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)
Phone: +1 708 572-4885
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
questions@thestrategylab.com (24/7)
http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


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

Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini TF ($TF_F) futures @ $1,440.00 dollars or +14.40 points, Emini ES ($ES_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Light Crude Oil CL ($CL_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Gold GC ($GC_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points and EuroFX 6E ($6E_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.0000 ticks. Total Profit @ $1,440.00 dollars

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
Light Crude Oil CL (WTI) Futures: 1 tick or 0.01 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
Gold GC Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $10.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup
EuroFX 6E Futures: 1 tick or 0.0001 = $12.50 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup

In addition, all of my trades were posted real-time in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab chat room. You can read today's price action trading information about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit) as the trade traversed to its completion. Also, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), Tutorial Chapters 2 & 3, WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility. Its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=129&t=1774


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). I'm primarily a day trader because it suits my personal lifestyle but I do occasionally swing trade and position trade. Simply, my trade method is applicable for position trading, swing trading and day trading.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. Members and I use the chat room to post WRB Analysis commentary, real-time trades and to post anything else related to trading. The chat room helps me tremendously in my own trading because I use it to document (journal) general volatility analysis involving WRB Analysis so that I can easily review at a later date my thoughts as I interacted with the markets...info I can not get from my broker statements. Also, this is not a signal calling chat room where a head trader tells you when to buy or sell and I do not have the time/energy/resources to manage a signal calling chat room. Access instructions for chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

Price Action Analysis via 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

Trade Signal Strategies via 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 (answering your questions) prior to purchasing the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Trading Plan Daily Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=236&t=2302

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

Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/BOE/IMF actions or any important global economic events (e.g. Eurozone, MarketWatch.com) that had an impact on today's price action in many trading instruments I monitor during the trading day. Simply, I'm a strong believer that key market events causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility resulting in trade opportunities (swing points and strong continuation price actions) that reach profit targets. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events, intermarket analysis (e.g. Forex EurUsd, EuroFX 6E futures, Gold GC futures, Light Crude Oil (WTI) CL & Brent Oil futures, Eurex DAX futures, Euronext FTSE100 futures, Emini ES futures, Emini TF futures, Treasury ZB futures and U.S. Dollar Index futures) while using WRB Analysis from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context for price action trading before the appearance of my technical analysis trade signals. Therefore, I maintain these archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past involving key market events to help better understand my trade decisions (day trading, swing trading, position trading)...something I can not get from my broker statements alone. Further, most financial websites remove (delete) their archives after a few years to make room for new content. Therefore, I maintain my own archives of the news content so that I have it available for me when financial websites no longer archives their content.

Stocks: Another Tuesday Surge


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

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors love strong earnings, and they love mergers and acquisitions. Tuesday, they got a dose of both.

The Dow was up by 100 points for much of the trading session, but finished with a 65 point gain. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also advanced as investors welcomed quarterly results from several big companies and news of mergers in the pharmaceutical industry.

Today marks the sixth Tuesday in a row that the Dow has ended the day higher.

After the bell, it was a tale of two biotechnology stocks. Gilead Sciences (GILD, Fortune 500) blew past earnings estimates, while Amgen (AMGN, Fortune 500) failed to live up to analysts' expectations. The biotech sector has taken a beating in recent weeks after experiencing a run up early in the year.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX)soared 7% after the company reported earnings late Monday that beat expectations and showed strong subscription growth. It also said it would increase its monthly fee for new customers in some countries later this quarter.

"$NFLX Glad I held thru earnings. I have complete confidence now that this will be a tremendous company for years to come. #cuttingthecord," said runnertroy on StockTwits.

Related: Netflix to increase subscription prices

Motorcycle maker Harley Davidson (HOG, Fortune 500) was also cruising away in Tuesday trading. Its shares rose over 6% after a strong earnings report this morning.

Outside of earnings, a mega pharmaceutical deal emerged late Monday. Shares in Botox maker Allergan (AGN, Fortune 500)surged 15% after activist investor Bill Ackman (Allergan's largest shareholder) said he approved of Valeant Pharmaceutical (VRX)'s bid to buy the company. Allergan had already gained 6% on Monday.

