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Today's trades that were posted in real-time in #FuturesTrades chat room via my IRC user name wrbtrader. You can review each trade from entry to exit along with commentary and an occasional trading tip involving WRB Analysis (wide range body analysis) because its all archived @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=346



FYI - You can ask me questions here at the forum or you can tweet me on twitter about anything related to today's trading or related to your own trading.

@ http://twitter.com/wrbtrader

In addition, posted below are direct links about my trade methodology or trading approach that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand along with being able to exploit the changes in supply/demand.

http://www.thestrategylab.com/WRBAnalysisTutorials.htm

http://www.thestrategylab.com/TradeStrategies.htm

Also, I strongly believe that profitable trading involves more than just trade signals and that's why most traders fail because they put all their efforts in trade signals while ignoring the impact on their trading results via market psychology, trader psychology (trading habits/routine and personal lifestyle). If you don't understand this perspective...please ask questions here at the forum for more info or you can tweet me on twitter @wrbtrader.

My Trading Performance: +58.50 Emini ES ($ES_F) points


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Stocks Slump As Dollar Spikes
Wall Street tumbles after the Dow briefly hits the 10,000 level, as investors sell into the advance.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: October 26, 2009: 8:15 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Monday, retreating after the Dow climbed above the 10,000 level again, as a stronger dollar battered commodity shares and the financial sector took a hit.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 104 points, or 1%, after having gained as much as 100 points in the morning. The S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 13 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropprf 13 points, or 0.6%.

Stocks gained in early trading, but did an about-face as the greenback firmed up. Financials spearheaded a broad-based selloff, with 27 of 30 issues falling, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500).

The dollar turned higher on the back of a stronger-than-expected Treasury auction, pressuring dollar-traded commodities and big multi-nationals that benefit from the weak dollar, said Richard Campagna, chief investment officer at 300 North Capital.

The financial sector was hit by reports over the weekend that Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500)'s plans to repay federal bailout money may have hit some roadblocks. Regional banks Fifth Third Bancorp and SunTrust were both downgraded to "sell" by Richard X. Bove of Rochdale Securities.

But the selloff was also a continuation of last week's declines, Campagna said. "I think people are very nervous short term even though the prospects are positive long term."

Stocks ended last week lower, with investors not impressed by the latest spate of better-than-expected quarterly results, including Microsoft and Amazon.com late in the week.

Since bottoming at a 12-year low on March 9, the S&P 500 has gained nearly 60%, with any modest selloff being met with renewed buying interest. But in the last week, that trend has changed a little, with the buyers sitting out.

"The market got a little overextended through mid-month and some people are waiting for an opportunity to jump back in," Campagna said. "Meanwhile, the short-term guys want to cash out, so you're seeing some weakness.

Tuesday brings quarterly results from BP and Valero Energy and economic reports on durable goods orders in September, the Case Shiller home price index for August and the October Consumer Confidence index.

Quarterly results: Dow component Verizon Communications (VZ, Fortune 500) said profit tumbled 30% as higher costs countered an increase in revenue from its strong wireless business. Nonetheless, earnings topped expectations. The company also reported higher quarterly revenue. But shares slipped, getting dragged down in the bigger selloff.

Just shy of 140 components of the S&P 500 are due to report quarterly results this week. With 206 companies, or 41% of the S&P 500 having already reported, profits are currently on track to have fallen 18.3% from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters.

So far, results have been soundly above forecasts, with 81% of companies topping expectations, 7% meeting and 12% missing.

Company news: Capmark Financial, one of the country's largest commercial real estate lenders, filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday, reflecting the major problems in the business property sector.

Dutch financial services firm ING (ING) said Monday it plans to spin off its insurance business and sell $11.3 billion of stock to pay back some of what it took in bailout money from the government last year.

World markets: Global markets were negative. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.8%, France's CAC 40 lost 1.2% and Germany's DAX gave up 1.3%. Asian markets ended lower.

