TheStrategyLab.com Price Action Trading Support Forum

Price Action Trade Results of M.A. Perry
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no technical indicators)
wrbtrader (more info about me): http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm & http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=850
Free Chat Room: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164
Archive Real-Time Chat Logs (timestamp, entries/exits, position size): http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewforum.php?f=20
Users Reviews, Accolades (Testimonials): http://www.thestrategylab.com/Accolades.htm
Review of TheStrategyLab: http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=3167 & http://www.thestrategylab.com/thestrategylab-reviews.htm
Price Action Trading: http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm
TheStrategyLab Business Hours: 8am - 5pm est (Mon - Fri)
Telephone: +1 708 572-4885
wrbanalysis@gmail.com (24/7)
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Twitter @ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader (24/7)


Price Action Trade Performance for Today: Emini RTY ($RTY_F) futures @ $0.00 dollars or +0.00 points, Emini ES ($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 @ $0.00 dollars

Russell 2000 Emini RTY Futures: 1 tick or 0.10 = $5.00 dollars and there's more contract information @ CMEGroup (formerly as TF @ 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

Today's Trade Log & Price Action Analysis is archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=2798

All of my trades are posted real-time at the above link for today's archive chat log in the timestamp ##TheStrategyLab free chat room via the user name wrbtrader for anyone to do a real-time review (you must be a member of the chat room for a real-time review). Although the trades and price action analysis are posted by me and other users of WRB Analysis in real-time...review of TheStrategyLab is that this is not a signal calling chat room nor is this a live trading room that has a head trader telling you what to do. I'm the moderator (I keep the peace between members) and my own live trades are posted within 3.2 seconds on average after the trade confirmation in my broker trade execution platform via an auto script to minimize delays in posting of my trades. You can review today's price action trade journal about my trades (e.g. time, price entry, contract size, price exit, market analysis) as the trade traversed to its completion. In addition, sometimes I'll post real-time trading tips in the free ##TheStrategyLab chat room involving WRBs, WRB Hidden GAPs, Key Market Events (KME), WRB Zones, Reaction Highs/Lows, Contracting Volatility or Expanding Volatility...all key concepts from the WRB Analysis free study guide even though the free chat room is not design to be an education chat room because the education is only performed at the forums in the private threads.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. The free chat room is not a signal calling trading room nor is it a live trading room with a head trader even though members of the chat room are posting their trades & market analysis in real-time. I do not mentor (never have) although I get many requests to do mentoring. There is education but only in members private threads at the forum involving members asking questions (help) about their own trading. Thus, the primary purpose of TheStrategyLab free chat room is for you to use as your trade journal so that you can use as valuable feedback about your own trading and for members to help each other...as in more eyes on the market. In addition, we highly recommend that you use the free chat room with a professional trade journal software like tradebench.com, edgewonk.com, tradervue.com, tradingdiarypro.com, stocktickr.com, journalsqrd.com, tradingdiary.pro, mxprofit.com or trademetria.com because they can provide you with the quantitative statistical analysis of your trading. You can then download your results and post them in your private thread at the forum.

Also, you can use TheStrategyLab free chat room to ask real-time WRB Analysis questions. Yet, please do not post your quantitative statistical analysis, brokerage statements in the free chat room. Instead, its highly recommended that you only post that particular information in your private thread for security reasons. Yet, if you want to post that type of information at another website, blog or chat room...that's your choice.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is on IRC via users request because the IRC servers are located in many different countries, software in many different languages, many different mobile apps, many different types of social media software can be used to log in along with IRC being easier to moderate via script codes when trouble makers, spammers and trolls show up. I'm the moderator of the free chat room via the user name wrbtrader. Thus, I keep the peace between members without hesitation in removing problematic traders so that members can peacefully post their market observations, trades, WRB Analysis commentary about the markets without being trolled or harassed.

TheStrategyLab free chat room is not for traders looking for someone to hold their hands and tell them when to buy or sell nor do we allow the free chat room to be used for mentoring because we do not offer a mentoring service. The purpose of TheStrategyLab is for you to post your real-time analysis or trades so that you can review as feedback for any trading day to provide valuable information about the results in your broker statements. If you join the free chat room and then you decide to not post any WRB Analysis about the price action or you decide to not post your trades or you decide to be silent (lurk without saying a word about today's markets)...you're not using the free chat room properly to help improve your trading.

In fact, we do not want silent (lurkers) traders to join the free chat room unless they are actively posting at the forum about their trading after the markets close. Access instructions for the free chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164


Also, posted below for you to review 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.

