Pre-Market Global Review - 2/20/14 - Meeting Minutes Torpedoes Markets

Good Morning Traders,  
 
 As of this writing 5:40 AM EST, here’s what we see:
 
                  
US Dollar –Up at 80.350, the US Dollar is up 164 ticks and is trading at 80.350.                 
Energies – April Oil is down at 102.68.       
Financials – The March 30 year bond is up 3 ticks and trading at 133.02.      
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down 8 ticks and trading at 1823.50. 
Gold – The April gold contract is trading down at 1314.00 and is down 64 ticks from its close.   
           
 
Initial Conclusion: This is a correlated market, unfortunately it's correlated to the downside.  The dollar is up+ and oil is down- which is normal and the 30 year bond is trading higher.  The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa.  The indices are lower and the US dollar is trading up which is correlated.  Gold is trading lower which is correlated with the US dollar trading up.   I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down.   I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong.  As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. 
               
All of Asia traded lower.  As of this writing all of Europe is trading lower.   
 
  Possible challenges to traders today is the following:
                                           
1.  Core CPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.           
2.  CPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.          
3.  Unemployment Claims is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.  
4.  Flash Manufacturing PMI is out at 9 AM EST.  This is not major.  
5.  Philly Fed Manufacturing Index is out at 10 AM EST.  This is major.
6.  Mortgage Delinquencies is out at 10 AM EST.  This is not major.
7.  CB Leading Index m/m is out at 10 AM EST.  This is major.
8.  Natural Gas Storage is out at 10:30 AM EST.  This could move the Nat Gas market.
9.  Crude Oil Inventories is out at 11 AM EST.  This could move the crude market.  

      
 Currencies                  
Yesterday the Swiss Franc made it's move at around 8:30 AM EST immediately after the economic news was released.  Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets.  The USD rose at around that time and the Swiss Franc fell.  This was a shorting opportunity on the Swiss Franc.  The key to capitalizing on these trades is to watch the USD movement.  The USD rise only lent confirmation to the move.  As a trader you could have netted 20 ticks on this trade.  To expand the chart, right click and open in a new window.  Kindly view our special video to determine how to capitalize on these trades.  http://youtu.be/lOxBMe09X3Q
 
 Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades
 

Swiss Franc - 03/14 - 2/19/14

USD - 03/14 - 2/19/14

Bias


Yesterday we said our bias was to the downside as the markets weren't correlated.  The Dow dropped by 89 points and the other indices lost ground as well.  Today we are dealing with a correlated market, unfortunately it is correlated to the downside, hence our bias is to the downside.         Could this change?  Of Course.  Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
 
Yesterday we said our bias was to the downside as the markets weren't correlated.  None of the economic reports met expectation but nonetheless the markets did begin to rise.  Then the FOMC Meeting Minutes were released and the markets dropped and stayed lower for the remainder of the session.  It turns out that some members of the FOMC have stated that they think interest rates should rise but with Janet Yellen at the helm that will be a hard sell.  The majority however wish to keep interest rates low as they do not feel the economy is strong enough yet.  The key to this strategy is if inflation remains low.  If inflation remains low we'll continue to see low rates.  This not withstanding the Fed will continue to taper quantitative easing at the rate of 10 billion a month.  Does anyone think that this is wise as we've already seen housing numbers that are not that stellar.  I suppose time will tell if this is the correct course of action.... 
  
Each day in this newsletter we provide viewers a snapshot of the Swiss Franc versus the US dollar as a way and means of capitalizing on the inverse relationship between these two assets.  Futures Magazine recognized this correlation as well.  So much so that they printed a story on it in their December issue.  That story can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/11/25/correlated-opportunities-in-the-swiss-franc?ref=hp


Many of my readers have been asking me to spell out the rules of Market Correlation.  Recently Futures Magazine has elected to print a story on the subject matter and I must say I'm proud of the fact that they did  as I'm Author of that article.  I encourage all viewers to read that piece as it spells out the rules of market correlation and provides charts that show how it works in action. The article is entitled "How to Exploit and Profit from Market Correlation" and can be viewed at:


http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/01/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation

As a follow up to the first article on Market Correlation, I've produced a second segment on this subject matter and Futures Magazine has elected to publish it.  It can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/16/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation?ref=hp


 
As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities.   While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report.  A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance.  Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares.  This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures.  There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc.
 
Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution. Today our bias is to the downside.  Could this change?  Of course.  In a volatile market anything can happen.  We'll have to monitor and see.
  


As I write this the crude markets are trading lower and the US Dollar is advancing.  This is normal.  Think of it this way.  If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice-versa.  Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding.  The barometer of which is the equities or stock market.  If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this.  Yesterday March crude dropped to a low of 102.40 a barrel but maintained the $100 a barrel mark.  We'll have to monitor and see if crude either goes lower or holds at the present level.   It would appear at the present time that crude has support at $101.76 a barrel and resistance at $103.64.  This could change.  All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel.  We'll have to monitor and see.  Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump. 

Future Challenges:
- Debt Ceiling -  We keep hearing that a budget has been passed and that the House and Senate have approved an extension of the Debt Ceiling until March, 2015, yet we haven't heard that Obama has approved any of these measures.  So I have to wonder what is he waiting for?  He's finally caught on to the idea that he can issue an Executive Order as he signed one last week increasing the minimum wage for Federal workers.  Too bad he didn't anything for the rest of us.  Now issuing an Executive Order may lead to absolutely nothing as Congress approves expenditures, not the Executive Branch but at the very least the American people will know where he stands.  He could have done the same thing for extending Unemployment Insurance for those who sorely need it or Gun Control if he felt that strongly about it.  For a President who's in last term in office and claims that he going to use the power of the pen; he certainly seems to be getting writer's cramp these days... 
 
Crude oil is trading lower and the US Dollar is declining.  This is not normal.  Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the course of any trading day: around 9 AM EST, 11 AM EST and 2 PM EST when the crude market closes.  If crude makes major moves around those time frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest that something is not quite right.  If you feel compelled to trade consider doing so after 11 AM when the inventory numbers are released and markets give us better direction.  As always watch and monitor your order flow as anything can happen in this market.  This is why monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial.  We as traders are faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years ago.  High Frequency Trading is one of them.   I'm not an advocate of scalping however in a market as volatile as this scalping is an alternative to trend trading.





Remember that without knowledge of order flow we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have no issue taking it from us.  Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow.  Sceeto does an excellent job at this.  To fully capitalize on this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market correlate.  More on this in subsequent editions.
 






Nick Mastrandrea is the author of Market Tea Leaves. Market Tea Leaves is a free, daily newsletter that discuses and teaches market correlation. Market Tea Leaves is published daily, pre-market in the United States and can be viewed at www.markettealeaves.com  Interested in Market Correlation?  Want to learn more?  Signup and receive Market Tea Leaves each day prior to market open.  As a subscriber, you’ll also receive our daily Market Bias video that is only available to subscribers.

Pre-Market Global Review - 2/19/14 - Empire State Not So Empire

Good Morning Traders,  
 
 As of this writing 5:10 AM EST, here’s what we see:
 
                  
US Dollar –Down at 80.040, the US Dollar is down 6 ticks and is trading at 80.040.               
Energies – March Oil is down at 102.03.       
Financials – The March 30 year bond is up 10 ticks and trading at 133.20.      
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down 7 ticks and trading at 1835.75. 
Gold – The April gold contract is trading down at 1319.50 and is down 48 ticks from its close.   
           
 
Initial Conclusion: This is not a correlated market.  The dollar is down- and oil is down- which is not normal but the 30 year bond is trading higher.  The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa.  The indices are lower and the US dollar is trading down which is not correlated.  Gold is trading lower which is not correlated with the US dollar trading down.   I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down.   I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong.  As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. 
               
