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: +21.30 points or $2130 dollars in the Russell 2000 Emini TF ($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=1275.

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.

Tech Shares Lead Broad Stock Advance


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors focused on better-than-expected corporate results and testimony from the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 103 points, or 0.9%, to end at 12,909. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1373. The Nasdaq (COMP) added 32 points, or 1.1%, to 2,942.

The advance was led by technology shares, which rallied after Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) said PC sales rose 4% in the most recent quarter, although the technology bellwether warned that growth will be slower in the current quarter.

Intel rose 3.3% to lead the Dow. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) were also among the top performers.

Bank of America's results beat analysts' expectations, but investors remain worried about mortgage-related expenses. Shares of Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) fell 4.9%, making them the worst performer on the Dow.

After the market closed, IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) reported better than expected earnings, but sales were weaker than expected in the second quarter.

American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) reported second-quarter earnings that rose 7% from the same period last year, although the credit card company said customer spending was slower than in previous quarters.

"The path of least resistance seems to be up," said Ben Schwartz, chief market strategist at Lightspeed Financial. "You generally don't sell a quiet market in the summer time."

The stock market has been surprisingly resilient recently, but investors remain cautious, he added.

"You're not seeing the action you'd normally see in a 100-point move in the Dow," said Schwartz. "I don't see the conviction."

Fed chief Ben Bernanke returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to testify on monetary policy before the House Financial Service Committee. He reiterated testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, when he raised concerns about Europe's debt crisis and the so-called "fiscal cliff" in the United States.

Overall, investors are grappling with an uncertain outlook for Europe and a looming fiscal crisis in the United States, said Martin Leclerc, chief investment officer at Barrack Yard Advisors in Bryn Mawr, PA.

"The big question is how much of the fiscal cliff and European currency crisis has been factored into stocks," said Leclerc. At the same time, he added that stock valuations remain "very attractive."

U.S. stocks held on to gains Tuesday. Investors digested Bernanke's Senate testimony and solid corporate earnings reports.

World markets: European stocks closed higher. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) rose 1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany gained 1.6% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) jumped 1.8%.

Despite the advance, anxieties continue to loom over Europe's debt crisis. A decision is not expected for another eight weeks from Germany's highest court on the legality of the eurozone's multinational bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. And in Spain, Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro said tax collection must improve soon or the country won't be able to pay its public employees.

The International Monetary Fund said eurozone authorities need to act quickly to form a banking union and take other steps to prevent the crisis from escalating further.

* Related: Euro fund 'on ice'

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) rose 0.4%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong lost 1.1% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) shed 0.3%.

Economy: The U.S. Census Bureau issued a construction report that failed to meet forecasts. Housing starts in June rose 6.9% from the previous month to an annual rate of 760,000 units -- the highest level in nearly four years -- while building permits eased 3.7%.

In the latest edition of its Beige Book, the Federal Reserve said economic activity continued to expand at a "modest to moderate pace" across its 12 regional districts in June and July.


Companies: Shares of drug maker VIVUS (VVUS) jumped 10% after the Food and Drug Administration approved the company's new weight loss drug Qsymia.

Shares of EMC (EMC, Fortune 500) rose 10% after the data storage company reported stronger than expected quarterly results.

Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) said second-quarter earnings rose 12%. The manufacturing giant offered encouraging guidance, but said it is operating in "a more challenging macro environment." Shares rose 6%.

Credit Suisse (CS) plans to raise capital levels by 15 billion Swiss Francs by the end of the year, bowing to pressure from the Swiss National Bank. Shares of the global banking giant rose 3%.
Related: Your burger is about to get pricier

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

The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones launched a new index that measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of global currencies. The WSJ Dollar Index, or BUXX, edged higher Wednesday.

Oil for August delivery rose 65 cents to settle at $89.87 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $18.70 to end the day at $1,570.80 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.48% from 1.50% late Tuesday.