Price Action Analysis via Advance WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters @ 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

Analysis -----> Trade Signals

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). All WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 1 - 12 are included in the purchase of the Volatility Trading Report (VTR).

Daily Trading Plan Routine @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=350&t=3706 contains brief information about trading plan, market context, brokers, trading time frames, position size management and other discussions.

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

Market Context Summaries

The below summaries by Bloomberg, Briefing, 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 RTY 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 for easy review 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 PnL 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.


click on the above image to view today's price action of key markets discussed by members of TheStrategyLab

The Market at 04:30PM ET
Dow: -122.91… | Nasdaq: -33.60… | S&P: -7.69…
NASDAQ Vol: 1.74 bln… Adv: 1033… Dec: 833…
NYSE Vol: 718.2 mln… Adv: 1265… Dec: 1647…

Moving the Market

JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) sell off despite reporting better-than-expected Q1 earnings; financial sector underperforms

Investors still cautious as they await U.S.-led strike on Syria

Energy shares rally yet again as the price of crude oil continues to climb; WTI crude futures are up more than 8.0% for the week

Sector Watch
Strong: Energy, Utilities, Consumer Staples, Real Estate
Weak: Financials, Consumer Discretionary

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks slipped on Friday, ending a positive week on a disappointing note, as some geopolitical angst prompted investors to take some money off the table ahead of the weekend. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5% -- trimming their gains for the week to 1.8%-2.8%.

The major averages started the session modestly higher following better-than-expected first quarter earnings results from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM 110.30, -3.07, -2.7%), Wells Fargo (WFC 50.89, -1.81, -3.4%), and Citigroup (C 71.01, -1.12, -1.6%). However, after a short stint in the green, the financial sector moved lower, bringing the broader market with it. Volatility picked up in the final stretch, with the major averages dropping to new lows before bouncing back, as investors contemplated the likelihood of a U.S.-led strike on Syria over the weekend.

President Trump has promised that the U.S. will be striking the Syrian government, which is accused of carrying out a chemical attack against the rebel-held town of Douma last Saturday, but the president has intentionally made the timing of the attack unclear. Adding to the uncertainty, an attack would likely put the U.S. at odds with Russia, who supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has vowed to shoot down any missiles fired at Syria.

The energy sector (+1.1%) helped keep losses in check on Friday, extending its weekly gain to 6.0%, as oil prices rallied for the fifth day in a row. West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 0.3% to $67.26 per barrel -- their best level in more than three years -- benefiting, once again, from the uncertainty surrounding the oil-rich Middle East. The utilities (+0.7%), consumer staples (+0.5%), and real estate (+0.5%) sectors also advanced, but the seven remaining groups finished in the red.

Unsurprisingly, the financial sector (-1.6%) finished at the bottom of the sector standings following the negative reaction to the big bank earnings. The consumer discretionary space (-0.6%) also underperformed, but no other group lost more than 0.3%. Within the top-weighted technology space (-0.3%), chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO 246.94, +7.51) outperformed, adding 3.1%, following news that the company's board has authorized the repurchase of up to $12 billion of common stock.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries finished Friday mixed, flattening the 2s10s spread to 45 basis points -- its lowest level since 2007. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note slipped one basis point to 2.82%, while the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note climbed two basis points to 2.37%.

Reviewing Friday's economic data, which was limited to the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February:

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April declined to 97.8 (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) from 101.4 in March.
The key takeaway from the report is that the monthly drop was due to worries about trade policies and expectations for rising interest rates.
The February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings decreased to 6.052 million from a revised 6.228 million (from 6.312 million) in January.

On Monday, investors will receive Retail Sales for March, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for April, Business Inventories for February, and the NAHB Housing Market Index for April.

Nasdaq Composite: +2.9% YTD
Russell 2000: +0.9% YTD
S&P 500: -0.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.5% YTD

Week In Review: Light Volume Overshadows Gains

Wall Street had a good week in terms of gains, but volume was light, pointing to a lack of conviction among investors -- who spent the week digesting a steady stream of headlines. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the major indices higher, adding 2.8%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2.0% and 1.8%, respectively.

The stock market began the week on a positive note following weekend interviews from several White House officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, that helped to alleviate fears that the U.S. is barreling towards a tit-for-tat trade war with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping helped further improve investor sentiment with a speech at the Boao Forum on Tuesday, saying that he plans to "significantly" cut tariffs on imported automobiles, reduce duties on other imported goods, and improve the intellectual property rights of foreign firms.

