E-Mini S&P

The futures have stalled for two days almost precisely at the midpoint Hidden Pivot of the pattern shown. It's still speculative to suggest they are about to pop through the resistance, but the fact that Thursday's close was just above it lends weight to the bullish case for the near term. If this vehicle has traded 2107.00 or higher in the opening hour, we should infer that it's on its way to at least p2=2125.50. Traders could buy a pullback to 2102.50, stop 2194.75, provided the set-up meets our criteria for a 'mechanical' entry. If the close is 2127.00 or higher, look for a finishing strike to D=2148.50 on Monday.

The rally blew past a 2085.00 target I flagged here yesterday, implying that a pattern of larger degree is driving the move. It is shown in the chart (see inset), and although I doubt this short-squeeze will reach the 2130.75 terminus, buyers shouldn't have much difficulty achieving p=2093.75, or perhaps even p2=2112.25. Either one of these Hidden Pivots can serve as a launching pad for a 'mechanically' initiated long position. Also, the lower number can be shorted, stop 2094.25, provided you've caught the ride to it. ______ UPDATE (8:22 p.m. EDT): A 'mechanical' buy at 2093.75 is in good shape Wednesday night, since the futures have rallied 10.50 points so far, to  2104.25, after pulling back just 2.50 points beneath the suggested entry prices. For now, tie what remains of any position to a trailing stop or an impulsive one that would allow you to exit with a profit no matter what. My immediate price objective is 2112.25, but save a small piece of the original position for a swing for the fences: 2130.75.

The futures did yesterday what they've been doing for months - i.e., topping in the dead of night on near-zero volume, then spending the rest of the day screwing the pooch.  In the course of this tedium, they avoided a rendezvous with the 2046.75 target shown, presumably because it lay too far outside of the range established in the opening hour. The target remains valid nonetheless, and if it's reached at the usual time -- i.e., between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. EDT, I'd suggest bottom-fishing with a stop-loss as tight as 1.00 point. Alternatively, a thrust exceeding 2069.50 would be warning of a presumably minor reversal. _______ UPDATE ( 12:34 a.m. EDT): DaBoyz have wafted this carny game as high as 2072.25 tonight, creating a bullish impulse leg on the hourly chart. Although a 'b-c' correction leg has yet to form, traders can use a=2063.00 (10:00 p.m.) as a starting point to generate an entry signal along an abcd pattern. The trade will become riskier if the point B high winds up being higher than 2072.25, since the rally so far, such as it is, has probably already turned too many other traders bullish.  _______ UPDATE (7:14 a.m.): On the 30-minute chart, after one unsuccessful attempt, the trade tripped at  3:45 a.m., based on b=2077.00 (1:30 a.m.); c=2071:00  (3:30 a.m.) and x=2074.50. Half the position should have been exited at p=2078.00 (6:15 a.m.), with the remainder held for a shot at D=2085.00, o-c-o with a break-even stop at 2070.75. _______ UPDATE (10:21): The position was scratched after the futures failed to go any higher than 2078.25.

Bulls will have the benefit of the doubt as the new week begins, since Friday's low fell just two ticks from a Hidden Pivot correction target at 2069.25 that had taken a week to reach (see inset).  To find a set of tradable coordinates for Sunday night, I'd suggest zooming down to the 5-minute chart and focusing on this bullish pattern: a=2072.50 (Friday, 2:00 p.m. EDT); b=2079.25 (2:55 p.m., still tentative); c=? _______ UPDATE (July 27, 9:32 a.m.): The futures have relapsed beneath Friday's low, generating an impulsively bearish pattern on the hourly chart that projects to 2055.50, or 2046.75 if any lower. (A=2103.75 on 7/24). p=2063.75 can be used to set up a mechanical short.