Market Update

4:15 pm : Stocks finished near session highs as the recent flight into risk produced the third day of gains in the past four. Today’s 0.7% advance has the S&P 500 back near its early July highs and 8.5% above the June 1 low. The Nasdaq was the top performer among the major averages, ending the day with up 1.1%.

The Fed’s Beige Book was released this afternoon and suggested “overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July.” Excerpts from the Beige Book hinted that reports on residential housing were “largely positive” and drought caused “stress to crops and livestock” while indicating employment grew at a “tepid pace.”

Earnings season is now in high gear with Intel (INTC 26.21, +0.83) and financials dominating the landscape over the past 18 hours. Results from financials have been 'better than feared,' but it is notable that the group was a laggard. Bank of America (BAC 7.53, -0.39) beat on the bottom line but missed on revenues. This caused some selling in the stock as investors view the bottom line beat was due to cost cutting and not a strengthening of the business. Some other notable financials reporting included Bank of New York (BK 21.69, -0.03), Blackrock (BLK 175.05, -1.10), Credit Suisse (CS 18.35, +0.65), and U.S. Bancorp (USB 33.48, +0.53).

Homebuilders finished in-line following this morning’s mixed housing starts and building permits data. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.56, +0.14) gained 0.7% with action holding just below the almost four-year high set back in May. Pulte Group (PHM 10.80, -0.37) and KB Home (KBH 9.89, -0.06) saw relative underperformance.

Vivus (VVUS 29.00, +2.54) rose 9.6% after receiving Food & Drug Administration approval for its obesity drug Qsymia. The announcement has shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA 9.98, -1.07) under pressure as the approval allows for competition with its obesity drug Belviq.

Proctor & Gamble (PG 64.82, +0.03) slumped to session lows after the Board of Directors announced it anonymously supports the recently disclosed plan to return the company to levels that “produce the best long-term value for shareholders” and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald as he leads the implementation of the plan. The stock was able to rebound off its worst levels and finish slightly in the green.

Treasuries finished with modest gains during what turned out to be a relatively quiet session. Yields in the belly of the curve saw the biggest declines with the 7-yr sliding 3.3 bps to 0.960% while a 2.2 bp decline dropped the 10-yr yield to 1.479%. Little change along the yield curve saw the 2-10-yr spread hold at 126 bps.

Data concludes for the week tomorrow with initial and continuing claims crossing the wires at 8:30 AM ET and existing home sales, the Philly Fed, and leading indicators due out at 10 AM ET. DJ30 +103.16 NASDAQ +32.56 SP500 +9.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1476/1.74 bln/1129 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1889/727.4 mln/1129

3:35 pm : Crude oil found buying support during today’s pit trade on a number of catalysts that included tension in Syria, better-than-anticipated inventory data, and comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that toned down the risk of a double-dip recession. Crude climbed out of negative territory and touched a session high of $90.04 per barrel. Although it pulled-back slightly in early afternoon action, it settled with a 0.9% gain at $89.89 per barrel.

Natural gas steadily climbed higher during its floor session. It popped to a session high of $3.02 per MMBtu but quickly corrected the move. Nevertheless, it settled pit trade 6.1% higher at $2.97 per MMBtu.

Gold and silver dipped to their respective floor session lows of $1567.20 per ounce and $26.85 per ounce following better-than-expected housing data. The metals then trended upwards to their session highs of $1582.90 per ounce for gold and $27.30 per ounce for silver as the dollar lost steam, but once again pulled-back in afternoon action. Gold settled pit trade 1.2% lower at $1570.70 per ounce while silver settled with a 1.0% loss at $27.08 per ounce. DJ30 107.21 NASDAQ 31.53 SP500 9.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1457/1487.5/1011 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1872/506.1/1120

3:00 pm : The Dollar Index has seen some recent buying interest lift it off the flat line and back up to the 83.10 level. Modest strength comes following the Fed’s latest Beige Book which provided nothing new in regards to the condition of the U.S. economy. The report suggested “overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July.”