Asia traded mainly higher with the exception of  the Nikkei exchange which traded lower.  As of this writing all of Europe is trading lower.   
 
  Possible challenges to traders today is the following:
                                           
1.  Building Permits is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.         
2.  PPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.        
3.  Core PPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.
4.  Housing Starts is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.
5.  FOMC Meeting Minutes is out at 2 PM EST.  This is major.  


      
 Currencies                  

On Friday the Swiss Franc made it's move at around 9:20 AM EST immediately after the economic news was released.  Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets.  The USD rose at around that time and the Swiss Franc fell.  This was a shorting opportunity on the Swiss Franc.  The key to capitalizing on these trades is to watch the USD movement.  The USD rise only lent confirmation to the move.  As a trader you could have netted 20 ticks on this trade.  To expand the chart, right click and open in a new window.  Kindly view our special video to determine how to capitalize on these trades.  http://youtu.be/lOxBMe09X3Q
 
 Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades
 

Swiss Franc - 03/14 - 2/18/14

USD - 03/14 - 2/18/14

Bias


Yesterday we said our bias was to the upside as traditionally the market rises after a 3 day holiday weekend.  The Dow dropped by 24 points but the other indices gained ground so you could say it was a wash.  Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market, hence our bias is to the downside.         Could this change?  Of Course.  Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
 
Yesterday we said our bias was to the upside however the Dow had other ideas as it dropped by 24 points but the S&P and Nasdaq gained ground, so you could say it was a wash.  None of the economic reports met expectation.  Why and how did that happen as we all thought the economy was growing?  If it's growing then how could we fall behind?  I would venture to say that weather had a large part to do with it.  This has turned out to be a severe winter and the coldest in about 20 years.  The last time I can remember a winter being this severe was during the 1990's when we had some winters from hell (no pun intended).  Employers have had to shutdown their businesses for days due to severe weather, suppliers were late delivering parts or raw materials needed to manufacture products.  I'm still waiting for my snow blower to be fixed and the shop has had it for months now.  I guess it will be ready by spring for next winter.  I know weather has been blamed for lousy quarterly earnings but folks I can tell you as a fact that this time around, it's no joke.  We'll have to measure economic perform when the weather is less severe and less of a factor....


This is positive from the perspective that the markets are rising on good news as opposed to what we had to deal with last year when markets dropped on positive due to the fear of the Fed tapering....

 Each day in this newsletter we provide viewers a snapshot of the Swiss Franc versus the US dollar as a way and means of capitalizing on the inverse relationship between these two assets.  Futures Magazine recognized this correlation as well.  So much so that they printed a story on it in their December issue.  That story can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/11/25/correlated-opportunities-in-the-swiss-franc?ref=hp


Many of my readers have been asking me to spell out the rules of Market Correlation.  Recently Futures Magazine has elected to print a story on the subject matter and I must say I'm proud of the fact that they did  as I'm Author of that article.  I encourage all viewers to read that piece as it spells out the rules of market correlation and provides charts that show how it works in action. The article is entitled "How to Exploit and Profit from Market Correlation" and can be viewed at:


http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/01/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation

As a follow up to the first article on Market Correlation, I've produced a second segment on this subject matter and Futures Magazine has elected to publish it.  It can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/16/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation?ref=hp


 
As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities.   While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report.  A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance.  Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares.  This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures.  There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc.
 
Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution. Today our bias is to the downside.  Could this change?  Of course.  In a volatile market anything can happen.  We'll have to monitor and see.
  


As I write this the crude markets are trading lower and the US Dollar is declining.  This is not normal.  Think of it this way.  If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice-versa.  Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding.  The barometer of which is the equities or stock market.  If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this.  Yesterday March crude dropped to a low of 100.57 a barrel but maintained the $100 a barrel mark.  We'll have to monitor and see if crude either goes lower or holds at the present level.   It would appear at the present time that crude has support at $101.36 a barrel and resistance at $103.40.  This could change.  All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel.  We'll have to monitor and see.  Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump. 