"$AGN Well, looks like Bill Ackman increased his net worth over night...Not bad for a day's work," quipped TechTrader17 on StockTwits.

And Tesla (TSLA) spiked 7% after a report by the Wall Street Journal cited CEO Elon Musk talking about his company's plan to build a support network in China. Musk also said that Panasonic would be Tesla's partner in a planned battery gigafactory in the United States. Tesla has had a stratospheric gain of around 330% in the past year.

"$TSLA I dont even understand this anymore, the strength here is almost impossible level," said StockTwits trader jayzalowitz.

In other news Tuesday, Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500)shares bounced after the cable provider reported a 30% jump in profit for the first quarter. The CEO attributed the gains to the Sochi Olympics, which were broadcast via NBC.

Fast food giant McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) announced lower sales, especially in the U.S. as the company underperformed expectations. The stock ended lower.

Aerospace company Lockheed Martin (LMT, Fortune 500)also reported a year-over-year gain in quarterly income, but shares declined 3%.

European markets finished mostly higher. European pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF)and Novartis (NVS) announced a multi-billion dollar deal that will see the firms swap some business units and combine others.

Asian markets ended with mixed results, though the moves both up and down were relatively modest.





4:15 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices strung together a daylong rally on Tuesday, giving the S&P 500 its sixth consecutive advance. Some selling during the final hour of action pressured the indices from their highs, but they still ended with the bulk of their gains. The benchmark index added 0.4% with eight sectors finishing in the green, while the Nasdaq (+1.0%) outperformed throughout the session.

Although the stock market began the day on a flat note, the major averages quickly took the lead from two heavily-weighted sectors-consumer discretionary (+0.8%) and health care (+1.0%)-that displayed strength out of the gate.

The health care sector spent the entire session in the lead due, in part, to the relative strength of biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 234.72, +7.38) jumped 3.3% to post its third consecutive gain. M&A activity also contributed to the sector's outperformance as Allergan (AGN 163.65, +21.65) surged 15.3% after Valeant (VRX 135.41, +9.40) proposed a merger for $48.30 in cash and 0.83 shares of Valeant for each share of Allergan.

Elsewhere, the discretionary space was underpinned by a solid 7.0% gain in the shares of Netflix (NFLX 372.90, +24.41), which spiked in reaction to above-consensus earnings. The remainder of the sector held up nearly as well with homebuilders (ITB +0.8%) and retailers rallying (XRT +1.2%), while quick-service restaurants appeared unaffected by disappointing earnings from McDonald's (MCD 99.32, -0.35). The fast food giant reported bottom-line results $0.03 below the Capital IQ consensus estimate as comparable sales in the U.S. declined 1.7% during the first quarter.

Among other earnings of note, Dow components Travelers (TRV 86.89, +0.49) and United Technologies (UTX 119.19, +0.89) reported better than expected earnings, while their respective sectors ended in mixed fashion. Financials (+0.7%) settled among the leaders after lagging through the first half of action, whereas the industrial sector (+0.01%) kept pace with the S&P 500 during early afternoon action, but slumped into the close.

Even though the industrial sector ended well below its session high, that was not the case with transports as the Dow Jones Transportation Average advanced 0.6% to a fresh all-time high. Delta Air Lines (DAL 34.95, +1.01) gained 3.0% ahead of its quarterly report, which is expected ahead of Wednesday's opening bell.

On the downside, consumer staples (-0.1%) and energy (-0.2%) were the only two sectors ending in the red.

The Treasury market displayed gains overnight, but slumped shortly after the New York open, before reclaiming its losses into the close. The 10-yr yield ended at 2.72%.