The euro saw sellers emerge at the 1.2300 level and has slipped to a loss of 30 pips near 1.2260. Headlines from the region remain rather slow, but should begin to pick up soon as nothing has yet been solved.

Safe haven flows into the yen have produced a run up 78.80 per dollar. Today’s strength has the currency back above its 200-day moving average, and on track for its best close against the greenback in a month. Today’s strength comes following the Bank of Japan minutes which showed the central bank has eliminated its 0.1% yield floor for government bond purchases. This in turn opens up the possibility for negative rates.

The Australian dollar is the best performer among the major currencies, trading up 50 pips near 1.0350. The recent flight back into risk assets has aided the hard currency which is back above its 200-day moving average and at a two and a half month high. Australia’s NAB Quarterly Business Confidence is due out tonight. DJ30 +77.62 NASDAQ +24.48 SP500 +5.93 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1392/1.33 bln/1058 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1716/445.8 mln/1248

2:30 pm : Stocks remain near session highs following the release of the Fed's latest Beige Book. The report suggested ‘overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July.' Excerpts from the Beige Book hinted that reports on residential housing were ‘largely positive' and drought caused ‘stress to crops and livestock' while indicating employment grew at a ‘tepid pace.'DJ30 +102.93 NASDAQ +33.83 SP500 +9.46 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1541/1.22 bln/882 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1884/402.7 mln/1097

2:00 pm : The major averages have pulled back with the S&P leading the pack ahead of Fed Beige Book at 14:00 ET.DJ30 85.41 NASDAQ 32.07 SP500 8.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1525/1140 mln/895 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1865/372 mln/1107

1:30 pm : Equity markets are holding on to healthy gains ahead of the Fed's Beige Book release at the top of the hour.

The industrials sector continues to lead the way higher, currently up 2.1%. Earnings out of the sector may be described as better than feared given the current macroeconomic uncertainty.

Honeywell (HON 58.10 +3.56) beat Q2 profit estimates on lower than expected revenue. The industrial giant guided Q3 below estimates but was able to raise the low end of its FY12 EPS guidance.

Grainger (GWW 209.83 +20.86) reported roughly in-line Q2 results, reaffirmed FY12 revenue guidance and raised the low end of FY12 EPS guidance.

Meanwhile, Eastern Class I railroad CSX (CSX 22.69 -0.10) is roughly unchanged after Q2 results came in generally as expected. The company's results continue to be hampered by weakness in the domestic utility coal market.DJ30 +108.16 NASDAQ +38.38 SP500 +10.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1605/1.06 bln/797 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2019/337 mln/990

1:00 pm : Stocks hold strong gains in afternoon trade as an advance of 1.4% has the Nasdaq leading the way. Markets continue to see an extension of yesterday’s gains that were sparked by Chairman Bernanke’s semi-annual testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee where he hinted the Fed stands “ready to act” if needed. Today, Mr. Bernanke took his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee and reiterated his view on the economy. The recent rally in risk assets has the S&P 500 at its best level since early May and up 8.5% off its early June low.

Earnings season is slowly picking up with Intel (INTC 26.25, +0.87) and financials dominating the landscape over the past 18 hours. Results from financials have been 'better than feared,' but it is notable that the group is the biggest laggard in market activity today. Bank of America (BAC 7.77, -0.15) beat on the bottom line but missed on revenues. This has caused some selling in the stock as investors view the bottom line beat was due to cost cutting and not a strengthening of the business. Some other notable financials reporting included Bank of New York (BK 22.00, +0.28), Blackrock (BLK 175.15, -1.00), Credit Suisse (CS 18.45, +0.75), and U.S. Bancorp (USB 33.20, +0.25).

Homebuilders are seeing early outperformance after this morning’s mixed housing starts and building permits data. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.62, +0.20) is trading up 0.9% with action holding just below the almost four-year high set back in May. Pulte Group (PHM 10.91, -0.26) and KB Home (KBH 31.27, -0.43) are individual names seeing relative underperformance.