Future Challenges:
- Debt Ceiling -  We keep hearing that a budget has been passed and that the House and Senate have approved an extension of the Debt Ceiling until March, 2015, yet we haven't heard that Obama has approved any of these measures.  So I have to wonder what is he waiting for?  He's finally caught on to the idea that he can issue an Executive Order as he signed one last week increasing the minimum wage for Federal workers.  Too bad he didn't anything for the rest of us.  Now issuing an Executive Order may lead to absolutely nothing as Congress approves expenditures, not the Executive Branch but at the very least the American people will know where he stands.  He could have done the same thing for extending Unemployment Insurance for those who sorely need it or Gun Control if he felt that strongly about it.  For a President who's in last term in office and claims that he going to use the power of the pen; he certainly seems to be getting writer's cramp these days... 
 
Crude oil is trading lower and the US Dollar is declining.  This is not normal.  Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the course of any trading day: around 9 AM EST, 11 AM EST and 2 PM EST when the crude market closes.  If crude makes major moves around those time frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest that something is not quite right.  If you feel compelled to trade consider doing so after 10 AM when the markets give us better direction.  As always watch and monitor your order flow as anything can happen in this market.  This is why monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial.  We as traders are faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years ago.  High Frequency Trading is one of them.   I'm not an advocate of scalping however in a market as volatile as this scalping is an alternative to trend trading.





Remember that without knowledge of order flow we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have no issue taking it from us.  Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow.  Sceeto does an excellent job at this.  To fully capitalize on this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market correlate.  More on this in subsequent editions.
 






Nick Mastrandrea is the author of Market Tea Leaves. Market Tea Leaves is a free, daily newsletter that discuses and teaches market correlation. Market Tea Leaves is published daily, pre-market in the United States and can be viewed at www.markettealeaves.com  Interested in Market Correlation?  Want to learn more?  Signup and receive Market Tea Leaves each day prior to market open.  As a subscriber, you’ll also receive our daily Market Bias video that is only available to subscribers.

Pre-Market Global Review - 2/18/14 - Consumer Sentiment Propels Markets

Good Morning Traders,  
 
 As of this writing 5:10 AM EST, here’s what we see:
 
                  
US Dollar –Up at 80.180, the US Dollar is up 1 tick and is trading at 80.180.             
Energies – March Oil is up at 100.35.       
Financials – The March 30 year bond is up 10 ticks and trading at 133.07.      
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down 8 ticks and trading at 1833.00. 
Gold – The April gold contract is trading up at 1318.80 and is up 2 ticks from its close.   
           
 
Initial Conclusion: This is not a correlated market.  The dollar is up+ and oil is up+ which is not normal but the 30 year bond is trading higher.  The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa.  The indices are lower and the US dollar is trading up which is correlated.  Gold is trading higher which is not correlated with the US dollar trading up.   I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down.   I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong.  As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. 
               
Asia traded mainly higher with the exception of  the Shanghai exchange which traded lower.  As of this writing all of Europe is trading lower.   
 
  Possible challenges to traders today is the following:
                                           
1.  Empire State Manufacturing Index is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.       
2.  TIC Long-Term Purchases is out at 9 AM EST.  This is not major.      
3.  NAHB Housing Market Index is out at 10 AM EST.  This is major.  