Moving to the Middle East, geopolitical tensions were heightened following a suspected chemical attack from the Syrian government on the rebel-held town of Douma that killed at least 40 people over the weekend. The situation escalated even further on Wednesday morning when Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warned that it would shoot down any missiles fired at Syria -- to which U.S. President Donald Trump replied "get ready Russia, because they will be coming."

As of this writing, the U.S. has yet to strike the Syrian government, but it could happen at any moment. The attack was first thought to be imminent, but President Trump muddled that belief on Thursday by tweeting that it could happen "very soon or not so soon at all!"

In addition to the situation in Syria, a missile attack aimed at Saudi Arabia by pro-Iranian rebels in Yemen served to further escalate tensions in the region. Saudi air defense forces intercepted one missile over the capital Riyadh on Wednesday, while two others were intercepted over the southern areas of Jazan and Najran.

With all the concerning headlines out of the oil-rich Middle East, traders pushed oil prices substantially higher this week, betting that the tensions will eventually lead to a slowdown in production. West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged 8.4% to $67.26 per barrel, closing Friday at their highest level in more than three years. The S&P 500's energy sector benefited from the jump in oil prices, finishing at the top of the week's sector standings by a comfortable margin; the group added 6.0%.

In Washington, Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on Capitol Hill this week, answering questions regarding the company's Cambridge Analytica data scandal and Russia's alleged use of Facebook to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Mr. Zuckerberg was grilled for 10 hours by nearly 100 lawmakers, but the market seemed satisfied with his answers. Facebook shares climbed 5.3% over the two days of testimony, eventually finishing the week with a gain of 4.7%.

On Friday, big banks kicked off the first quarter earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) all beating profit estimates on in-line revenues. However, shares of the three lenders, and the broader financial sector, sold off in the wake of the reports. The financial sector settled the week with a gain of 1.0%, which placed it in the middle of the sector standings. The lightly-weighted utilities and real estate groups finished at the back of the pack, losing a little more than 1.0% apiece.

Investors received the minutes from the March FOMC meeting this week, but the report contained few surprises. Some key inflationary data was also released this week -- namely the CPI readings for March -- but was met with a largely muted response from the market. In short, the consumer prices report showed a firming (though not scary) inflation trend that will keep the Federal Reserve wedded to its tightening bias and its belief that at least two more rate hikes are warranted this year.

The CME FedWatch Tool still anticipates that the next rate hike will occur at the June FOMC meeting with an implied probability of 95.0% (up from 85.2% last week). The market also still believes there will be a total of three rate hikes in 2018, but the chances for a fourth hike increased to 36.8% (from 26.3% last week).
Dow: -122.91… | Nasdaq: -33.60… | S&P: -7.69…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1033/833. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1265/1647.

03:55PM ET
[BRIEFING.COM]

Commodities ending the day higher
Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are +0.2% at 89.2762
The dollar index is -0.01% at 89.48
Energy:
May WTI crude oil futures settled +$0.26 at $67.34/barrel on the day
In other energy, May natural gas settled $0.04 higher at $2.73/MMBtu
Metals:
June gold settled +$5.70 at $1347.80/oz, while May silver settled +$0.18 to $16.66/oz
May copper settled +$0.01 at $3.07/lb

Dow: -108.76… | Nasdaq: -25.50… | S&P: -6.58…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1101/1797. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1258/1649.

02:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are still hovering a tick beneath yesterday's closing levels moving into the final hour of trading.

Four of eleven S&P sectors are trading in the green, with energy (+1.0%), consumer staples (+0.5%), and utilities (+0.9%) leading the charge. The financial sector (-1.5%) is hovering -- unchallenged -- at the bottom of the leaderboard, and the consumer discretionary sector (-0.5%) also underperforms.

Looking ahead, several notable companies will be reporting their quarterly results on Monday, including both Bank of America (BAC 29.88, -0.78) and Charles Schwab (SCHW 51.11, -0.62) in the morning and Netflix (NFLX 311.97, +2.72) in the afternoon.
Dow: -109.00… | Nasdaq: -20.14… | S&P: -5.37…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1070/1284. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1257/1621.

02:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are little changed since our last update.

Looking ahead, investors will receive a few notable pieces of economic data next week; having declined three months in a row, investors will eye closely the March Retail Sales and Retail Sales Ex-Auto reports on Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET. On Tuesday morning, expect the Housing Starts and Building Permits readings at 8:30 a.m. ET and the Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization readings for March at 9:15 a.m. ET. Mortgage Apps and the Fed's Beige Book will be released on Wednesday, followed by Initial Claims and Continuing Claims on Thursday morning.