Vivus (VVUS 30.07, +3.61) is up 13.6% after receiving Food & Drug Administration approval for its obesity drug Qsymia. The announcement has shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA 10.22, -0.83) under pressure as the approval allows for competition with its obesity drug Belviq.

Proctor & Gamble (PG 64.77, -0.02) slumped to session lows after the Board of Directors announced it anonymously supports the recently disclosed plan to return the company to levels that “produce the best long-term value for shareholders” and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald as he leads the implementation of the plan.

Treasuries hold just above their worst levels of the U.S. session but remain firmly entrenched in positive territory. Modest strength across the complex is led by the long bond which trades up 12/32 at 108 16/32. In terms of yield, the biggest declines can be found in the belly of the curve with the 7-yr down more than three basis points at 0.962%. A slightly flatter yield curve has the 2-10-yr spread tighter at 125 basis points.

The Fed’s Beige Book will cross the wires at 2 pm ET.

Looking ahead to after-hours earnings reports the focus will be on American Express (AXP 58.59, -0.09), IBM (IBM 188.00, +4.35), and YUM! Brands (YUM 65.20, +0.79).DJ30 +107.81 NASDAQ +39.43 SP500 +10.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1584/973.9 mln/806 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1995/313.1 mln/944

12:30 pm : Treasuries drift just above their worst levels of the U.S. session but remain firmly entrenched in positive territory. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke continues his semi-annual "Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" in front of the House Financial Services Committee with the complex seeing little reaction to his comments which were priced in during yesterday's appearance in front of the Senate Banking Committee. Modest strength across the complex is led by the long bond which trades up 12/32 at 108 16/32. In terms of yield, the biggest declines can be found in the belly of the curve with the 7-yr down more than three basis points at 0.962%. The wings of the curve (2- and 30-yr) are seeing the smallest decline in yield with declines of less than two basis points dropping them to 0.238% and 2.586% respectively. A slightly flatter yield curve has the 2-10-yr spread tighter at 125 basis points. The Fed's Beige Book will cross the wires at 2 pm ET.DJ30 +105.54 NASDAQ +39.34 SP500 +10.59 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1618/878.0 mln/771 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2003/282.0 mln/929

12:00 pm : Stocks continue their push higher with the Nasdaq now up 1.1% and leading the way.

Proctor & Gamble (PG 64.74, -0.05) slumped to session lows after the Board of Directors announced it anonymously supports the recently disclosed plan to return the company to levels that “produce the best long-term value for shareholders,” and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald as he leads the implementation of the plan. Today’s weakness has dropped the stock back onto support aided by both the 100- and 200-day moving averages.DJ30 +76.03 NASDAQ +33.28 SP500 +7.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1561/773.2 mln/803 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1919/247.4 mln/997

11:35 am : Earnings season is slowly picking up with Intel (INTC 26.09, +0.71) and financials dominating the landscape over the past 18 hours. Results from financials have been 'better than feared,' but it is notable that the group is the biggest laggard in market activity this morning. Bank of America (BAC 7.74, -0.19) beat on the bottom line but missed on revenues. This has caused some selling in the stock as investors view the bottom line beat was due to cost cutting and not a strengthening of the business. Some other notable financials reporting included Bank of New York (BK 22.01, +0.29), Blackrock (BLK 174.91, -1.24), Credit Suisse (CS 18.31, +0.61), and U.S. Bancorp (USB 33.03, +0.08).

Intel reported last night and missed expectations. The company also tightened it's 2012 outlook to the low end of prior estimates. The stock has moved up following the report as it found support at the $25 level. Shares declined approximately 10% in the weeks ahead of earnings, but were able to find support in the $24.68-25 area and are now attempting to push back above the 200-day moving average.

