding lower with European concerns being a driving factor. But, the weak rally from the 'better than feared' second quarter earnings season is also failing to provide support. The ability for U.S. equities to see some safe-haven buying may very well rest on the performance of companies over the next few weeks. Restaurants continued to record poor performances with industry bellwether McDonalds (MCD 88.90, -2.68) missing expectations as headwinds from overseas and on rising costs of food products weigh on results. Industrial goods producer Eaton (ETN 41.06, +2.00) beat on the bottom line but failed to match revenue expectations. Oil services giant Halliburton (HAL 31.30, +0.53) was one of the few bright spots as it beat on bottom and top line expectations.

The early returns set a poor precedent ahead of the busiest week to date for Q2 earnings. Some notables include: Baidu.com (BIDU 107.11, -3.12), Altria (MO 35.62, -0.29), Apple (AAPL 599.77, -4.53), and Ford Motor Co. (F 9.13, -0.08).

Nexen (NXY 25.96, +8.90) is trading up 52.2% after announcing it will be acquired by Chinese energy giant CNOOC (CEO 195.50, -7.25) for $27.50 per share in cash. The deal values Nexen at approximately $15.1 billion while keeping the total debt burden of the company at $4.3 billion. Canada’s Industry Minister has recently confirmed the deal is under foreign investment review.

GNC Holdings (GNC 37.18, -0.47) is down 1.3% after announcing the Board of Directors elected Chief Executive Officer Joseph Fortunato to replace Norman Axelrod as Chairperson of the Board. The stock opened on session lows, touching $35.50 before buyers emerged at near support dating back to the middle of June.

Treasuries have seen steady selling over the course of the session after the early morning flight to safety dropped yields into record territory. Early buying saw the benchmark 10-yr yield hit an all-time low of 1.395% before selling ran it back up to its current 1.435%. A flatter yield curve has the 2-10-yr spread trading tighter at 121.5 bps.DJ30 -120.56 NASDAQ -43.57 SP500 -15.13 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 450/824.4 mln/1994 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 533/340.7 mln/2465

12:30 pm : Stocks continue to trade near their best levels of this down session as a loss of 1.9% has the Nasdaq leading the decline.

GNC Holdings (GNC 37.18, -0.47) is down 1.3% after announcing the Board of Directors elected Chief Executive Officer Joseph Fortunato to replace Norman Axelrod as Chairperson of the Board. The stock opened on session lows, touching $35.50, before buyers emerged at near support dating back to the middle of June.DJ30 -154.43 NASDAQ -52.95 SP500 -19.07 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 411/738.8 mln/2028 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 487/311.8 mln/2501

12:00 pm : Stocks remain near their best levels of the session with all three of the major averages still decidedly in negative territory. The Nasdaq continues to lead to the downside, sporting a loss of 1.8% while the Dow and S&P 500 are outperforming with respective losses of 1.1% and 1.3%.

Industrial stocks are outperforming following this morning’s earnings from Eaton Corp. (ETN 41.23, +2.17). The stock is up 5.6% after the company announced earnings of $1.15 per share which topped the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09. Revenues fell short of the $4.24 billion estimate coming in at $4.07 billion. Earnings per share guidance for full-year 2012 was lowered to $4.20-4.50 from the previous estimate of $4.30-4.70 while full-year revenues are now expected to come in at $16.69 billion which is down from the previously expected $16.93 billion. The stock opened lower in early action, but now trades near session highs and at levels last seen in early June. DJ30 -140.39 NASDAQ -52.39 SP500 -17.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 406/665.2 mln/2025 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 501/284.2 mln/2477

11:35 am : Markets are sliding lower with European concerns being a driving factor. But, the weak rally from the 'better than feared' Q2 earnings season is also failing to provide support. The ability for U.S. equities to see some safe-haven buying may very well rest on the performance of companies over the next few weeks. Restaurants continued to record poor performances with industry bellwether McDonalds (MCD 88.92, -2.66) missing expectations as headwinds from overseas and on rising costs of food products weigh on results. Industrial goods producer Eaton (ETN 41.40, +2.34) beat on the bottom line but failed to match revenue expectations. Oil services giant Halliburton (HAL 31.27, +0.50) was one of the few bright spots as it beat on bottom and top line expectations. The early returns set a poor precedent ahead of the busiest week to date for Q2 earnings. Some notables include: Baidu.com (BIDU 106.42, -3.81), Altria (MO 35.61, -0.30), Apple (AAPL 596.40, -7.90), and Ford Motor Co. (F 9.12, -0.09).DJ30 -154.69 NASDAQ -56.04 SP500 -19.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 389/620.8 mln/2032 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 474/267.7 mln/2494

11:00 am : Stocks have trimmed a portion of their losses, but remain decidedly in negative territory. The Nasdaq remains the leader to the downside with a loss of 1.9% while both the S&P 500 and Dow are both down close to 1.4%.