Participation was on the light side as just over 665 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data featured just two reports:
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Stocks Flirt With All-Time Highs on Earnings, Deals News TheStreet.com
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S&P 500 positive for year as stocks rise for 3rd day in row: stock market live blog recap MarketWatch

Existing home sales fell 0.2% in March to 4.59 million SAAR from an unrevised 4.60 million SAAR in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected existing home sales to remain at 4.60 million SAAR. Over the past three months, existing home sales have averaged only 4.603 million SAAR, down from an average of 4.94 million SAAR in Q4 2013. Initially, the decline in sales was attributed to extreme weather conditions at the beginning of 2014. However, weather conditions returned more or less to normal in March and sales failed to rebound. A more likely explanation for the recent downward trend is that rising prices combined with higher mortgage rates have caused affordability conditions to weaken. As a result, first-time home buyers, who are needed to drive stable growth, only accounted for 30% of total purchases. In March 2012, first time buyers accounted for 33% of total sales.
The February Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased 0.6%, which followed a revised uptick of 0.4% observed during the prior month.

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET and New Home Sales for March (Briefing.com consensus 455K) will be reported at 10:00 ET.

S&P 500 +1.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.4% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -0.4% YTD
Russell 2000 -0.6% YTD

3:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

June gold fell for a third consecutive session after pulling back from a session high of $1293.10 per ounce set in early morning action. It dipped to $1275.80 per ounce, its lowest level since early February 2014, and settled with a 0.6% loss at $1281.10 per ounce.
May silver touched a session high of $19.52 per ounce moments after floor trade opened but slipped into the red and to a session low of $19.30 per ounce in late morning action. It managed to rise back above the unchanged line and settled with a 0.1% gain at $19.36 per ounce.
June crude oil traded lower ahead of tomorrow's inventory data. It fell deeper into the red after retreating from its session high of $102.70 per barrel set moments after pit trade began. The energy component brushed a session low of $101.47 per barrel in late morning action and settled with a 1.9% loss at $101.67 per barrel.
May natural gas, on the other hand, traded higher after lifting from its session low of $4.69 per MMBtu in morning action. It eventually settled at its session high of $4.74 per MMBtu, booking a gain of 1.1%.

3:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades higher by 0.6% with one hour remaining in today's session. With the first quarter earnings season heating up, participants received a fair share of earnings this morning, while another batch awaits after today's closing bell.

Most notably, market participants will hear from AT&T (T 36.39, +0.33), Amgen (AMGN 119.50, +2.48), Gilead (GILD 72.92, +1.32), and Yum! Brands (YUM 77.54, +1.53), while the list of companies scheduled to report tomorrow morning will be headlined by Delta Air Lines (DAL 35.04, +1.10), and Dow components Boeing (BA 128.85, +1.03) and Procter & Gamble (PG 81.46, -0.11).

2:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Quiet afternoon continues with the major averages hovering near their highs. Today's gain has extended the S&P 500's 2014 advance to 1.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 remain in the red. Of the three, the small-cap Russell 2000 represents the weakest index, down 0.4% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq and Dow are both lower by 0.2% so far in 2014.

Yesterday's final trading volume of 590 million shares marked the lowest daily total in over a month and today's session is not expected to produce a much higher total considering less than 400 million shares have changed hands at the NYSE so far today.

2:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Stock indices remain near their best levels of the day with the S&P 500 trading higher by 0.7%. As a result of the continued climb, the energy sector (-0.03%) is now the only group remaining in the red, but not by much.

Elsewhere, consumer staples (+0.1%) and utilities (+0.2%) have climbed into the green after spending the first half of action below their respective flat lines. The two countercyclical groups hover near the bottom of today's leaderboard, while telecom services (+0.5%) also lag; however, the last defensively-oriented sector-health care (+1.5%)-remains in the lead.

With stocks on highs, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 12.97, -0.28) is nearing its 2014 low of 11.81% that was set on January 15.

1:25 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The bulls continue to dictate things as the major indices maintain a posture near their highs for the day. The move has been underpinned by quality leadership from the health care, financial, and transport sectors.

