In the chat room, several subscribers reported using the 2047.25 target I’d been drum-rolling here for a week to get short a single tick off the intraday high. The futures fell nine points thereafter, allowing us to cover half of the position for a profit of as much as $450 per contract. For purposes of establishing a tracking position, I’ve used 2040.00 as the exit price, 1.75 points off the retracement low. That leaves us short two contracts whose cost basis I’ve adjusted to 2054.50. For now, use a stop-loss at 2051.25. We should entertain no illusions about having nailed a major peak in a bull market that has been blithely chugging along for more than seven years. The purpose of the trade, besides satisfying the urge that each of us permabears has to get short at an important top, is to do so with relatively little stress, and to have a chance of turning a profit even if it turns out that we’ve been wrong. Of course, this has been true in each and every instance where we’ve tried this gambit. But that hasn’t stopped us from making a few bucks in the process, as seems very likely to become the case here, while having good fun. _______ UPDATE (March 23, 10:55 a.m. ET): The trade has continued to go our way, with a so-far low today at 2031.50 that would have produced an $800 profit per contract for anyone who got short as advised.  Cover a third contract at 2034.25. _______ UPDATE (March 23, 6:53 p.m. ET): The futures traded down to 2026.75, allowing us to easily cover for 2034.25 a third contract of four shorted a day earlier at 2047.25.  Imputing the gain thus far to our tracking position leaves us with a single contract whose effective cost basis is 2074.75. We’ll swing for the fences on this one, using a stop-loss for now at 2047.75.  If, as has been the case for the last seven years, the S&Ps hit new highs, the position will be closed with a  gain of about $1350 for each four contracts originally shorted.  My immediate downside target is now 2024.00, or 2020.00 if any lower, but bears should take heart if these Hidden Pivot supports get trashed, since that would shorten the odds that we actually have caught a major top. The new chart shows the relevant pattern. Very tightly stopped bottom-fishing at p2 or d is recommended for scalpers, since these Hidden Pivot supports look likely to produce precisely tradable bounces even if the futures ultimately head lower. _______ UPDATE (March 25, 3:12 a.m.): Bears have only themselves to blame for Thursday’s take-no-prisoners rally. With almost no pullbacks in the final two hours, the upthrust would appear to have been driven almost entirely by short-covering. The buying panic had not subsided by day’s end, implying that when trading resumes Sunday evening, it will be with bears hanging on the ropes and hemorrhaging blood.  Not us, though. Yes, it’s true that we are certain to be among the very last to throw in the towel, since our stop-loss is above the recent recovery high. However, as noted above, the position would still show a theoretical gain of $1350 per contract. That would hardly be reason for despair, especially since we will have achieved our goal of making a few bucks despite being ‘wrong’ yet again about THE top.