The futures ended on a promising note after spending most of the week tracing out a 60-point swoon. The 2612.50 low of the move narrowly missed tripping a ‘mechanical’ buy at 2607.31. This suggests there was too much buying power for the futures to fall all the way to the green line where such bids become active. Correspondingly, the 2727.50 target is an better bet to be reached than it would have been following a touch-and-go takeoff. Pivoteers who recall the old-style rules for setting up a mechanical trade at the red line can try it, but you’ll be on your own if you do. _______ UPDATE (Jan 28, 9:43 a.m.): Bullish as things looked at Friday’s close, stocks are getting whomped today, reminding us yet again that the market develops a fresh case of amnesia each and every night, especially over weekends. The futures would trip a ‘mechanical’ buy signal at 2607.25 (stop 2567.00), but I’m recommending the trade only to those who know how to convert the set-up to a camouflage one. ________ UPDATE (Jan 28, 4:12 p.m.): I’d recommend canceling the mechanical bid because price action looks so feeble. However, you can still attempt the trade via camouflage if you can identify a ‘camo’ set-up that brings entry risk down to six ticks or less per contract. _______ UPDATE (Jan 29, 9:27 p.m.): Index futures have gotten less lift from tonight’s short-squeeze in AAPL than I might have expected. Regardless, the 2727.50 target (2728.25 when corrected) given above will remain viable unless 2567.25 is exceeded to the downside. _______ UPDATE (Jan 30, 7:06 p.m.): Today’s stall precisely at the D target shown is unlikely to keep the futures from reaching the 2728.25 target given above. ______ UPDATE (Jan 31, 5:26 p.m.): The futures were steaming toward the target after the close and looked like a lead-pipe cinch to achieve it. If you’ve held a long position for any part of the ride and made at least $1000, consider going short at 2728.00 with as tight a stop-loss as you can abide.
