Two days after Monday’s avalanche, the obligatory bounce has yet to exceed a single ‘external’ peak on the hourly chart. That would require a print at 2083.50, but so far the futures have gone no higher than 2077.50, yesterday’s peak. The holiday-shortened week is undoubtedly contributing to the stock market’s lackluster performance, but it may also stem from a lack of buying interest that has been evident since February. I doubt whether the mood will be any livelier as trading draws to a close ahead of the holiday, but there may be an opportunity for night owls to profit nonetheless. We already know that stocks will make their high in the dead of night, somewhere between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., so you should plan on getting short at either 2073.75 (p) or 2086.75 (p2) if one or the other is hit. A stop-loss as tight as three ticks can be used, implying you’d need at least nine-ticks movement your way before taking a partial profit or implementing a trailing top. _______ UPDATE (10:34 a.m. EDT): The futures died between the two pivots given above, with two gratuitous thrusts six hours apart. The first peaked at 4:15 a.m. with a 2076.25 print; the second at 8:45 a.m. (45 minutes before the opening) at 2079.00. That should be it for the day, at least to the upside.