      
 Currencies                  

On Friday the Swiss Franc made it's move at around 8:30 AM EST immediately after the Import Price numbers were released.  Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets.  The USD rose at around that time and the Swiss Franc fell.  This was a shorting opportunity on the Swiss Franc.  The key to capitalizing on these trades is to watch the USD movement.  The USD rise only lent confirmation to the move.  As a trader you could have netted 20 ticks on this trade.  To expand the chart, right click and open in a new window.  Kindly view our special video to determine how to capitalize on these trades.  http://youtu.be/lOxBMe09X3Q
 
 Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades
 

Swiss Franc - 03/14 - 2/14/14

USD - 03/14 - 2/14/14

Bias


On Friday we said our bias was neutral as the futures weren't giving us any sense of direction.  The Dow gained 126 points and the other indices gained as well.  Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market but our bias is to the upside.  Why?  Historically speaking the markets tend to move higher after a 3 day holiday.         Could this change?  Of Course.  Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
 
On Friday we said our bias was neutral as the futures weren't giving us any sense of direction.  For those of you who are new to Market Teal Leaves a neutral bias means the markets could go in any direction.   Well the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report came out at 9:55 AM EST and exceeded expectation.  The number came in at 81.2 versus 80.3 expected and immediately thereafter the Dow exceeded parity and did not look back. 

DJIA - 2/14/14

This is positive from the perspective that the markets are rising on good news as opposed to what we had to deal with last year when markets dropped on positive due to the fear of the Fed tapering....

 Each day in this newsletter we provide viewers a snapshot of the Swiss Franc versus the US dollar as a way and means of capitalizing on the inverse relationship between these two assets.  Futures Magazine recognized this correlation as well.  So much so that they printed a story on it in their December issue.  That story can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/11/25/correlated-opportunities-in-the-swiss-franc?ref=hp


Many of my readers have been asking me to spell out the rules of Market Correlation.  Recently Futures Magazine has elected to print a story on the subject matter and I must say I'm proud of the fact that they did  as I'm Author of that article.  I encourage all viewers to read that piece as it spells out the rules of market correlation and provides charts that show how it works in action. The article is entitled "How to Exploit and Profit from Market Correlation" and can be viewed at:


http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/01/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation

As a follow up to the first article on Market Correlation, I've produced a second segment on this subject matter and Futures Magazine has elected to publish it.  It can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/16/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation?ref=hp


 
As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities.   While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report.  A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance.  Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares.  This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures.  There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc.
 
Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution. Today our bias is to the upside.  Could this change?  Of course.  In a volatile market anything can happen.  We'll have to monitor and see.
  


As I write this the crude markets are trading higher and the US Dollar is advancing.  This is not normal.  Think of it this way.  If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice-versa.  Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding.  The barometer of which is the equities or stock market.  If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this.  On Friday March crude dropped to a low of 99.43 a barrel but maintained the $100 a barrel mark.  We'll have to monitor and see if crude either goes lower or holds at the present level.   It would appear at the present time that crude has support at $99.44 a barrel and resistance at $100.87.  This could change.  All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel.  We'll have to monitor and see.  Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump. 

Future Challenges:
- Debt Ceiling -  We keep hearing that a budget has been passed and that the House and Senate have approved an extension of the Debt Ceiling until March, 2015, yet we haven't heard that Obama has approved any of these measures.  So I have to wonder what is he waiting for?  He's finally caught on to the idea that he can issue an Executive Order as he signed one last week increasing the minimum wage for Federal workers.  Too bad he didn't anything for the rest of us.  Now issuing an Executive Order may lead to absolutely nothing as Congress approves expenditures, not the Executive Branch but at the very least the American people will know where he stands.  He could have done the same thing for extending Unemployment Insurance for those who sorely need it or Gun Control if he felt that strongly about it.  For a President who's in last term in office and claims that he going to use the power of the pen; he certainly seems to be getting writer's cramp these days... 
 
Crude oil is trading higher and the US Dollar is advancing.  This is not normal.  Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the course of any trading day: around 9 AM EST, 11 AM EST and 2 PM EST when the crude market closes.  If crude makes major moves around those time frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest that something is not quite right.  If you feel compelled to trade consider doing so after 10 AM when the markets give us better direction.  As always watch and monitor your order flow as anything can happen in this market.  This is why monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial.  We as traders are faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years ago.  High Frequency Trading is one of them.   I'm not an advocate of scalping however in a market as volatile as this scalping is an alternative to trend trading.