Nexen (NXY 25.91, +8.85) is trading up 51.9% after announcing it will be acquired by Chinese energy giant CNOOC (CEO 195.00, -7.75) for $27.50 per share in cash. The deal values Nexen at approximately $15.1 billion while keeping the total debt burden of the company at $4.3 billion. In addition, under the terms of the transaction, if approved by the holders of preferred shares in a separate class vote, CNOOC Limited will acquire the outstanding preferred shares of Nexen for a purchase price of C$26.00 per share in cash, plus any dividends accrued but unpaid at the time of closing. Canada’s Industry Minister has recently confirmed the deal is under foreign investment review.DJ30 -160.94 NASDAQ -57.06 SP500 -20.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 353/462.4 mln/2033 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 424/207.6 mln/2486

10:35 am : Euro concerns are dominating the headlines today again, which pushed the dollar index to a 2-year high and commodities lower.

In the energy space, Sept crude oil has been in the red all session and just hit a new session low of $87.95. Crude has since moved only slightly higher from its LoD and is now -3.5% at $88.64/barrel.

July natural gas has been in negative territory excluding a few brief moments in the overnight session. In more recent traded, nat gas has rallied 4.4% now off its LoD of $2.99. Currently, the August contract is +1.1% at $3.12/MMBtu.

In metals, August gold and Sept silver have been getting hit this morning, but are modestly off of session lows (Gold $1562, Silver $26.61). Gold is now -0.7% at $157120/oz and silver is -1.6% at $26.86/oz. July copper is down sharply again this morning, currently down 2.7% at $3.35/lb.DJ30 NASDAQ 340 SP500 2532 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 299/363.6 mln/2065 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 340/168 mln/2532

10:00 am : The major averages continue to push lower in early action. Heavy selling has the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 2.4% while both the Dow and S&P 500 are seeing losses of 1.8%.

European financials are under severe pressure this morning as sellers attack the complex on renewed sovereign debt concerns. Reports out over the weekend suggest Greece may see its aid cut off if it does not meet its commitments. Both Italy and Spain announced short-selling bans this morning, and that has European financial listings here in the U.S. under careful scrutiny. Traders continue to watch peripheral yields as both the Italian and Spanish 10-yrs are up close to 20 basis points at their respective 6.31% and 7.40%. Deutsche Bank (DB 28.23, -1.82) and Barclays (BCS 9.41, -0.50) are seeing heavy losses of 6.1% and 5.0% respectively.DJ30 -222.66 NASDAQ -67.83 SP500 -23.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 260/197.4 mln/2049 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 274/109.1 mln/2551

09:45 am : Stocks opened with heavy losses. A 2.2% decline has the Nasdaq leading the way lower while the Dow and S&P 500 are both down close to 1.5%. Financials, materials, and energy stocks pace the early declines with all three sectors trading down in excess of 2.0%. Utilities are seeing relative outperformance, sporting a collective loss of just 0.2%. Elsewhere, Treasury yields are ticking off their record lows with the 10-yr back up to 1.420% after touching 1.395%. DJ30 -220.08 NASDAQ -67.89 SP500 -22.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 229/123.2 mln/2026 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 246/82.7 mln/2533

09:14 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -19.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -43.20. Equity futures point to large losses at the open as European worries have moved back into the forefront. Headlines that emerged over the weekend suggest if Greece does not meet its commitments its aid will be cut off. Those reports, along with comments from a People’s Bank of China official indicating China may see growth closer to 7.2% have weighed on markets around the globe. Recently, a headline pointing to a Spanish short-selling ban on all securities has dropped both European buorses and U.S. futures to fresh lows. Halliburton (HAL) McDonalds (MCD), and Phillips Electronics (PHG) are some of the names that will be in focus after announcing their quarterly results. There is no data.

08:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -18.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -41.80. Global markets are under pressure after reports out over the weekend suggested the IMF may discontinue aid to Greece; while comments from German Vice Chancellor Phillip Roesler indicate it is ‘doubtful’ the Hellenic Republic will meet its required commitments, in which case there would be no aid. Those headlines, along with word a People’s Bank of China official suggested GDP in the middle kingdom may be close to 7.2% led to heavy losses in Asian trade which then spilled over into Europe. Both British and German yields are at record lows this morning while the flight of capital out of Spain, and to a lesser extent Italy, has their 10-yr yields up to 7.38% and 6.31% respectively. Participants continue to watch the Spanish yield curve which is in danger of inversion as the 3-10-yr spread trades 24 bps.

