Bears have shown little patience for holding back since Monday’s refreshing cascade. Their eagerness to cover short positions is understandable, since they’re coming off a nearly five-year losing streak. It is predictable nonetheless that they will have squandered most of their ammo by the time they’ve grown comfortable with the idea that stocks are in a bear market. And it is at that point that the broad averages will begin to fall in earnest, making 2014’s worst days so far look relatively benign.

Assuming bears begin the day as nervously as they did yesterday, look for short-covering to push the futures through the 1751.25 midpoint pivot, and thence to 1759.50, its ‘D’ sibling.  Any higher could be problematical, however, since even the kind of faintly bullish news necessary to goad bears into buying is not likely to be forthcoming.  More immediately, night owls should plan to do their buying at pullback targets, since handholds for ‘camouflage’ trades that go with-the-trend have already been depleted, even on the one-minute chart, as of early Wednesday night. ______ UPDATE (12:19 p.m. EST): The futures have ratcheted up to a so-far high today of 1766.75, implying that bears began the day ready and eager to mutilate and torture themselves no matter what the cost. Because the short squeeze has occurred via an accretion of paper cuts, it seems likely to end in a mini-blowoff that tops just above the stops of the most cleverest and most courageous bears. _______ UPDATE (February 7, 2:33 a.m.): Bears were getting squeezed mercilessly in the wee hours, obliterating a midpoint resistance at 1771.50 tied to a 1781.50 target. A subsequent pullback has brought the futures back down to the midpoint, where buyers are encouraged to board via camouflage. The move through the midpoint on the way up was so decisive that a finishing stroke to 1781.50 seems all but inevitable.