Remember that without knowledge of order flow we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have no issue taking it from us.  Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow.  Sceeto does an excellent job at this.  To fully capitalize on this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market correlate.  More on this in subsequent editions.
 






Nick Mastrandrea is the author of Market Tea Leaves. Market Tea Leaves is a free, daily newsletter that discuses and teaches market correlation. Market Tea Leaves is published daily, pre-market in the United States and can be viewed at www.markettealeaves.com  Interested in Market Correlation?  Want to learn more?  Signup and receive Market Tea Leaves each day prior to market open.  As a subscriber, you’ll also receive our daily Market Bias video that is only available to subscribers.

Pre-Market Global Review - 2/14/14 - Comcast Deal Moves Markets

Good Morning Traders,  
 
 As of this writing 5:10 AM EST, here’s what we see:
 
                  
US Dollar –Down at 80.235, the US Dollar is down 143 ticks and is trading at 80.235.           
Energies – March Oil is down at 99.93.       
Financials – The March 30 year bond is up 4 ticks and trading at 133.04.      
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down 1 tick and trading at 1824.00. 
Gold – The April gold contract is trading down at 1308.30 and is up 82 ticks from its close.   
           
 
Initial Conclusion: This is not a correlated market.  The dollar is down- and oil is down which is not normal but the 30 year bond is trading higher.  The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa.  The indices are lower and the US dollar is trading down which is not correlated.  Gold is trading higher which is correlated with the US dollar trading down.   I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down.   I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong.  As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. 
               
Asia traded mainly higher with the exception of  the Nikkei  and Singapore exchanges which traded lower.  As of this writing all of Europe is trading higher.   
 
  Possible challenges to traders today is the following:
                                           
1.  Import Prices m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST.  This is major.     
2.  Capacity Utilization Rate is out at 9:15 AM EST.  This is not major.      
3.  Industrial Production m/m is out at 9:15 AM EST.  This is not major.  
4.  Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment is out at 9:55 AM EST.  This is major.  
5.  Prelim UoM Inflation Expectations is out at 9:55 AM EST.  This is major.



      
 Currencies                  


Yesterday the Swiss Franc made it's move at around 8:30 AM EST immediately after the Unemployment Claims numbers came in.  Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets.  The USD rose at around that time and the Swiss Franc fell.  This was a shorting opportunity on the Swiss Franc.  The key to capitalizing on these trades is to watch the USD movement.  The USD rise only lent confirmation to the move.  As a trader you could have netted 20 ticks on this trade.  To expand the chart, right click and open in a new window.  Kindly view our special video to determine how to capitalize on these trades.  http://youtu.be/lOxBMe09X3Q
 
 Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades
 

Swiss Franc - 03/14 - 2/13/14

USD - 03/14 - 2/13/14

Bias


Yesterday we said our bias was to the downside as the markets weren't correlated, Asia had traded down and Europe was trading down.  The markets however had other plans as the Dow gained 64 points and the other indices gained as well.  Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market and in fact the futures aren't giving any sense of direction, therefore our bias is neutral which means it go in any direction today.       Could this change?  Of Course.  Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
 
Yesterday we said our bias was to the downside as the markets weren't correlated, both Asia dn Europe were trading down and the US futures was pointed down. Whereas initially the markets opened lower, it became apparent after 10 AM that they were poised to rise.  So what happened?  None of the economic news met expectation.  It was reported that Comcast is buying Time Warner AOL for a record 45 Billion Dollars and Wall Street loves mega-deals.  It wasn't too long ago that we used to have "Merger Mondays" and most veteran traders used to avoid trading on Mondays for that very reason.   Bottom line is that when we have mega-deals it's more appropriate to maintain a neutral bias as the markets don't operate with a sense of normalcy.

