I put out a ‘mechanical’ trade in the chat room, a buy at 3363.00 that stopped out 3 1/2 hours later for a loss of $400 per contract. It did so after narrowly failing to achieve a profitable exit target at 3371.00. The set-up was enticing, but because it failed we can only infer that there is more weakness yet to come. Bulls got off to a strong start, seemingly oblivious to the potentially disruptive effects of coronavirus on the global economy. In retrospect, the strength seen early in the session seems to have been a show of bravado. We’ll step aside for now, but be ready to act if the futures signal opportunity. My hunch is that it will be to the downside, especially since the intraday high occurred just above a potentially important Hidden Pivot target at 3369.25 that I’ve been drum-rolling since February 3. Meanwhile, here’s a smaller chart to stay closely oriented to the trend. Weakness breaching the 3345.25 target shown would signal that bears are about to go on the offensive. ______ UPDATE (Feb 12, 12:25 a.m. EST): The futures are in a mild short-squeeze on zero volume in the dead of night. This has negated the bearish pattern shown in the chart, but I don’t trust the rally and doubt that it will get very far. _______ UPDATE (Feb 12, 9:07 p.m.): The futures plummeted nearly 20 points in mere minutes early this evening. Go figure! Here’s a chart to help you make hay from their senseless histrionics.