Looking ahead to after-hours earnings reports the focus will be on American Express (AXP 58.50, -0.18), IBM (IBM 186.60, +2.95), and YUM! Brands (YUM 64.73, +0.32).DJ30 +69.86 NASDAQ +29.43 SP500 +7.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1542/697.8 mln/792 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1908/221.7 mln/984

11:00 am : The major indices are trading at session highs as the Nasdaq leads the way with a 0.9% gain.

Vivus (VVUS 30.04, +3.58) is up 13.5% after receiving Food & Drug Administration approval for its obesity drug Qsymia. Today’s gains have the stock trading at all-time highs. Meanwhile, shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA 10.16, -0.89) are under pressure as the approval allows for competition with its obesity drug Belviq.DJ30 +75.01 NASDAQ +27.03 SP500 +7.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1520/563.2 mln/769 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1943/176.2 mln/900

10:35 am : In the energy space, Aug crude oil have been in the red for most of today's session. Crude rallied when pit trading began, was only modestly higher ahead of the weekly inventory data. Following the data, crude is trading lower and is now -0.07% at $89.17/barrel.

July natural gas has been strong all morning. The energy component rallied sharply this morning and ran as high and is now +4.7% at $2.93/MMBtu.

In metals: August gold and Sept silver have been in negative territory all session. Gold just hit a new session low of $1567.03, while silver hit its own fresh session low of $26.85. Silver has since moved back above the $27.00 level and have erased more than half of its losses. Gold has recovered about $10/oz in losses and is now showing a modest loss. Gold is now -0.9% at $1576/oz and silver is -0.6% at $27.15/oz.DJ30 +27.14 NASDAQ +21.73 SP500 +4.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1435/434.1 mln /801 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1755/141 mln/1053

10:00 am : The major averages have all climbed into positive territory as the Nasdaq leads the way with 0.5% advance.

Homebuilders are seeing early outperformance after this morning’s mixed housing starts and building permits data. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 21.67, +0.25) is trading up 1.2% with action holding just below the almost four-year high set back in May. Pulte Group (PHM 11.44, +0.27) and KB Home (KBH 10.13, +0.18) are individual names seeing relative outperformance.DJ30 +19.08 NASDAQ +21.09 SP500 +4.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1402/252.1 mln/734 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1734/82.2 mln/968

09:45 am : Stocks trade mixed in the opening minutes of action. The Nasdaq holds a gain of 0.3% while the S&P 500 trades flat and the Dow holds a loss of 0.1%. Technology and industrials are the top performing sectors while financials, telecommunications, and health care pace the decliners. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will take his semi-annual "Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 AM ET. The Fed's Beige Book will be released at 2 PM ET.DJ30 -16.34 NASDAQ +10.10 SP500 -0.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1390/163.0 mln/1232 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1385/59.4 mln/1235

09:14 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.80. The major market averages are pointing to modest losses at the open. Bank of America (BAC), Intel (INTC), and Yahoo! (YHOO) highlight the names in focus after releasing their quarterly earnings reports. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will take his semi-annual “Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 AM ET. The Fed’s Beige Book will be released at 2 PM ET.

08:58 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.50. Global markets are mixed today as the lull in major headlines out of Europe persists. China’s state-run China Securities Journal suggested the People’s Bank of China should move to ease monetary policy in order to ignite growth in the world’s second largest economy. Meanwhile, The Bank of Japan minutes showed the central bank has eliminated its 0.1% yield floor on government bond purchases, setting up the possibility of negative rates. In Europe, news flow is rather muted with the Bank of England minutes suggesting the central bank may reconsider further rate cuts depending upon the newly implemented GBP50 billion asset purchase program’s impact on the economy.