 Each day in this newsletter we provide viewers a snapshot of the Swiss Franc versus the US dollar as a way and means of capitalizing on the inverse relationship between these two assets.  Futures Magazine recognized this correlation as well.  So much so that they printed a story on it in their December issue.  That story can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/11/25/correlated-opportunities-in-the-swiss-franc?ref=hp


Many of my readers have been asking me to spell out the rules of Market Correlation.  Recently Futures Magazine has elected to print a story on the subject matter and I must say I'm proud of the fact that they did  as I'm Author of that article.  I encourage all viewers to read that piece as it spells out the rules of market correlation and provides charts that show how it works in action. The article is entitled "How to Exploit and Profit from Market Correlation" and can be viewed at:


http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/01/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation

As a follow up to the first article on Market Correlation, I've produced a second segment on this subject matter and Futures Magazine has elected to publish it.  It can be viewed at:

http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/08/16/how-to-exploit-and-profit-from-market-correlation?ref=hp


 
As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities.   While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report.  A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance.  Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares.  This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures.  There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc.
 
Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution. Today our bias is neutral.  Could this change?  Of course.  In a volatile market anything can happen.  We'll have to monitor and see.
  


As I write this the crude markets are trading lower and the US Dollar is declining.  This is not normal.  Think of it this way.  If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice-versa.  Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding.  The barometer of which is the equities or stock market.  If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this.  Yesterday March crude dropped to a low of 99.48 a barrel but maintained the $100 a barrel mark.  We'll have to monitor and see if crude either goes lower or holds at the present level.   It would appear at the present time that crude has support at $99.25 a barrel and resistance at $100.78.  This could change.  All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel.  We'll have to monitor and see.  Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump. 

Future Challenges:
- Debt Ceiling - Well we could say it's official and that a "budget" has been passed by both houses of Congress but Obama still has yet to approve it.  If approved this would fund the government until September 30th and remove an uncertainty from the markets.  However Obama hasn't approved this yet and currently Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew has already testified before Congress warning that our current debt ceiling will expire on February 7th and that the Treasury could do something to extend until the end of February but won't be able to go much beyond that.   Well the State of the Union come and gone yet to our knowledge Obama hasn't approved anything yet.  He meets with Apple, Walmart and others to discuss joblessness yet he does absolutely nothing for the long term unemployed except to talk about it.  Did anyone bother to tell that he could issue an Executive Order to extend?  Yes, it may lead to absolutely nothing but at least the American people will know where he stands.  His lack of leadership in this regard is deplorable...

As an update to this the Senate has voted to extend the Debt Ceiling limit until March, 2015.  This is a clean extension without any hindrances.  Obama has signed an Executive Order to increase the minimum wage of Federal workers.  Too bad he didn't do anything for the rest of us.
 
 
Crude oil is trading lower and the US Dollar is declining.  This is not normal.  Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the course of any trading day: around 9 AM EST, 11 AM EST and 2 PM EST when the crude market closes.  If crude makes major moves around those time frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest that something is not quite right.  If you feel compelled to trade consider doing so after 10 AM when the markets give us better direction.  As always watch and monitor your order flow as anything can happen in this market.  This is why monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial.  We as traders are faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years ago.  High Frequency Trading is one of them.   I'm not an advocate of scalping however in a market as volatile as this scalping is an alternative to trend trading.





Remember that without knowledge of order flow we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have no issue taking it from us.  Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow.  Sceeto does an excellent job at this.  To fully capitalize on this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market correlate.  More on this in subsequent editions.
 






Nick Mastrandrea is the author of Market Tea Leaves. Market Tea Leaves is a free, daily newsletter that discuses and teaches market correlation. Market Tea Leaves is published daily, pre-market in the United States and can be viewed at www.markettealeaves.com  Interested in Market Correlation?  Want to learn more?  Signup and receive Market Tea Leaves each day prior to market open.  As a subscriber, you’ll also receive our daily Market Bias video that is only available to subscribers.