The financial sector (+0.8%) lagged yesterday, but it is outperforming today. Not surprisingly, the investment banks are exhibiting relative strength following a rash of M&A activity headlines out of the pharmaceutical industry today. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 56.04, +1.01), Citigroup (C 48.45, +0.61), Goldman Sachs (GS 160.65, +2.85), and Morgan Stanley (MS 31.34, +0.36) are all up better than 1.0%.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.9%), meanwhile, has been a relative strength leader during the market's rebound from last Tuesday. To wit, the average is up 4.8% over the last five days versus a 2.9% gain for the S&P 500. That's a huge move, yet it still pales in comparison to the 8.0% gain in the NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK 2557.34, +80.33) over the same period.

Separately, the $32 bln 2-yr note auction drew a high yield of 0.447% on a 3.35 bid-to-cover ratio that was in-line with the prior 12-auction average.

12:55 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover near their highs at midday, with the Nasdaq (+1.0%) trading ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.6%).

Although today's session began on a quiet note, the key indices rallied after taking the lead from early strength in consumer discretionary (+1.1%) and health care (+1.5%) sectors. Given the early gains in two influential groups, the remainder of the market followed in somewhat reluctant fashion. At this juncture, the financial sector (+0.7%) is the only other outperformer.

The health care space jumped out of the gate amid some noteworthy M&A activity. Specifically, Allergan (AGN 164.10, +22.10) trades up 15.6% after Valeant (VRX 133.37, +7.36) proposed a merger for $48.30 in cash and 0.83 shares of Valeant for each share of Allergan. In addition, the sector has also drawn strength from biotechnology as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 235.15, +7.81) works on its third consecutive advance.

Elsewhere, the discretionary space has received early support from the shares of Netflix (NFLX 366.16, +17.67), which trades higher by 5.1% after beating earnings expectations. Including today's gain, Netflix has added 12.6% since closing below its 200-day moving average on April 15. Other areas of the discretionary sector like retailers (XRT +1.4%) and homebuilders (ITB +1.4%) also display solid gains, while quick-service restaurant names have been largely unaffected by a bottom-line miss reported by McDonald's (MCD 99.52, -0.15).

On the fixed income side, Treasuries retreated through the first hour of action before reclaiming the bulk of their losses. Currently, the 10-yr note is lower by three ticks with its yield up one basis point at 2.73%.

Today's economic data featured just two reports:

Existing home sales fell 0.2% in March to 4.59 million SAAR from an unrevised 4.60 million SAAR in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected existing home sales to remain at 4.60 million SAAR. Over the past three months, existing home sales have averaged only 4.603 million SAAR, down from an average of 4.94 million SAAR in Q4 2013. Initially, the decline in sales was attributed to extreme weather conditions at the beginning of 2014. However, weather conditions returned more or less to normal in March and sales failed to rebound. A more likely explanation for the recent downward trend is that rising prices combined with higher mortgage rates have caused affordability conditions to weaken. As a result, first-time home buyers, who are needed to drive stable growth, only accounted for 30% of total purchases. In March 2012, first time buyers accounted for 33% of total sales.
The February Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased 0.6%, which followed a revised uptick of 0.4% observed during the prior month.

12:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have inched to fresh highs, with the Nasdaq (+1.1%) pushing its gain past the 1.0% mark.

Consumer discretionary (+1.2%) and health care sectors (+1.5%) were the only two groups trading ahead of the broader market until the past 30 minutes, but the financial sector (+0.7%) has since joined the outperformers. Large cap components trade higher across the board, while insurer Travelers (TRV 86.40, 0.00) is flat after beating its Capital IQ consensus estimate by $0.80 and announcing a 10% dividend increase to $0.55/share.

Interestingly, equity indices have pushed to new highs while Treasuries have also strengthened from their recent levels. The benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by one basis point at 2.73% after hovering near 2.75% about two hours ago.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices remain near their highs with the Nasdaq (+1.0%) trading well ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.5%).

The Nasdaq continues outperforming other indices thanks to solid gains in biotechnology and other momentum names. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 234.48, +7.14) is higher by 3.1%, while growth names have benefitted from Facebook (FB 62.80, +1.56) receiving an upgrade at Credit Suisse and above-consensus results reported by Netflix (NFLX 369.85, +21.36).