Bonds: Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.54% from 3.48% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Yields jumped as the government completed the first few auctions in a record week for debt sales. Treasury sold $30 billion in six-month notes, $29 billion in 3-month notes and $7 billion in five-month Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. All three saw strong demand.

Currency and commodities: The dollar gained versus the euro, after falling to a 14-month low last week. The dollar gained versus the yen as well.

The stronger dollar pressured dollar-traded commodity prices.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery fell $1.82 to settle at $78.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery fell $13.60 to settle at $1,042.80 an ounce. Gold has surpassed records repeatedly this month due to the weak dollar and longer-term worries about inflation.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners thee to one on volume of 1.39 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers two to one on volume of 2.34 billion shares.



Yahoo! Finance

4:30 pm : Stocks dropped in broad-based fashion after they failed to extend an early gain and the U.S. dollar made another strong move off of its yearly low.

The major indices were up solidly in the early going, but the S&P 500 struggled to break above the 1090 zone and the Nasdaq 100 ran into resistance when it approached the 2009 highs that it had set last week. As stocks stalled, sellers stepped in and undercut the early advance. That caused stocks to drop sharply and spend the rest of the afternoon trading in negative territory.

A stronger dollar also weighed on stocks. The greenback has now gained ground against a basket of foreign currencies for three straight sessions, the latest of which took it 0.7% higher in its best single-session percentage move of the past month. That made for particular trouble against multinationals and materials stocks, which dropped 2.5%.

Monsanto (MON 70.69, -4.54) created an additional drag on the materials sector. The stock was caught up in chatter that an analyst issued pessimistic comments about the chemical company's pricing efforts.

Financials were also among the worst performers this session. The sector sank 2.5% as bank stocks tumbled 4.1%, based on the KBW Banking Index. Weakness surrounding banking issues stemmed from a downgrade by Rochdale of regional lenders Fifth Third (FITB 9.52, -0.82) and SunTrust (STI 19.85, -1.14).

There weren't any real leaders for participants to follow this session. Dow component Verizon (VZ 28.64, -0.21) was one of the only widely-held companies to report its latest results this morning. The integrated telecom giant posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share for the third quarter, but they were largely dismissed, leaving telecom to fall to a 1.3% loss.

All 10 major sectors finished the session in the red. Seven of them suffered losses in excess of 1%.

Despite widespread weakness in the equity markets, Treasuries suffered. As such, the benchmark 10-year Note dropped roughly 18 ticks, which took its yield above 3.5% for the first time since August. Its weakness seemed to worsen in the wake of better-than-average results for an auction of 5-year TIPS.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Financials (-2.5%), Materials (-2.5%), Energy (-1.5%), Telecom (-1.3%), Utilities (-1.3%), Health Care (-1.1%), Industrials (-1.0%), Consumer Staples (-0.8%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.5%), Tech (-0.3%)DJ30 -104.22 NASDAQ -12.62 NQ100 -0.4% R2K -1.2% SP400 -1.1% SP500 -12.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 763/2.33 bln/1914 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 713/1.39 bln/2317

3:30 pm : Commodities closed lower in broad fashion as a strengthened U.S. dollar weighed on pit trade. With the Dollar Index up 0.8%, its best single-session percentage gain in one month, the CRB Commodity Index has fallen 1.6% in its worst single-session percentage drop in one month.

Oil prices were the heaviest drag on the CRB. Crude oil futures prices dropped 2.3% to settle at $78.63 per barrel. They had actually been up more than 1% in early pit trade.

Natural gas contracts were also caught up in a considerable bout of weakness, which culminated with prices down 5.6% to $4.52 per contract.

Weakness among precious metals took gold prices down 1.3% to $1042.80 per ounce. That's less than $10 above gold's 2008 high of $1033.90 per ounce. Gold prices are still up more than 17% year-to-date, though.

Meanwhile, silver prices settled 3.5% lower at $17.10 per ounce. DJ30 -113.21 NASDAQ -16.88 SP500 -14.21 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 711/1.94 bln/1949 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 662/1.05 bln/2353

3:00 pm : Stocks recently slipped to a minor new session low, but they have since moved up to trade in-line with earlier levels.