In currencies, the U.S. Dollar Index is unchanged at 89.77. The greenback sees measured weakness, down about 0.1% against both the euro (1.2332) and the pound (1.4243). The buck gains ground against the yen, up about 0.1% at 107.45 in recent trade.
Dow: -68.96… | Nasdaq: -13.83… | S&P: +1.96…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1102/1343. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1311/1540.

01:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are bumping up against their 50-day simple moving averages in recent trade, yet even so, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are on just the other side of yesterday's close, posting "gains" of 0.04% apiece.

Gold futures recently settled about 0.5% higher at $1,347.90/oz, taking the week's gain in the yellow metal at just a hair under 1%.

Gold stocks have also recouped a portion of yesterday's selloff with names like Gold Fields (GFI 3.87, +0.10, +2.8%) and IAMGOLD (IAG 5.63, +0.32, +6.1%) trading ahead of the broader market while Eldorado Gold (EGO 0.93, -0.05, -5.2%) makes it back to back sessions in the red. GFI and IAG are enjoying gains after Tier 1 firm BofA/Merrill upgraded the names to "Buy" ratings, while EGO is feeling the wrath of a downgrade by BofA to an "Underperform" rating.
Dow: -29.51… | Nasdaq: +2.12… | S&P: +1.58…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1217/1294. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1461/1397.

01:35PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices have seen a modest uptick in recent trading, and are currently trading near unchanged levels.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that JP Morgan (JPM 110.19, -3.18), Boeing (BA 331.41, -6.07), & Goldman Sachs (GS 257.96, -1.63) are underperforming. JP Morgan is seeing a sell-the-news reaction to this morning's Q1 top and bottom line beat as investors balk at the financial titan's investment banking revenue results, while Boeing is sliding as new developments show that the company could be a victim of intensifying tensions between Russia and the United States.

Conversely, General Electric (GE 13.64, +0.46) is the best-performing Dow component as investors eye the company's publication of their restated financials for 2016 & 2017, slated to be released today.

Despite today's mixed trade, the DJIA at current levels is poised to finish the week with gains of 2.1%.
Dow: -19.16… | Nasdaq: -6.56… | S&P: -0.71…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1168/1370. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1459/1396.

12:55PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are drifting a tick lower this afternoon, weighed down by financial shares, which have declined following first quarter results from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 110.38, -2.99), Wells Fargo (WFC 51.10, -1.60), and Citigroup (C 70.48, -1.65). The S&P 500 is down 0.2%, while the Dow and the Nasdaq are lower by 0.3% apiece.

All three big banks reported better-than-expected earnings this morning on in-line revenues, but have dropped between 2.6% and 3.2% nonetheless. The vast majority of financials in the S&P 500 have followed the three giants lower, pushing the heavily-weighted financial sector (-1.4%) to the bottom of today's sector standings.

However, most of the other S&P 500 groups are trading in the green. The energy sector (+1.1%) is among the top performers, helped by the price of crude oil, which is up yet again as tensions in the oil-rich Middle East remain high; West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.7% at $67.51 per barrel -- their best level since December 2014.

Investors are still awaiting a U.S.-led strike on the Syrian government following a suspected chemical attack against the rebel-held town of Douma last Saturday. Uncertainty as to the extent and timing of the attack, and Russia's response to the action, has kept some buyers on the sidelines today.

The lightly-weighted utilities sector (+1.0%) is vying with energy for the top spot in today's sector standings, but most other groups hold gains or losses of less than 0.3%.

The top-weighted technology sector is down 0.2%, but chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO 248.73, +9.30) has jumped 3.8% following news that the company's board has authorized the repurchase of up to $12 billion of common stock. Qualcomm (QCOM 55.69, +0.49) is also outperforming, up 0.9%, after reports that former Chairman Paul Jacobs could make a bid for the company in the next few months.

Meanwhile, online real estate data company Zillow (ZG 48.76, -5.01) has dropped 9.4% after unveiling plans to take an active role in the real estate marketplace; the company is planning to buy and sell homes with Premier Agent partners in the Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas.

Reviewing Friday's economic data, which was limited to the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February:

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April declined to 97.8 (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) from 101.4 in March.
The key takeaway from the report is that the monthly drop was due to worries about trade policies and expectations for rising interest rates.
The February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings decreased to 6.052 million from a revised 6.228 million (from 6.312 million) in January.

Dow: -83.98… | Nasdaq: -22.11… | S&P: -5.30…

12:25PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are still modestly lower in early-afternoon trading, with the Dow showing a loss of 0.2%.

