E-Mini S&P

It was 'dueling delusions' yesterday:  China's move toward easing vs Helicopter Ben's frank admission that 'monetary policy is not a panacea'.  Isn't it a bit late in the game for him to be saying such sensible things?  In any event, by day's end the Fed chairman's unwonted reluctance to masturbate Wall Street brought shares down from the giddy heights they'd achieved on word that China was prepared to use the West's number one growth tool:  more debt.  Permabears that we are, do we dare get in the way as every nation on earth with a central bank fixes to ramp up credit?  In a word, yes. As has been demonstrated here time and again, we can short every misguided rally from here till the cows come home, often booking at least a small profit even when we are wrong. We can also buy the dips in anticipation of the extreme rallies that are certain to occur if the stock market has indeed entered a bear market. Most immediately, that would imply bottom-fishing at the 1312.25 midpoint pivot of the pattern shown. This must be executed camo-style, however, since the Hidden Pivot support is coincident with yesterday's low.  The objective here is not merely to profit from the rally, but to use the profit to cushion the stop-loss on our next short.  Night owls in particular should note that an easy breach of 1312.25 would imply more downside over the very near-term to its 'd' sibling, 1306.50.  Like to learn how to reduce the risk of a trade using the Hidden Pivot Method? Click here.

Call me persnickety, but I want to see yesterday's short-squeeze hysteria go the extra mile before I wax enthusiastic over the rally, which appears to have been driven, perversely, by Spain's near-death experience. Since we know that nothing has actually changed and that Europe's crisis will end not with a solution but with smoldering wreckage, we can safely assume that celebration on Wall Street and the world's other bourses will be short-lived.  Its singular goal is to distribute stock to the rubes, but we'll nonetheless take from it according to our needs. The 480-minute chart shown needs a print at 1340.00 for starters, but until then I'd suggest scalping off the lesser charts from the long side.  Click here for a free trial subscription to Rick's Picks, including access to the 24/7 chat room.

Tonight's most recent stab on the lesser charts has created a bullish impulse leg and also exceeded a minor 'D' target. This means short-term traders should position from the long side, even as we suspend our disbelief concerning the ostensible reason for the rally:  Spain's worsening plight and the stimulus this supposedly will coax forth.  Night owls have one more peak to work with at 1296.50 (see inset) to leverage the next 'camo' abc pattern.

The breach of an important midpoint support at 1272.00 has bearish implications for the intermediate term, but the immediate picture is probably no worse than neutral, since the futures turned higher from four points above the 1268.25 downside target of a lesser pattern (see inset). On balance, we'll back away for a day, although camouflageurs are encouraged to go where other traders might fear to tread. Bulls would need to push this brick to 1296.75 today to show a spark of life.

The bottom of Friday's plunge fell an inch from the 1272.00 midpoint support flagged in the update I posted intraday.  This corroborates and affirms the pattern itself, along with its 1209.75 'D' target.  We may infer that a further decline to that last number is an odds-on bet if p is decisively breached (which in this case means by more than 2.00 points). Meanwhile,  I would expect DaBoyz to play it gingerly Sunday night in order to create the impression that no panic impends.  They might succeed if the news environment is not too bad, but any rally would be a short nonetheless. Since I'll be traveling back to Denver on Monday, I'll leave it to Pivoteers to find a painless way to get aboard.  Suffice it to say, we should expect rallies of all degree to fail at either their p midpoints or d targets.

Yesterday afternoon's 's 22-point Whoopee Cushion bounce came off a low that lay just 1.50 points from the 1295.75 correction target flagged here.  Strictly speaking, there was no trade for those bidding at the Hidden Pivot.  However, using a camouflage strategy could have produced a different and rewarding outcome. Notice in the 3-minute chart (see inset) that the initial thrust was a compelling impulse leg with a one-off 'A', two single-bar coordinates and an entry trigger at 1303.50 -- in short, a 'What are you waiting for?' trade for Pivoteers alert to the possibility of a turn at or near 1295.75. The important thing to note is that the best -- and easiest -- entry opportunities are invariably those signaled on charts of minute degree following a price reversal at or near p or D.  For the trader, the trick is to act rather than think when all the ducks are so beautifully aligned. For Friday, bulls were holding a small edge as of around 1:15 a.m. Sticking with the 3-minute chart displayed above, the relevant pattern is A=1297.25 (5/31 at 11:09 a.m. EDT), B=1319.00 and C=1299.50. The implication is that a decisive pop through the 1312.50 midpoint resistance would send this vehicle on its way to D=1323.25.  Camouflageurs can start looking for a way in after the 1307.00 trigger is hit. ______ UPDATE (10:02 a.m. EDT):  Ahh, all is right with the world! Following the Dow's lead, the futures are in 'plummet mode' today, a Friday, DaBoyz having been unable to promote a short-squeeze on such dismal economic news as the markets have received this morning. (It seems, finally, to have dawned on the thieves, miscreants and mental defectives who make their living abusing OPM that this cannot lead to looser money because money is already as loose as

In after-hours trading, the futures are giving up ground grudgingly following Wednesday's thrashing. The chart shows a short-term downside target at 1295.75, but I discern little opportunity in it, and it may be spent before the opening bell. Alternatively, buyers would need to push this brick to 1340.00 today to make up for yesterday's punk performance.

The 1333.25 rally target given here yesterday would have yielded a nice short, since the futures plunged a gratuitous 12 points after topping at exactly 1333.75. They subsequently shot up to 1334.25 to end the day, implying that this vehicle is firmly in the hands of madmen and thieves. Whether they know it or not, and barring some sort of black swan event, the cosmos have ordained further upside to a Hidden Pivot target at 1347.75. It is shown in the chart, but I'll leave it to deft camouflageurs to make proper use of it, long or short, since I will likely be away from my desk -- am in fabulous Pittsburgh, actually -- if DaBoyz should try to sneak one by us. _______ UPDATE (9:46 a.m.):  The futures turned unusually weak this morning -- so much so that two very wild pump-and-dump, pre-opening spikes engineered by the usual dirtballs achieved no better than 1331.00. Now, in the early minutes of the regular session, they've exceeded the 1316.00 downside target of an obvious pattern (60m, A=1334.25 on May 29 at 5 p.m.), implying that still more weakness impends. If so, the 1308.00 midpoint support of a larger pattern beckons as a logical minimum downside target for now. Calling the turns confidently and dramatically reducing the risk of trading are easier than you might think.  Want to learn how? Click here for information concerning the upcoming Hidden Pivot Webinar on June 6-7.

The futures opened Sunday night with a gratuitous short-squeeze, suggesting that traders were having second thoughts about the crescendo of gloom they orchestrated ahead of Memorial Day weekend.  From a Hidden Pivot standpoint, the so-far 6-point goosing is inconsequential even on the 15-minute chart, let alone the hourly chart where moves worthy of a claim on our attention begin.  This one could get to the 1333.25 target of the pattern shown, implying that any trades thereupon will require a nimble touch.  Note that Sunday night's lurch has begun from within 1.25 points of the pattern's 1313.75 midpoint. Calling the turns confidently is easier than you might think.  Want to learn how? Click here for information concerning the upcoming Hidden Pivot Webinar on June 6-7.