Meanwhile, the Dollar Index has extended its gain to 0.9%. It has been one month since the Dollar Index fared so well.

With the dollar looking stronger, commodities remain under pressure in post-pit trade. That has the CRB Commodity Index down 1.6%.DJ30 -87.97 NASDAQ -11.46 SP500 -11.45 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 799/1.79 bln/1851 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 769/971 mln/2243

2:30 pm : The stock market is on track to log its fourth loss in five sessions. During that time the S&P 500 has fallen more than 2.5%. That's actually its worst five-session performance since the beginning of September.

Though stocks remain mired in weakness, Treasuries have stayed out of favor. Even strong results for an auction of 5-year TIPS hasn't induced buying in the 10-year Note. The benchmark Note is down 13 ticks, near session lows. Meanwhile, the 30-year Bond has shed one full point. DJ30 -98.70 NASDAQ -11.92 SP500 -11.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 835/1.65 bln/1800 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 815/886 mln/2179

2:00 pm : Stocks continue to muddle along in negative territory with broad-based losses. Their weakness undermined a modestly positive tone in European trade. That left Germany's DAX to drop to a 1.7% loss, France's CAC to fall to a 1.7% loss, and brought Britain's FTSE down to a 1.0% loss.

Amid weakness in U.S. stocks and European stocks, the Dow Jones World Index is down 1.1%.DJ30 -78.15 NASDAQ -8.81 SP500 -9.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 885/1.54 bln/1741 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 892/821 mln/2082

1:30 pm : The major indices are stuck in a rather narrow trading range after falling to session lows more than one hour ago. In turn, losses remain broad based.

Despite widespread weakness, retailers are showing strength. As a group, retailers are up 0.6%. RadioShack (RSH 18.08, +2.42) is a primary leader in the bunch after posting this morning a smaller-than-expected loss for the latest quarter. The stock is up sharply in its best single-session performance by percent this year. Heading into this session, the stock had already risen more than 30% year-to-date.DJ30 -83.44 NASDAQ -9.14 SP500 -9.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 889/1.45 bln/1730 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 860/769 mln/2101

1:00 pm : The major indices jumped out to a strong gain in the early going, but a lack of leadership has allowed a strengthening dollar and a technical breakdown among tech issues to take the broader market to a marked losses.

The S&P 500 had been up more than 1% as participants bought stocks in broad interest during early trade. However, the gains quickly rolled over as the U.S. dollar gained ground against a basket of foreign currencies. The Dollar Index is currently trading with a 0.5% gain.

In addition to its impact on multinationals, the dollar has been particularly harsh on dollar-sensitive issues, like commodities and, in turn, energy and materials stocks. Oil prices had been up more than 1% in early pit trade, but contracts for crude are now being priced at $78.60 per barrel, down 2.4%. That reversal, along with weakness in the broader market, has taken the energy sector from a gain of more than 2% to a loss of 0.9%. Materials stocks had been up roughly 1.5% in the early going, but they are now contending with a 2.2% loss.

Financial stocks, which have provided leadership to the broader market during recent months, have been sharply out of favor this session. Due to a downgrade of select regional bank stocks, the broader sector has dropped to a 1.8% loss.

Tech stocks, which make up the largest sector by market weight in the S&P 500, have been to limit losses as their leaders lag. In fact, the inability of the Nasdaq 100, a collection large-cap tech issues, to break out to fresh 52-week highs has caused weakness in the group.

Despite weakness in the equity markets, Treasuries haven't found much favor. The benchmark 10-year Note is off by 10-ticks, which has lifted its yield above 3.5% for the first time since August. However, results from an auction of 5-year Tips is imminent and could cause some swings in the fixed income market.DJ30 -63.48 NASDAQ -5.29 SP500 -7.87 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 958/1.31 bln/1633 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 997/694 mln/1940

12:30 pm : The Dollar Index has made its way to a 0.6% gain, which makes for its best single-session percentage advance in two weeks. The greenback's gain has sent the CRB Commodity Index to a 0.9% loss.