The major Asian bourses (Nikkei -0.3%, Hang Seng -1.1%, Shanghai +0.4%) were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.2% with heavyweight HSBC slipping 2.1% after the recent U.S. Senate money laundering investigation led to the resignation of a top executive at the firm. Property stocks were weak as China Resources Land and China Overseas Land & Investment shed 1.5% and 0.5% respectively. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3% as power companies led the decline on concerns over nuclear safety. Kansai Electric Power tumbled 6.3% to see heavy losses for a second consecutive session after a geological investigation suggested one of its plants may sit atop an active fault line. Rival Hokuriku Electric Power plunged 21.4% on similar news. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite outperformed with a 0.4% advance thanks to a late-day rally. Brokerage firms were strong for a second consecutive session as Hong Yuan Securities rallied 6.1% and Huatai Securities climbed 4.0%. However, real estate firms were weak with China Vanke and Poly Real Estate sliding 3.8% and 4.9% respectively.

Markets are higher across Europe (FTSE +0.1%, CAC +0.7%, DAX +0.2%) following strong earnings from Credit Suisse and Nordea Bank. Britain’s FTSE is up 0.1% as strength in miners is offsetting weakness in energy. Silver miner Fresnillo is higher by 1.9% while energy giant Royal Dutch Shell trades down 0.7%. France’s CAC is seeing a 0.7% advance as automaker Peugeot is up close to 2.0% following days of heavy selling. Financials are among the worst performers as Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are off 0.9% and 0.2% respectively. Meanwhile, light buying in Germany has the DAX holding a 0.2% gain. Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp is among the leaders, sporting a 1.9% advance. Weakness in financials is a drag as Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are seeing respective losses of 0.9% and 0.7%.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.00. Housing starts hit an annualized rate of 760,000 units during June. The consensus call among economists polled by Briefing.com had called for housing starts to hit an annual rate closer to 743,000. Prior month figures were revised upward to reflect an annual rate of 711,000 housing starts.

As for building permits, they fell from the prior month's upwardly revised rate of 784,000 to 755,000 for June. That is below the pace of 765,000 building permits that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com.

07:58 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -3.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.80. The stock market showed continued resilience yesterday, recouping early losses to finish with a 0.7% gain. Stocks initially showed some disappointment around Fed Chairman Bernanke's prepared remarks, which didn't offer any new hints toward additional Quantitative Easing, but the market began to rebound mid-way through the Fed Chairman's testimony. It is notable that the recovery in markets yesterday coincided with Bernanke's acknowledgment of a greater risk for deflation, which is supportive of hopes for more QE. This morning, futures are giving back some of yesterday's gains, with a 0.3% decline at current levels.

The flow of earnings releases has picked up since yesterday's close. Intel (INTC 25.25, -0.11) is slightly lower in the pre-market after reporting above-consensus earnings, guiding Q3 revenue in-line and lowering its FY12 guidance range, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment. Yahoo! (YHOO 15.55, -0.05) is little changed following a penny beat on EPS on roughly in-line revenue, which followed yesterday's announcement its new CEO. This morning, Bank of America (BAC 8.05, +0.13) is higher by 2% after reporting better than expected earnings on revenues that came in light of consensus. BAC cited higher mortgage banking income, along with a solid contribution from the wealth management and corporate and commercial banking businesses. Additionally, EMC (EMC 24.20, +1.48) and VMware (VMW 85.50, +5.31) are trading higher by 6% and 7%, respectively, after announcing management changes between the two companies along with Q2 guidance.

In non-earnings news, VIVUS (VVUS 31.26, +4.80) is up 18% after receiving FDA approval for its obesity drug Qsymia. As part of the approval of Qsymia, VIVUS is committed to conduct post-marketing studies. Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA 10.15, -0.90) is lower by 7%, as Qsymia will compete directly with Arena's recently approved obesity drug, Belviq.

Foreign markets were mixed overnight. European averages are showing modest gains at their mid-day, with Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE both up 0.1%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.1%, while China's Shanghai added 0.4%.

Later this morning Housing Starts and Building Permits data will be released at 8:30 ET.

06:32 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.00.

06:32 am : Nikkei...8726.74...-28.30...-0.30%. Hang Seng...19239.88...-215.50...-1.10%.

06:32 am : FTSE...5634.37...+5.30...+0.10%. DAX...6587.28...+10.30...+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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