Markets across Asia (Nikkei -1.9%, Hang Seng -3.0%, Shanghai -1.3%) saw heavy selling as all of the major averages, with the exception of Bursa Malaysia (-0.4%), lost at least 1.0%. Japan’s Nikkei sank 1.9%, hitting a six-week low as the strong yen and disappointing earnings weighed on exporters. Ricoh plunged 7.0% while Canon and Sony shed 4.6% and 4.1% respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 3.0% to lead the region’s decline. Heavyweight HSBC fell 5.7% as traders piled on ahead of the company’s earnings. Insurance names were also under pressure as Ping An Insurance Group and China Life Insurance lost 3.9% and 5.0% respectively. On the mainland, China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.3% to finish at a 40-month low. Brokerage firms were among the worst performers as Citic Securities paced the decline with a loss of 4.1% amid inventor concern it is overpaying for Credit Agricole’s CLSA Asia Pacific Markets operations.

The major European bourses are (FTSE -2.4%, CAC -2.7%, DAX -3.0%) on their worst levels of the session with Spain’s IBEX underperforming with a loss of 2.8%. The underperformance comes as Spain announced a three-month short-selling ban on all securities. Britain’s FTSE is down 2.4% with miners and financials pacing the decline. Vedanta Resources and Royal Bank of Scotland lead their respective sectors lower with losses of 4.2% and 3.8%. Elsewhere, France’s CAC is off 2.7% as the entire index trades in negative territory. Financials are under severe selling pressure as BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale hold losses of between 4.6 and 5.5%. Automaker Peugeot, which has been an underperformer as of late, is seeing the smallest decline, trading down 0.5%. In Germany, the DAX is down 3.0% with all of the holdings in the red. Financials and steelmakers are seeing the steepest declines with Commerzbank and Salzgitter down 5.6% and 5.0% respectively.

08:30 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -16.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -37.00. Treasury yields tumbled to record lows in overnight trade as Greece moved back into the headlines over the weekend. A report from German magazine Der Spiegel suggested the International Monetary Fund may cut off aid to Greece. Elsewhere, German Vice Chancellor Phillip Roesler indicated it is ’doubtful’ Greece will meet its commitments and suggested that if it doesn’t, it will not receive more aid. The 5-, 10-, and 30-yr yields touched record lows on this morning’s flight to safety, hitting 0.538%, 1.395%, and 2.473% respectively. Declines in yield are most severe at the long end of the curve which is down seven basis points at 2.478%. Significant curve flattening of the yield curve has the 2-10-yr spread tighter at 120 basis points. The flight to safety has also dropped British and German yields to record lows with their 10-yr yields falling to 1.400% and 1.126% respectively. Traders continue to monitor the Spanish yield curve which saw the 10-yr hit an all-time high 7.505% as heavy selling put pressure on yields.

08:02 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -14.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -31.00. Futures are sharply lower this morning in a continuation of Friday's pullback, along with weakness in foreign equity markets, on continued macro concerns around weaker European nations (i.e. Spain and Greece) and China.

European markets are trading near lows after a weak performance overnight. Germany's DAX is down 1.7% and France's CAC is down 2.0%. The concerns center around Greece and Spain, with commentary over the weekend suggesting doubts about Greece ability to complete the necessary commitments for its bailout funds, and continued weakness in Spanish debt sending Spanish yields to new records. Germany's Der Spiegel magazine suggested the IMF could discontinue aid to Greece. Germany's Vice Chancellor stressed that if Greece doesn't meet its requirements, there will be no aid. Reports suggested that more Spanish regions were considering seeking bailouts, and the Bank of Spain posted its Q2 GDP forecast of -0.4% vs -0.3% in Q1. Spain's 10-year yield is currently higher by 20 basis points to 7.39% while Spain's IBEX equity index is down 3.2%.

In Asia, stocks finished weaker as concerns about Chinese growth intensified. A PBOC official thinks it will be harder for the Central Bank to cut rates in the back half of the year and suggested GDP for the quarter could be close to +7.2%.

In corporate news, Nexen (NXY 26.60, +8.94) is higher by 56% this morning after being acquired by CNOOC Limited (CEO 202.75, 0.00) for $27.50/share in cash. CNOOC will pay approximately $15.1 billion in cash for Nexen's common and preferred shares, and Nexen's current debt of approximately $4.3 billion will remain outstanding.

In earnings news, there are 12 companies scheduled to report earnings this morning. Halliburton (HAL 30.90, +0.13) is little changed after beating on the top and bottom lines. Hasbro (HAS 34.17 +0.33) is slightly higher after beating earnings estimates on lighter than expected revenue. McDonald's (MCD 90.95, -0.67) is -2% after missing earnings consensus.

Approximately 750 companies covered by Briefing.com are expected to report second quarter results this week, including 175 companies in the S&P 500. Apple (AAPL 597.20, -7.10) will announce its results on Tuesday afternoon, and Facebook (FB 28.40, -0.36) will report its first quarter as a public company following Thursday's closing bell.

There is no economic data scheduled for today.

06:14 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -16.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -34.00.

06:14 am : Nikkei...8508.32...-161.60...-1.90%. Hang Seng...19053.47...-587.30...-3.00%.

06:14 am : FTSE...5557.56...-94.20...-1.70%. DAX...6515.55...-114.50...-1.70%.

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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