Zillow (ZG 48.71, -5.06) has plunged 9.5% today, hitting its lowest level since early March, after unveiling plans to take an active role in the real estate marketplace; the company is planning to buy and sell homes with Premier Agent partners in the Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas.

In Europe, the major bourses finished Friday just a tick higher, closing near their lowest marks of the day. Germany's DAX settled with a gain of 0.2%, but, at its session high, held a gain of 0.9%. For the week, the Euro Soxx 50 added 1.2%.
Dow: -37.99… | Nasdaq: -12.61… | S&P: -0.25…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1104/1525. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1419/1391.

11:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices are roughly where they were at the last update, down between 0.2% and 0.4%.

Chipmakers are mostly lower, evidenced by the 0.6% decline in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, but Broadcom (AVGO 248.40, +9.05) and Qualcomm (QCOM 55.61, +0.41) are both higher, adding 3.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Broadcom is rallying following news that the company's board has authorized the repurchase of up to $12 billion of common stock, while Qualcomm is up following reports that former Chairman Paul Jacobs could make a bid for the company in the next few months.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar is flat against the euro at 1.2323, down 0.2% against the British pound at 1.4252, and up 0.2% against the Japanese yen at 107.51. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of other currencies, is down 0.3% for the week.
Dow: -82.76… | Nasdaq: -29.81… | S&P: -5.04…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 966/1690. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1231/1554.

11:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are sill modestly lower this morning, holding losses between 0.1% and 0.2%.

Dow component Boeing (BA 329.55, -7.92) is struggling today following a CNBC report that Russia could halt exports of titanium to the aerospace giant in retaliation to recent sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials and businessmen. BA shares are currently down 2.2%.

Meanwhile, in the bond market, U.S. Treasuries have reclaimed their early-morning losses, popping into positive territory. The benchmark 10-yr yield, which moves inversely to the price of the 10-yr Treasury note, is down one basis point at 2.82%.
Dow: -60.49… | Nasdaq: -19.22… | S&P: -2.69…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1014/1652. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1261/1501.

11:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities have slipped since the opening bell, dropping into negative territory. The S&P 500 is currently down 0.2% after opening with a gain of about 0.4%.

The S&P sectors are pretty evenly split between advancers and decliners. Most groups are drifting within 0.2% of their flat lines, but conviction is strong within several spaces. The financial space, for instance, is down 1.2%, despite upbeat Q1 earnings from a handful of big banks this morning. Conversely, the energy sector is up 0.7%, and the utilities group is up 0.6%.

Energy shares have been underpinned by another jump in the price of crude oil; West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.4% at $67.33 per barrel, which is their best level since December 2014. For the week, WTI crude futures are up 8.5%.
Dow: -76.09… | Nasdaq: -24.18… | S&P: -6.32…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 880/1827. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1098/1632.

10:35AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM]

Commodities are beginning the day higher
Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently +0.1% at 89.2076
Dollar index is currently +0.04% at 89.53
Looking at energy...
May WTI crude oil futures are now +$0.10 at $67.17/barrel
In other energy, May natural gas is +$0.06 at $2.75/MMBtu
Moving on to metals...
June gold is currently +$5.40 at $1347.30/oz, while May silver is +$0.15 at $16.63/oz
May copper is now unch at $3.07/lb

Dow: -54.84… | Nasdaq: -29.00… | S&P: -6.23…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 914/1702. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1113/1594.

10:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are still sporting modest gains.

Just in, the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April declined to 97.8 (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) from 101.4 in March.

Separately, the February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings decreased to 6.052 million from a revised 6.228 million (from 6.312 million) in January.
Dow: +47.92… | Nasdaq: +7.85… | S&P: +6.48…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1238/1530. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1414/1203.

09:45AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are modestly higher this morning, sporting gains of around 0.4% apiece.

Almost all S&P sectors are higher, but the heavily-weighted financial space (-0.2%) is lagging even though JPMorgan Chase (JPM 112.61, -0.78, -0.5%), Citigroup (C 71.98, -0.17, -0.1%), and Wells Fargo (WFC 51.66, -1.04, -1.7%) all reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings earlier this morning.

The top-weighted technology sector is currently the top-performing group with a gain of 0.7%.
Dow: +117.62… | Nasdaq: +34.28… | S&P: +13.40…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1507/1177. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1705/822.

09:10AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +15.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +41.80.

The stock market looks set for a higher open this morning, as the S&P 500 futures are trading 15 points, or 0.6%, above fair value.

