For the past several days, we’ve eagerly awaited the opportunity to short the S&Ps futures at exactly 1170.75, a hidden pivot that promised to be the fat pitch of a trader’s dreams. It never occurred to us that so very modest a target would remain beyond the reach of bulls. But so far it has been -- despite the fact that as recently as last Thursday, the occasionally thundering herd had the testosterone to push stocks to their biggest one-day gain in months. A bull trap? It’s certainly starting to look like one. But I hesitate to assert, as so many seem to be doing these days, that this so-far brief stretch of lackadaisy portends the imminent, and possibly spectacular, decline of shares.

By now, bulls and bears alike should have developed a healthy respect, and not a little fear, for the canny way in which the stock market has continued to outwit all comers. Even for those nimble enough to play the game from both sides, there has been the excruciating vigil of watching market volatility recede to the threshold of coma. For our part, we’ve laid in a supply of June QQQ puts whose cost basis has been reduced by some judicious profit-taking.

Buy More Puts

We will likely stick our necks out a bit further by bidding for some Spyder puts – a practical alternative to subjecting ourselves to yet one more day of the S&P futures’ come-hither undulations. My hunch is that the S&P 500’s next big move will be down – presumably to a hidden-pivot target near 1100 that I’ve pinpointed in today’s Touts. But come what may, we cannot allow boredom to influence our choice of tactics, nor cause us to agonize over…nothing. If the market allows us but one good trade per week, that should suffice to keep our emotions at bay.