Softer oil prices have been a primary drag on the CRB. Oil futures are currently being priced 2.5% lower at 78.50 per barrel after being up more than 1% in morning pit trade. Oil's reversal, along with broader market weakness, has sent the energy sector to a 0.8% loss. Energy stocks, as a group, had been up as much as 2% earlier this session.DJ30 -87.59 NASDAQ -7.68 SP500 -9.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 901/1.183/1665 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 924/630 mln/1998

12:00 pm : The dip that recently hit stocks has turned into a much sharper slide, which has put all three headline indices into negative territory.

All 10 major sectors are trading in the red, but losses are currently steepest among financials and materials stocks. Both sectors are down 1.9%. Financials have been lagging for the entire session, but materials stocks had been up as much as 1.5% in the early going.

Despite the sudden bout of weakness that has hampered stocks, Treasuries aren't finding much favor. The benchmark 10-year Note is currently down 10 ticks, which has lifted its yield above 3.5% for the first time since August.DJ30 -92.05 NASDAQ -9.62 SP500 -10.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1109/990 mln/1439 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1101/528 mln/1770

11:30 am : Stocks recently made an abrupt pullback, but they continue to trade with gains.

Oil prices have also made a reversal. That has oil futures prices trading with a 0.7% loss at $79.90 per barrel. Oil prices had been up by more than 1%.

The dip by the broader equity market and the turnaround by oil prices comes as the Dollar Index makes its way into positive territory. The Dollar Index had spent the entire morning trading with a loss, but it is now up to a 0.1% gain. DJ30 +50.48 NASDAQ +20.07 SP500 +5.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1673/740 mln/840 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1943/385 mln/924

11:00 am : Materials stocks have seen this session's gains slashed to a fraction of their earlier levels. At its session high, the materials sector was up roughly 1.5%. It is now up just 0.3%.

Monsanto (MON 72.20, -3.03) has been under considerable pressure and, in turn, is undercutting the broader materials sector. Monsanto's weakness comes amid chatter that a Wall Street analyst issued cautious commentary regarding the company's seed pricing practices. Shares of MON are being hit with their worst single-session percentage drop in more than one month.DJ30 +78.14 NASDAQ +25.12 SP500 +8.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1740/618 mln/745 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2102/313 mln/753

10:30 am : After trading modestly lower overnight, December crude oil spiked into positive territory to morning highs of $81.58 per barrel at the start of pit trading. Currently, crude is trading 1.1% higher at $81.35 per barrel.

Natural gas remains in negative territory from its overnight session. The energy component hit fresh lows recently of $4.459 per MMBtu and is currently trading just above those levels at $4.529, down 5.4%.

The US Dollar Index remains in negative territory, but recent declines helped push precious metals higher. December gold recently pushed into positive territory to new morning highs of $1060.80 per ounce, while December silver also pushed into positive territory to new morning highs of $17.80 per ounce. In current activity, gold is 0.2% higher at $1058.40 per ounce and silver is $0.012 higher at $17.735.DJ30 +99.23 NASDAQ +27.72 SP500 +11.21 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1765/450.53/626 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2187/227.7 mln/595

10:00 am : The S&P 500 has encountered a bit of resistance at the 1090 level, but stocks are sporting solid gains.

This morning's advance has been helped along by considerable strength among energy stocks. Strength among energy players have the energy sector up 2.0%.

The energy sector's advance comes amid a sharp bounce by oil prices. Oil prices had been down modestly in early pit trade, but the commodity is currently up to a 1.2% gain so that it trades at $81.50 per barrel. That has helped oil equipment stocks (+2.7%) and oil drillers (+2.3%). Analysts at Credit Suisse have also helped to garner interest in the sector by raising their estimates and target price for Schlumberger (SLB 66.91, +1.71).