Although smaller tech names outperform, that is not the case with the largest sector components. Apple (AAPL 529.59, -1.58), IBM (IBM 192.02, -0.25), and Intel (INTC 26.69, -0.26) all hover in the red.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.5%) has extended to a fresh high, but outside of consumer discretionary (+1.2%) and health care (+1.2%) sectors, most other groups continue playing catch up.

The health care space remains supported by biotechnology (IBB +2.9%), while the discretionary sector has received broad support. Homebuilders sport gains with the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 23.76, +0.25) up 1.1%, while retailers have had a comparable showing. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 83.13, +0.96) trades higher by 1.2%.

Also of note, the discretionary sector has been boosted by shares of Netflix (NFLX 370.50, +22.01), which trade higher by 6.3% after reporting above-consensus quarterly earnings.

On the downside, McDonald's (MCD 99.35, -0.32) holds a modest loss in reaction to its bottom-line miss.

10:55 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices hover near their session highs after reaching these levels roughly an hour ago. However, it is worth noting that only two sectors-consumer discretionary (+1.0%) and health care (+1.1%)-trade ahead of the broader market, while the other groups lag.

In large part, the health care sector owes some of its strength to the biotech industry group. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 233.74, +6.40) is higher by 2.9% as it looks for its third consecutive gain.

On the downside, consumer staples (-0.2%), energy (-0.2%), and utilities (-0.4%) display modest losses.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Despite weakness in the dollar index this morning, gold, silver, copper and crude oil futures sold off
Gold, silver and crude oil are currently at session lows, which were hit in recent action this morning
June crude hit a new high for the year of $103.82/barrel during pit trading yesterday. Also, June crude closed at a new high for the year yesterday.
Profit taking is one catalyst pulling crude oil futures lower this morning, which are currently down 1.4% at $102.22/barrel
June gold is currently -0.4% at $1283/oz, May silver is -0.1% at $14.34/oz
Natural gas futures have put in a small rally this morning and hit a new session high in recent trade. May nat gas is now +0.9% at $4.74/MMBtu
Copper futures have also rallied in recent trade. The May contract is now +0.1% at $3.05/lb

10:00 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has extended its advance to 0.3% thanks to consumer discretionary (+0.7%) and health care (+1.0%) sectors building on their early gains. After the two groups, the industrial sector (+0.4%) is the next strongest performer as the Dow Jones Transportation Average trades up 0.5%.

Just reported, March existing home sales hit an annualized rate of 4.59 million units, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 4.60 million. The pace for March was slightly down from the prior month's unrevised rate of 4.60 million units.

9:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages began the day on a slightly higher note, with the Nasdaq (+0.4%) leading the early climb. The S&P 500, meanwhile, trades up 0.2% with four sectors showing early gains.

The early strength of the Nasdaq is due in part to a 7.3% gain in the shares of Netflix (NFLX 374.02, +25.53), which are also giving a boost to the consumer discretionary sector (+0.6%).

Outside of discretionary shares, the health care sector (+0.7%) is another early outperformer. Allergan (AGN 162.91, +20.91) trades up 14.7% after Valeant (VRX 131.93, +5.92) proposed a merger for $48.30 in cash and 0.83 shares of Valeant for each share of Allergan.

9:12 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: flat. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.50. The stock market is on track to begin the Tuesday session on a flat note as index futures trade little changed with respect to fair value.

Overnight action was largely uneventful, but a recent headline indicated the Bank of Japan is likely to forecast 2.0% inflation for fiscal year 2015-2016, which would speak against additional easing in the near term. The report gave a boost to the yen, pressuring the dollar/yen pair from its session high into the 102.45 area.

Outside of the recent move in the yen, pre-market action has featured several quarterly reports that were mostly better than expected. On that note, Comcast (CMCSA 50.35, +0.47), Travelers (TRV 86.90, +0.50), Netflix (NFLX 375.65, +27.16), and United Technologies (UTX 119.35, +1.05) are all expected to show early gains after reporting above-consensus results. Elsewhere, McDonald's (MCD 100.25, +0.58) missed bottom-line estimates, but the stock is on track for a higher open.

