The futures are looking heavy and need to close above 1257.50 by the end of the week to keep the heat on bears. Settlement above 1271.40 would be even better, all but clinching more upside over the near term to at least D=1299.20 (see inset). Looking at a bigger picture, we shouldn’t be too concerned if corrective selling pushes this vehicle down another $20 or $30, since even a print exceeding 1181.60 to the downside would not do much harm to the very bullish look of the daily chart. Night owls can use this bullish pattern to attempt a low-risk entry ‘mechanically’ at x=1253.65 or p=1256.80: a=1247.30 (1/9 at 10:40 a.m. ET); b=1259.90 (1:20 p.m.); c=1250.50.
