A rally target equivalent to the one flagged in today’s ES tout lies at 8945, but a two-day close above it would suggest more upside over the near term to at least 9401. Any weakness this morning could be expected to find support near 8599, a key midpoint pivot on the hourly chart. _______ UPDATE: The pundits would have us believe stocks are getting whacked this morning because of weak numbers out for U.S. manufacturing. However, if this “revelation” took traders by surprise, we’ll eat a Chevy crankcase. The market is down simply because the short-squeeze that had pushed it higher ran out of fuel, and because the shakedown artists who more or less control the markets are intent on accumulating shares at lower prices. Now, if the futures retrace half of their gains since November 21, it would imply more downside to at least 8134, or 300 points lower. If the retracement hits 61.8%, the low would be around 7903.