Big banks JPMorgan Chase (JPM 114.75, +1.38), Wells Fargo (WFC 52.80, +0.10), and Citigroup (C 73.00, +0.87) have helped fuel the bullish bias, kicking off the Q1 earnings season with better-than-expected results. JPM and C shares are up 1.3% apiece in pre-market trading, while WFC shares are flat.

Meanwhile, shares of Broadcom (AVGO 250.05, +10.58) are up 4.4% following news that the company's board has authorized the repurchase of up to $12 billion of common stock, and shares of Qualcomm (QCOM 56.45, +1.20) are up 2.2% following reports that former Chairman Paul Jacobs could make a bid for the company in the next few months.

Outside of equities, WTI crude futures are higher once again this morning, up 0.5% at $67.38 per barrel, extending their week-to-date gain to 8.6%, while U.S. Treasuries are a tick lower, pushing yields higher across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up one basis point at 2.84%.

Today's economic data is limited to the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February, both of which will be released at 10:00 AM ET.

08:56AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +15.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +38.50.

The S&P 500 futures are trading 15 points, or 0.6%, above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note. Markets in China underperformed after the release of disappointing trade data, which showed China's first monthly trade deficit in more than a year. China and Japan are expected to conduct high-level talks on Monday and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to travel to the U.S. on Tuesday. The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a slight increase to its policy band, which represents the first tightening in six years. Elsewhere, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought HKD2.44 billion to defend the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the U.S. dollar. This was the second intervention of the week.

In economic data:
China's March trade deficit $4.98 billion (expected surplus of $27.21 billion; last surplus of $33.75 billion). March Imports +14.4% year-over-year (expected 10.0%; last 6.3%) and March Exports -2.7% year-over-year (consensus 10.0%; last 44.5%). March New Loans CNY1.12 trillion (expected CNY1.20 trillion; last CNY839.30 billion). March Outstanding Loan Growth +12.8% year-over-year (consensus 12.9%; last 12.8%)
Singapore's Q1 GDP +1.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 1.0%; last 2.1%); +4.3% year-over-year, as expected (last 3.6%)
South Korea's March Import Price Index +3.1% year-over-year (last 0.4%) and Export Price Index -0.9% year-over-year (last -1.3%)
New Zealand's March Business NZ PMI 52.2 (last 53.4)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6%, rising 1.0% for the week. Furukawa Electric, SUMCO, Alps Electric, TDK, Komatsu, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, and Okuma advanced between 2.6% and 5.6%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%, narrowing this week's gain to 3.2%. CNOOC lost 1.3% while Hang Lung Properties, CK Infrastructure, and AAC Technologies surrendered between 0.4% and 0.8%.
China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.7%, trimming this week's gain to 0.9%. Shanghai Sanmao Enterprise, Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, and Lanhai Medical Investment posted losses between 4.3% and 7.2%.
India's Sensex added 0.3%, extending this week's gain to 3.7%. Adani Ports climbed 2.7% while tech consultants like Wipro, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy added between 0.4% and 2.3%.

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note while the UK's FTSE underperforms once again. British Prime Minister Theresa May has received approval from her war cabinet to participate in potential airstrikes against Syria. Elsewhere, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella said it is clear that political parties have not made any progress in coalition talks, which will be revisited in 'a few days.' It should be noted that the continued lack of progress raises the likelihood of new elections.

In economic data:
Eurozone February trade surplus EUR18.90 billion (expected EUR20.20 billion; last EUR19.90 billion)
Germany's March CPI +0.4% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +1.6% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.6%)
Spain's March CPI +0.1% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.1%); +1.2% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.1%)

---Equity Markets---

Germany's DAX has climbed 0.9%. Deutsche Bank leads, rising 2.2%, while Thyssenkrupp, Merck, BMW, Daimler, BASF, Siemens, Bayer, Volkswagen, and SAP are up between 0.6% and 1.5%.
France's CAC is higher by 0.5%. Financials like Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and AXA hold gains between 1.3% and 1.5%. On the downside, STMicroelectronics is down 0.5% while energy-related names like Total and TechnipFMC hold losses of 0.6% apiece.
UK's FTSE sits just above its flat line, adding 0.2%. Merlin Entertainments, Barratt Developments, ITV, Prudential, and Associated British Foods outperform with gains between 0.6% and 2.0%. On the downside, Hammerson is down 10.7% after Kleppiere terminated its attempt at acquiring the company. Sage Group is down 8.9% in response to a lowered revenue outlook.

08:29AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +13.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +33.80.

The S&P 500 futures are trading 13 points, or 0.5%, above fair value.

