The futures ended the week on a tempting buy signal that was best ignored, since it is impossible to predict on a Friday what fresh hell Sunday’s news might bring. The headlines were decidedly bearish in producing Thursday’s overnight cascade: crude prices were up nearly 4%, Xi Jinping was boasting of China’s supposed answer to Anthropic, and a SpaceX rocket ship failed to get airborne. Stocks did not so much shrug off this news as leverage it to spring a weak bear trap.  The short-covering Whoopee Cushion that resulted culminated in the buying temptation noted above.  Now, the futures will either leap to the 7573.50 target, or at least to p=7523.25; or more likely in my view, stop out the trade and continue down to late-June’s lows near 7350. Stay tuned to the chat room for ringside commentary as events reveal the nature and purpose of Mister Market’s deceptions.