E-Mini S&P

The 2018.25 target is not lacking in clarity, and I expect it to be reached Thursday night or earlu Friday morning. The shorting opportunity would necessarily come first, but there's also a the prospect of bottom-fishing when the target is reached. I'll make the short trade catch-as-catch-can, although my gut feeling is that the futures will not do much faking out before they descend to the target. For the expected reversal, place your bid at 2018.50, stop 2017.50.  You'll be on your own if it fills, but if the trade goes in-the-black be sure to take a partial profit at 2021.50, or to implement an 'impulsive' stop-loss there if you hold just a single contract.  _______ UPDATE (10:26 a.m.): Concerning this morning's Whoopee Cushion short-squeeze, although the 2018.25 target is still valid theoretically because C=2060.75 has not been exceeded, the target has little practical value (other than that its having informed us, but not having been reached overnight, that conditions had turned mildly bullish.) That said, the rally has yet to exceed any 'external' peaks, so technically speaking it is not yet even impulsive on the hourly chart. This bull market's lack of significant corrections is at such an extreme that you could describe it as freakish, historically speaking. It routinely spits on Hindenburg Omens, as you will have noticed by now. Today is a good reminder of why we should take at least a partial profit on any put position that shows a small gain -- and not distract ourselves by patting ourselves on the back in those rare instances when a short has "come home."

Night owls can try bottom-fishing at the 2053.00 midpoint support, but I'll suggest bringing the bid down by two ticks, to 2052.50, for a more conservative play. This Hidden Pivot looks likely to be hit overnight, but regardless, if it gives way easily you should assume more weakness to at least 2042.75 impends. _______ UPDATE (10:33 a.m. EST): The futures signaled more weakness overnight when they breached the 1253.00 midpoint support by 3.50 points. The downtrend took a small bounce off 2042.75 before heading still lower, to a low-of-the day current price of 2034.25._______ UPDATE (7:42 p.m.): A stall at the 2059.50 midpoint pivot shown has validated the pattern itself, implying that any progress above it could be expected to reach a minimum 2068.00. As always, an easy move through a pivot would imply that the trend is likely to continue. _________ UPDATE (3:03 p..m.):  Ahhh, that rarest of delights! The stock market is falling for a third straight day -- getting its ass kicked at the moment, with the Dow down 280 points. My target is 17,447, implying about 75 more points of slippage over the near-term. Equivalent target for the E-Mini S&P is 2018.25.

Just eight points of upside remain until the futures hit something solid -- i.e., the 2084.75 target shown. The excitement could be over by the time you read this, but night owls should seize the opportunity if the futures open unchanged to slightly higher Sunday evening.  If not and there's a pullback to the 2073.00 midpoint pivot, that too can be used to get aboard -- either with a tight stop-loss for a multilot position, or one at 2070.00 if you fancy a 'mechanical' entry on a single contract.

The 2084.75 rally target shown was flagged during yesterday morning's 'impromptu'  webinar, but it came with a cautionary note about jumping aboard prematurely in expectation of a quick follow-through. This turned out to be good advice, since Mr Market spent the rest of the day screwing the pooch, presumably while awaiting better conditions to foment yet another short squeeze.  The target remains valid, and it looks like it could be shorted with a stop-loss as tight as 2-3 ticks.  However, I'd recommend doing so aggressively only if you've caught the ride higher, since any profits thereof could be used to widen the stop-loss when you reverse the position. Night owls will fare best if the rally resumes in the wee hours, but in any case, traders should look for a shallow pullback from just above peak #2 (2074.50) to initiate. I've sketched out a small ABC pattern to guide you. _______ UPDATE (8:43 a.m.):  The pattern I drew played out in actuality to yield a 2073.25 buy signal and a ride to D=2076.25. The futures subsequently 'went mental' on news that 321,000 new McJobs allegedly were created last month, but any subscribers who were long ahead of this would not likely have stayed aboard for the roller-coaster ride that ensued.

The long-term chart shown is intended as a reminder that this vehicle still has some running room before it encounters an impediment with the potential to stop the rampaging bull, even if only briefly. The 2115.50 Hidden Pivot target can be shorted aggressively using the 'camouflage' technqiue or very a tight stop-loss, but for the time being it should serve as a lodestone for bullish bets.  The expected rally would be equivalent to about 350 Dow points,  implying the Indoos are about to crack 18,000. The popular imagination will surely shift toward Dow 20,000 in a big way at that point, which is all the more reason why we shouldn't regard such an outcome as a done deal.

The broad averages trudged higher on Tuesday, shrugging off glum reports from retailers who undoubtedly had hoped for better results on Black Friday. There are of course no Black Fridays on Wall Street -- only a shimmering hallucination of rainbows and lollipops in a world where money is nearly free for the taking if you are a global player. From a technical standpoint, the E-Mini futures look poised for yet another thrust into new record territory.  The stall at the precise 'midpoint Hidden Pivot' of the pattern shown implies that, once above it, the December contract will be bound for a minimum 2088.25. That would equate to a Dow rally of about 180 points -- a feat that is unlikely to draw much notice from the lotus-eaters of the investment world.  Night owls keen on participating may have an opportunity to do so if this vehicle pulls back to 2055.50 without having first exceeded Tuesday's 2068.00 high. A stop-loss as tight as three ticks could be used to bottom-fish there, but you'll be on your own if the order fills. Please note that a similar strategy did not work yesterday because there was barely a pullback before the broad averages began to move higher after the opening bell.

Although yesterday's turbulence turned Friday's breezy, precise downtrend into an untradable jitterbug, the 2044.50 target still obtains.  It is also a promising place to try bottom-fishing, with a stop-loss as tight as 2043.75.  You'll be on your own if the order fills, but please note that any slippage below the stop-loss would indicate more weakness to come.

Index futures were trading only moderately lower Sunday night on reports that the holiday weekend was a disaster for retailers. We should assume that the stock market's weakness is only a hint of things to come on Monday, since the news will make it much harder for the fraudsters on Wall Street to pretend there's an economic recovery going on. The simple fact is that consumers have borrowed themselves comatose to make ends meet.  Night owls looking to trade the move should use the Hidden Pivots shown to guide them.  They lie, respectively, at 2056.00 and 2049.75. If the first is easily breached, assume the second will be reached. ______ UPDATE (9:36 a.m.): The futures have bounced from the exact middle of the range noted above -- a rather unusual occurrence, although not indicative of any great strength or resilience.

The 2115.50 target identified here earlier is a logical minimum objective for now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be reached. In any event, we'll need to monitor the lesser charts for more finely-nuanced signs of continuing strength -- or perhaps incipient weakness. If the 2064.25 high endures overnight, look for any downtrend to find support at or near the red line, a midpoint Hidden Pivot at 2055.50. We shouldn't attempt to bottom-fish there aggressively, however, since it coincides with 'structural' support that will be on other traders' radar.  Ditto for the D target at 2046.75, although either -- especially the second -- could yield the kind of subtle abc reversal that we look for to initiate risk-averse entries. _______ UPDATE (10:23 p.m. EST): Night owls should check out the new chart, since I've sketched out a potentially tradable scenario. The bigger picture, detailed above, remains unchanged. _______ UPDATE (November 25, 9:41 p.m.): Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.