Wells Fargo (WFC 53.06, +0.36) and Citigroup (C 72.72, +0.59) reported their Q1 results not long ago. Both companies beat profit estimates on in-line revenues, just like JPMorgan Chase (JPM 114.26, +0.89), which reported earlier this morning. Shares of all three banks are up in pre-market trading, showing gains of 0.8% apiece.

The upbeat results will likely translate to a positive start for the S&P's financial sector, which is up 2.6% week to date.

07:53AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.30.

Equities are on course to extend weekly gains this morning, as big banks kick off the first quarter earnings season. The overall tone is cautious, however, as investors are still awaiting a U.S.-led strike on Syria, and are digesting some disappointing economic data from China, which reported its first trade deficit in more than a year. The S&P 500 futures are currently trading seven points, or 0.3%, above fair value.

Overseas, the major indices in Asia finished Friday on a mixed note, with Japan's Nikkei (+0.6%) leading to the upside and China's Shanghai Composite (-0.7%) leading to the downside. China's March trade balance showed a deficit of $4.98 billion, while estimates had expected a surplus of $27.21 billion. In Europe, the major indices are trading in the green, with Germany's DAX (+0.7%) leading the charge.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) released its first quarter results earlier this morning, which showed better-than-expected earnings and in-line revenues. JPM shares are up 1.1% in pre-market trading. Both Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) will also release their results before the opening bell.

WTI crude futures are flat at $67.05 per barrel following a huge four-session run that has them up 8.0% week to date. Heightened tensions in the oil-rich Middle East have prompted investors to bet on a slowdown in crude production. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries are trading a tick lower, pushing yields higher across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up one basis point at 2.84%.

Today's economic data is limited to the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February, both of which will be released at 10:00 AM ET.

In U.S. corporate news:

JPMorgan Chase (JPM 114.60, +1.23): +1.1% after reporting better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
Qualcomm (QCOM 56.19, +0.99): +1.8% following a Bloomberg report that former Chairman Paul Jacobs could make a bid for the company in the next few months.
Netflix (NFLX 314.40, +5.15): +1.7% after being upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold' at Deutsche Bank; target raised to $350 from $240.
Starbucks (SBUX 58.66, -0.77): -1.3% after being downgraded to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform' at Cowen; target lowered to $65 from $68.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei +0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.7%, India's Sensex +0.3%.
In economic data:
China's March trade deficit $4.98 billion (expected surplus of $27.21 billion; last surplus of $33.75 billion). March Imports +14.4% year-over-year (expected 10.0%; last 6.3%) and March Exports -2.7% year-over-year (consensus 10.0%; last 44.5%). March New Loans CNY1.12 trillion (expected CNY1.20 trillion; last CNY839.30 billion). March Outstanding Loan Growth +12.8% year-over-year (consensus 12.9%; last 12.8%)
Singapore's Q1 GDP +1.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 1.0%; last 2.1%); +4.3% year-over-year, as expected (last 3.6%)
South Korea's March Import Price Index +3.1% year-over-year (last 0.4%) and Export Price Index -0.9% year-over-year (last -1.3%)
New Zealand's March Business NZ PMI 52.2 (last 53.4)
In news:
Markets in China underperformed after the release of disappointing trade data, which showed China's first monthly trade deficit in more than a year.
China and Japan are expected to conduct high-level talks on Monday and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to travel to the U.S. on Tuesday.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a slight increase to its policy band, which represents the first tightening in six years.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought HKD2.44 billion to defend the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the U.S. dollar. This was the second intervention of the week.

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note while the UK's FTSE (+0.1%) underperforms once again. Germany's DAX +0.7%, France's CAC +0.4%.
In economic data:
Eurozone February trade surplus EUR18.90 billion (expected EUR20.20 billion; last EUR19.90 billion)
Germany's March CPI +0.4% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +1.6% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.6%)
Spain's March CPI +0.1% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.1%); +1.2% year-over-year, as expected (last 1.1%)
In news:
British Prime Minister Theresa May has received approval from her war cabinet to participate in potential airstrikes against Syria.
Italy's President Sergio Mattarella said it is clear that political parties have not made any progress in coalition talks, which will be revisited in 'a few days.' It should be noted that the continued lack of progress raises the likelihood of new elections.

07:31AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.00.

06:58AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +8.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.30.

06:58AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...21779...+118.50...+0.60%. Hang Seng...30808...-22.90...-0.10%.

06:58AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7255.79...-2.60...0.00%. DAX...12493.75...+78.70...+0.60%.

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks revived a rebound rally on Thursday following a midweek slump, pushing the S&P 500 higher by 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average did even better, climbing 1.0% and 1.2%, respectively, while the small-cap Russell 2000 lagged a bit, finishing with a gain of 0.7%. A late bout of selling took the major averages from their session highs, leaving them near the middle of their daily ranges.