Advancing Sectors: Energy (+2.0%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.5%), Materials (+1.4%), Industrials (+1.3%), Tech (+1.3%), Utilities (+1.2%), Health Care (0.7%), Telecom (+0.6%), Consumer Staples (+0.5%)
Declining Sectors: (None)
Neutral: Financials

Early Movers: Trading up -- NYER +211.6%, IO +31.1%, PRKR +20.6%, ELRN +16.5%, SUPG +15.6%, BCRX +15.5%, ALD +13.9%, NVTL +12.4%, RSH +10.5%, CRNT +9.3%, VVUS +8.5%, KFY +8.3%; Trading down -- PVTB -21.8%, BGC -11.9%, SOHU -11.1%, ING -10.5%, MTXX -9.7%, AAWW -9.6%, SMA -9.2%, CYOU -8.2%, WHX -5.7%, ARCC -5.1%DJ30 +100.06 NASDAQ +27.98 SP500 +11.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1779/301 mln/556 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2222/160 mln/502

09:45 am : Stocks have made a sudden upward push that has resulted in strong gains for the three major indices.

The financial sector is lagging, though. As a group, financials are down 0.4%. Their weakness stems from significant declines among regional banks (-1.3%) and diversified banks (-0.8%) in the wake of a Rochdale downgrade of Fifth Third (FITB 9.92, -0.42) and SunTrust (STI 20.09, -0.90).DJ30 +77.84 NASDAQ +23.22 SP500 +9.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1681/168 mln/559 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2105/100 mln/516

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.80. There hasn't been an awful lot of news flow to guide premarket participants this morning, but stock futures have improved modestly so that they now point to a slightly higher start for the session, rather than a flat beginning. Today's economic calendar is void of any major item, but results from an auction of 5-year TIPS at 1:00 PM ET could act as a catalyst for traders. The results mark the start of a series of auctions that are set to take place this week. Also out later this week is the advance third quarter GDP reading, which is due Thursday morning and will act as a headlining item.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.80. The U.S. dollar has managed to pare some of its early-morning losses so that it trades down just 0.1% against a basket of major foreign currencies. Oil prices are currently down 0.2% to $80.35 per barrel in the first few moments of pit trade. As for gold, the yellow metal is currently being priced at $1055.10 per ounce, down 0.1%.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.50. U.S. stock futures continue to trade flat, while European stocks maked tepid gains. As such, Germany's DAX is up a modest 0.4%. Primary leadership stems from Bayer, but Daimler (DAI) has been a considerable drag on trade. In France, the CAC is up just 0.3%. Energy giant Total (TOT) is providing strength, but its impact on the broader market is being undercut by weakness among financial issues BNP Paribas, AXA (AXA), and Credit Agricole. In Britain, the FTSE is up 0.2%. Energy outfits BP PLC (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) are primary leaders following word that BP will likely undergo a boardroom shakeup at the start of 2010, when the company's new chairman takes office. Financials are trading with weakness, however. HSBC (HBC), Lloyds (LYG), Barclays (BCS), and Standard Chartered are the primary laggards. Shares of HSBC were actually downgraded by analysts at Citigroup. In Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index closed 0.5% higher, while Japan's Nikkei closed 0.8% higher. Toyota Industries, a parts manufacturer controlled by Toyota Motor (TM), jumped after reporting an unexpected profit. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for holiday, but mainland China's Shanghai Composite eked out a 0.1% gain.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.00. Dow component Verizon (VZ) posted this morning better-than-expected adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share for the third quarter, sending its stock up roughly 0.5% to $29.00 per share in premarket trade. The results are the latest on the long list of earnings announcements that remain in focus for participants, but many are beginning to divert their attention to the advance third quarter GDP announcement, which is due on Thursday and is expected to be a major trading catalyst. For now, though, action among broad market stock futures is rather flat.

06:24 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.00.

06:24 am : Nikkei...10362.62...+79.60...+0.80%. Hang Seng...Holiday.........

06:24 am : FTSE...5266.06...+23.50...+0.40%. DAX...5791.28...+51.00...+0.90%.

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