Treasuries display slim losses to start the day, with the 10-yr yield up one basis point at 2.73%.

The Existing Home Sales report for March (Briefing.com consensus 4.60 million) will be released at 10:00 ET.

9:04 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.20. The S&P 500 futures trade right below fair value.

The February Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased 0.6%, which followed a revised uptick of 0.4% observed during the prior month.

8:29 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.50. The S&P 500 futures trade one point below fair value.

Asian markets ended a quiet Tuesday session on a mixed note. In news, Reuters reported that Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Company will raise its yen-denominated bond holdings during the upcoming year.

In economic data, Japan's Leading Index improved to 108.9 from 108.5 (expected 108.5); Hong Kong's CPI and Unemployment rate held steady at their respective 3.9% year-over-year and 3.1%; and Australia's CB Leading Index ticked up 0.3% (prior 0.2%).

Japan's Nikkei lost 0.9%, slumping into the close with exporters on the defensive. Alps Electric and Konica Minolta both lost near 4.0%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%, ending little changed. Large cap names lagged with Lenovo Group and Bank of China falling3.3% and 1.4%, respectively.
China's Shanghai Composite posted a modest gain of 0.3% with help from financials. China Vanke advanced 1.0%.

Major European indices trade near their best levels of the session with Germany's DAX (+1.5%) in the lead. There was no economic data reported today. Among news of note, European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure said the central bank has room to cut rates and that euro appreciation has factored into low eurozone inflation.

France's CAC is higher by 0.9% with insurer AXA in the lead. The stock trades higher by 2.7%. On the downside, Danone is the weakest performer, down 0.9%.
Great Britain's FTSE trades up 1.0% as most components display gains. Drug makers lead after AstraZeneca held buyout talks with Pfizer. AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Shire hold gains between 4.3% and 7.0%.
Germany's DAX holds an advance of 1.5%. Bayer and Merck lead with respective gains of 2.8% and 2.6%. Adidas lags, down 0.6%.

8:01 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.50. U.S. equity futures hover below their flat lines despite upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures trade roughly two points below fair value.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, and Japan's Nikkei -0.9%.
In economic data:
Japan's Leading Index improved to 108.9 from 108.5 (expected 108.5).
Hong Kong's CPI and Unemployment rate held steady at their respective 3.9% year-over-year and 3.1%.
Australia's CB Leading Index ticked up 0.3% (prior 0.2%).
In news:
Reuters reported that Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Company will raise its yen-denominated bond holdings during the upcoming year.

Major European indices trade near their best levels of the session. France's CAC +0.9%, Great Britain's FTSE +1.0%, and Germany's DAX +1.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.8% and Spain's IBEX +1.0%.
There was no economic data reported.
Among news of note:
European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure said the central bank has room to cut rates and that euro appreciation has factored into low eurozone inflation.

In U.S. corporate news:

Allergan (AGN 171.53, +29.53): +20.5% after Valeant (VRX 141.00, +14.99) proposed a merger for $48.30 in cash and 0.83 shares of Valeant for each share of Allergan.
Comcast (CMCSA 50.72, +0.84) +1.7% after beating on earnings and revenue.
Harley-Davidson (HOG 72.00, +4.46): +6.6% following its above-consensus results.
Netflix (NFLX 373.00, +24.51): +7.0% after beating earnings estimates on in-line revenue.
Philips (PHG 32.10, -2.49): -7.2% after missing revenue estimates.
Travelers (TRV 87.00, +0.60): +0.7% following its bottom-line beat and 10.0% dividend hike to $0.55.

The February FHFA Housing Price Index will be reported at 9:00 ET and the Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 4.60 million) report for March will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

6:47 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -0.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.50.

6:46 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...14388.77...-123.60...-0.90%. Hang Seng...22730.68...-29.60...-0.10%.

6:46 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6694.24...+69.00...+1.00%. DAX...9513.60...+121.90...+1.30%.

Special thanks to Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Reuters 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

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