Financial shares paced Thursday's rally ahead of earnings results from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 113.37, +2.75), Citigroup (C 72.13, +2.24), and Wells Fargo (WFC 52.70, +0.77), all of which will report on Friday morning -- unofficially marking the start of the first quarter earnings season. A better-than-expected Q1 report from BlackRock (BLK 533.01, +7.70, +1.5%), which beat both earnings and revenues estimates, helped fuel some optimism ahead of the more influential releases.

In terms of sector standings, the financial group was the top performer with a gain of 1.8%, followed by industrials (+1.5%), technology (+1.3%), and materials (+1.1%). The energy sector (unch) underperformed, cooling off from a big three-session rally, as crude oil prices fought to extend a three-year high. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down as much as 1.2% on Thursday, but eventually finished the session higher by 0.5% at $67.18 per barrel.

WTI crude futures have had a big week thus far, spiking 8.3%, as escalated geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East have led investors to bet on a slowdown in production. The market has been awaiting a U.S.-led strike on the Syrian government after it allegedly attacked the rebel-held town of Douma with chemical weapons over the weekend. However, the timing of said strike became much less clear after President Trump said in a tweet on Thursday morning that the attack "[c]ould be very soon or not so soon at all!"

The president's tweet seemed to help ease fears regarding the situation in Syria -- or, at the very least, temporarily put it out of investors' minds.

Wall Street's risk-on tone carried over into other financial markets, with safe-haven assets moving lower. Gold futures dropped 1.5% to $1342.10/oz, the Japanese yen declined 0.4% against the U.S. dollar to 107.26, and U.S. Treasuries slid across the curve, pushing yields higher; the yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note jumped four basis points to 2.83%. On a related note, the CBOE Volatility Index declined 1.72 points, or 8.5%, to 18.52 -- hitting a three-week low.

The stock market was higher throughout Thursday's session, but was pretty jumpy at times, pointing to a lack of conviction among traders. Volume remained light with just 746 million shares changing hands at the New York Stock Exchange; the 50-day moving average is 953 million shares.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which was limited to Export/Import Prices for March and the weekly Initial Claims report:

Import prices excluding oil rose 0.2% in March after increasing an unrevised 0.5% in February, while export prices excluding agriculture decreased 0.1% after rising an unrevised 0.2% in February.
The overall month-over-month changes are on the softer side, yet the key takeaway is that the year-over-year changes in core prices reveal a firming inflation trend.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 233,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 230,000. Today's tally was below the unrevised prior week count of 242,000. As for continuing claims, they rose to 1.871 million from a revised count of 1.818 million (from 1.808 million).
Initial claims have held below 300,000 for 162 straight weeks.

On Friday, investors will receive the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April (Briefing.com consensus 100.6) and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February; both pieces of data will be released at 10:00 AM ET.

Nasdaq Composite: +3.4% YTD
Russell 2000: +1.4% YTD
S&P 500: -0.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.0% YTD

Dow: +293.60… | Nasdaq: +71.22… | S&P: +21.80…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1879/1018. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1611/1336.

Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. Also, thank you for the review of TheStrategyLab performance record...hopefully the links and data will be useful for you.

Price Action Trading @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/price-action-trading.htm

Trade Strategies via Volatility Analysis @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/VolatilityTrading.htm

Rebuttal to Emmett Moore via TheStrategyLab.com Review @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=3167

The Strategy Lab: Valforex - The Manipulative Review Scam @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=3676

TheStrategyLab Review @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/thestrategylab-reviews.htm

Advance WRB Analysis Tutorial Chapters 4 - 12 @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm

Disclaimer: Today's trading performance is not an indication of my future performance and not an indication of the future performance for any trader that decides to learn/apply WRB Analysis. The risk of loss can be substantial. Therefore, you must carefully consider if trading is suitable for you within the context of your financial condition. TheStrategyLab.com is an education and research site. The resources on this site are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace professional educational and professional research because we are retail traders only. TheStrategyLab.com does not accept liability for your use of the website and its resources.

We make no guarantees of success and your level of success is dependent upon other factors including your skill as a trader, knowledge, financial condition, market conditions and other factors. Trading is stressful and you should always consult a doctor in all matters relating to physical and mental health of you & your family because trading can impact beyond your financial condition regardless if you're a profitable or losing trader. Also, you can read our full disclaimer statement @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/Disclaimer.htm

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=850 & http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading (no indicators)
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
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