Assuming the Diamonds blow past the 86.92 midpoint pivot that arrested yesterday’s spree, they will likely be bound for a minimum 88.30 thereafter. I’ll leave it to chat-room Pivoteers to improvise a boarding strategy for the ride north, but if and when the rally reaches its projected terminus at 88.30, we’ll want to attempt shorting there by buying a January 88 put (DAVMJ); or alternatively, naked-shorting a January 90 call (DAVAL). I will update with more-detailed guidance if the trade gets in range before the final hour, so keep your bulletin launcher open if you’d like to be alerted in real time. _______ UPDATE: A short from 88.30 would have worked nicely, since the Diamonds plunged 1.47 points (!) after making a top that day at 88.37. They have since recovered (and then some) on the first trading day of the New Year, but if you managed the risk properly, you would have come away with an easy profit.

Newmont seems unlikely to indulge our lazy bid below the market, so I’ll suggest getting long today on an impulsive break above the two peaks labeled in the accompanying chart. You should only attempt this one if you understand why the rally must have no b-c corrections in the space between the two peaks. If you use stock to get long, a 40.41 buy-stop limit is suggested on 200 shares. _______ UPDATE: We hold 200 shares for 40.41, off a buy-stop triggered when Newmont popped (so far today) to 40.59. This morning’s reversal has beeen quite sharp, so expect some consolidation before the stock attempts to take on some resistance highs near 45 from late October.

Night owls who followed my advice yesterday could have caught a ride worth as much as $2,000 per contract, on initial risk of as little as $130. For those who made money on the trade, here’s another night owl special that comes from the two-minute chart: Bid 38.92, stop 38.87. I typically recommend a stop-loss of at least 20-22 cents when trading against swings in this vehicle, but the pattern from which I’ve derived the target is so delicate that we should look for a very precise bounce here, assuming one occurs. _______ UPDATE: The midpoint support gave way easily, telegraphing the considerable weakness that followed. The obligatory short-squeeze came eventually off a low at 36.94, but it unfolded in too many stages to suggest there is any real buying power here. It would take a print at 57.25 to hint that anything worthy of our attention is happening. My gut feeling is that we will see oil trade below $20/barrel, and perhaps below $15.