Boring markets turn out to be very predictable -- and tradable, provided one can stay awake for the opportunities. Take the 2212.75 rally target flagged here last night, for one. It not only caught the high of the last 24 hours within 1.00 point, it also set up a short from the top that could have produced a gain of as much as $900 per contract.  Nor was this opportunity merely hypothetical. Posting in the chat room, a subscriber reported actually doing the trade and coming away with a nice gain.  The rally target represented the terminus of a minor uptrend in a market that has been too feeble to pop. Notice that when the futures reversed direction and carved out a pattern of even larger degree, the intraday low came within two ticks of its D target, 2091.00. European subscribers ought to pay particular attention to my daily tout for this vehicle, since its highs and lows, although often precisely predictable, have occurred almost routinely between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. EDT, when most U.S. traders are asleep. But for their counterparts living in Western Europe -- or Australia, for that matter -- the set-ups have occurred in prime time. _______ UPDATE (10:28 p.m. EDT): You'll need to drill down to the five-minute chart to come up with a 'European' trade for tonight. Use the p, p2 and d of this pattern for a 'mechanical' entry: a=2093.00 at 3:50 p.m. Thursday; b=2101.75 at 5:05 p.m. and c=2098.50. If you're unsure how to use this tactic, seek out a collaborator in the chat room.

The futures bounced yesterday two ticks from the 2101.75 target I'd flagged the night before. However, if you missed buying near the low, which occurred a few minutes before the opening bell, the remainder of the day would have entailed a struggle to stay awake. The rally carried to 2112.00 -- worth nearly $500 per contract to anyone lucky enough to have been long for the ride -- but from that point forward, stocks meandered in a trance-inducing range for the next five hours. This was on a day when earnings announcements from AAPL and Chipotle should have energized stocks. Instead, Chipotle took a maniacal leap in the opening minutes, then leveled off into a tight range; while AAPL, for its part, jumped to recover half of the previous night's losses, then went brain-dead until the close. Going forward, I'd suggest a 'mechanical' buy on a pullback to p=2107.75, using a stop-loss at 2106.75.  The trade looks like it could ripen before the bell, so I am recommending it to night owls.  Regardless, my immediate expectation is for a rally to D=2112.75, a Hidden Pivot that can be shorted provided you've been long on the way up. ________ UPDATE (9:57 a.m. EDT): No trade got triggered at p; however, a 'mechanical buy' from p2=2110.25 would have worked, producing a $125 profit in 56 minutes following entry at 12:28 a.m. The trader would have  experienced no adversity, since 2110.25 was the low tick of the rally that ultimately reached the target. Thereafter, the futures never got above 2113.75, so reversing the position at the target as advised would have worked too, producing a gain so far of a little more than $400 per contract. Not bad on a day when 'nothing' is happening.

The pattern shown has been working very precisely and implies there will be a tradable low at 2101.75.  In addition, the prospect of initiating 'mechanical' shorts from either p2 or p, or both, looks enticing, assuming these two price points are hit in a way that meets our criteria for the mechanical trade.  If you're unclear about how to execute it, don't hesitate to ask in the chat room.

The bull pattern shown is one I only just discovered -- of necessity, since the trendline we'd been counting on to impede the rally at 2119.25 has proven to be a relative pushover. This pattern, with a target at 2141.25, shows a decisive midpoint penetration on Monday that all but ensures more upside over the near-term to at least p2=2129.75.  The pattern was also a 'mechanical' buy on the pullback early in the session to p=2118.20 (stop 2114.20). Night owls could short 2129.75 with a stop-loss as tight as three ticks, but keep in mind that anything above the stop would likely put the futures on track for 2141.25. That last number can be shorted aggressively if you've been long on the way up.

Wonder of wonders, the futures have accomplished Wednesday evening what they were unable to do all day -- i.e., break out to new highs above the 2106.25 target that I'd flagged the night before. They'd head-butted that Hidden Pivot resistance for the entire day, stuck in a constipated range. To break free required a shakedown 90 minutes before the final bell that dried up selling. Once that had been accomplished, DaBoyz had their launching pad for a short squeeze that is continuing as I write these words. I still have my doubts the rally will achieve new record highs. Regardless, we should look to intercept it with a short at 2119.25, where a trendline shown here yesterday comes in. Initiating the trade via 'camouflage' is recommended -- and don't hesitate to ask in the chat room if you need guidance.  I mentioned during Wednesday's tutorial session that we shouldn't be surprised to see the futures hit the target nanoseconds before the final bell. But don't let that stop you from taking a small short position home overnight, provided you are able to monitor it and exit if necessary. There is no Greek news left to catalyze a short-squeeze, so stocks should be viewed as wafting higher on fumes and zero bullish buying interest. A delicate uptrend, to be sure. ______ UPDATE (July 16, 12:19 p.m.): The futures topped at 2118.75, two ticks from my target. Let's keep our fingers crossed.