Sellers who had inundated the stock market on Friday seem to have overslept yesterday, getting the week off to a ho-hum start. The Dow Industrials were never down more than 70 points intraday, and they finished off a mere 16 points, mocking those investors who may have spent the weekend steeping in anxiety. Considering the nearly $5 hit that 3M shares took, it’s probably a bullish sign that the blue chip average wasn’t down significantly more than it was. From a hidden-pivot perspective the major indexes were never in any danger. We were focused on the Nasdaq 100 Trust, or QQQs, after they ended last week precisely midway between two important, very tightly spaced hidden pivots. The lower one lay at 34.65, and although it was exceeded intraday, the breach was just a hundredth of a point.

 (Click on chart to enlarge)

The bad news is that, even though the support can be considered to have held, the subsequent bounce was so feeble as to be almost imperceptible on the hourly chart. Should we therefore expect the QQQs to head at least somewhat lower this morning? I’d say yes, although my bearish bias would intensify if the Cubes take out the hidden-pivot support at 34.26 identified here earlier. There is one additional place where we might look for a bounce -- at 34.49, a minor hidden pivot where all of you bottom-fishing artistes are encouraged to ply your trade with as much delicacy as you can bring to it  If you do so, please keep in mind that a analogous downside target for the S&P futures that was advertised in yesterday’s edition is still viable and can also be bottom-fished.