Proper context can start the day with a solid win and make all the difference.

DAILY SCHEDULE First, watch the pre-open Tour recording HERE <<== Then, meet in the chaRTroom here by 9:15 ET for updates and Q&A

Through the prior close... (summary of last Market Wrap) Quite a range Tuesday for not triggering a bias. The 3001.00 pre-open high had collapsed down to 2990.75, only to trigger noN-bias. But a bounce tested the 2997.75 bias-up target anyway, and held. The dip and bounce repeated through the noon hour, triggering no-bias. But a China trade headline triggered a surge to 3007.00 anyway, and firmed. Having originated during a no-bias environment, the surge required being retraced to its 2998.50 bias-up signal, which became "unfinished business." Overnight action's new info... (nearby chart is last session and Globex) An 8-point plunge was triggered in sympathy with Techs tumbling on post-close news that DOJ is reviewing them for antitrust violations. The 2008.50 pre-close high was recovered to within 1 tick by midnight. But trending down since then got to 2996.00, both neutralizing the 2998.50 unfinished business below, and testing this morning's 2996.50 bias-down target. If, then... (notes to accompany the Tour recording) This week's two sessions of rallying only retraced the range from Friday's lower-end to its upper-end. Which is a lot of buying pressure to expend just as noise. Not already rallying into Wednesday's open is vulnerable to extending down intraday under overnight lows. It seems like Europe wanted to react to the DOJ/Techs news, and soon the intraday crowd might want to do the same. That would be even more selling pressure. Holding or not holding the bias-down target could define the balance of the day, and possibly also the resolution to this week's bounce. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to headlines coming from today's Mueller hearings -- good or bad for the President could be translated to being good or bad for his economic agenda, or for his sway with Fed Chair Powell. Ultimately, the hearings should be redundant, so any negative effect is likely to recover. First Trade... (preliminary indications for the Bias parameters) Exiting the open at 9:45 above 2998.50 would be unlikely to exceed the 2996.50 bias-down target at 10:15. Exiting the open at 9:45 under 3000.25 would be likely to trigger the 3002.00 bias-down signal at 10:15. Exiting the open above 3004.00 would be unlikely to trigger bias-down.

No backing-and-filling, yet. I had anticipated a post-open reaction to yesterday's post-close DOJ/Tech news. The market disagreed. Fluctuating between its 2996.50-3002.00 bias-down parameters greeted the open at its 2999.50 midpoint. Then surged until probing the 3010.25 bias-up signal by 1 point. The surge to 3011.25 was the peak of a 3-point sentiment extreme that reacted down quickly to 3006.50. The next half-hour fluctuated narrowly between 3006.50-3009.50. No-bias was triggered, after having tested both bias signals. Testing the bias-up signal more recently suggests that the bias-down signal will be retested, but it's not required. Either bias signal should define that end of the window if tested before the bias environment begins lapsing. Nothing has suggested the market is yet interested inrretesting the bias-down signal. In fact, the bias-up signal is being retested, when breaking any higher would be "no-bias trending" that requires being retraced. Nevertheless, I'm willing to be exposed to whipsaw by being long at fresh highs. If the market starts believing it is impervious to negative inputs like the DOJ/Techs influence and Mueller hearing, then a broader rally could be underway through noon.

WED afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 3008.75 3010.50 ...would target 3015.75 3017.50 Bias-down: under 3002.50 3004.50 ...would target 2997.50 2999.50 Signal status: BIAS-UP . BIAS VIDEOS... INTRO // EXAMPLE 1. At 1:20, trading above the bias-up signal or under the bias-down signal would put into play a test of its bias-up or bias-down target. 2. Not triggering either bias signal at 1:20 would be "no-bias," and the bias signals should define the bias environment's range. -- A test of the opposite bias signal would be targeted if one bias signal was tested before triggering no-bias. 3. Touching the bias signal within 3 minutes either way of 1:20 would invoke a grace period through 1:30 to trigger a late signal. -- "Late" signals don't require testing the opposite bias signal, but it's still likely. 4. Still testing the bias signal at 1:30 after invoking the grace period would trigger "noN-bias," with no bias influence.

Back to session highs. This moring's no-bias environment ultimately honored the boundaries established by its bias signals, although the 3010.25 bias-up signal was probed up to 3012.75. But the no-bias trending snapped back down 8 points to eventually touch 3004.75. Trending up through the noon hour touched the morning's high, hovering there since then. The delay in extending higher without reacting down seems like ineffectual pessimism. The afternoon's 3010.50 bias-up signal triggered cleanly, but a fresh post-1:20 high would help to confirm upside momentum remains intact. Meanwhile, a pullback has room down to 3009.00 as noise under the bias-up signal. Anything deeper could extend to 3002.00, and still be very likely to recover today.

Wednesday was backwards day, in almost everything but direction. First, the open's 12-point surge was stopped forcefully by its 3010.25 bias-up signal's resistance, and then triggered no-bias. Consolidating through the noon hour firmed enough in time to trigger the 3010.50 bias-up, and then ranged narrowly sideways. But not for long before steepening the rally to the 3017.50 bias-up target. And through it to 3022.00. The post-open rally was in spite of potential negative influence by the DOJ/Tech story, and by the Mueller hearings, which I had assumed would inhibit a morning rally. The afternoon rally was in spite of post-close earnings due from Facebook, which usually inhibits afternoon trending. In either case, the signals and their targets spoke for themselves. Meanwhile, last Monday's 3021.50 gap up above all prior highs that required a retest is now neutralized. The 3021.50 close essentially fulfills the requirement for last Friday's new trend high close that required at least another eventual new high close. Last Sunday night's 3023.50 "new Globex trend extreme" still requires intraday retest. Any one of these three setups had given us confidence all last week that its pullback was only temporary. Which leaves one setup outstanding -- the rally's next higher objectives at 3033.00 and probably also 3066.00 that were put into play by two consecutive closes above 2997.75. Wednesday afternoon rally gained traction for its effort -- exiting the bias environment at 2:30 above the noon hour's high and entering the final hour higher. Even the 3:10-3:20 proxy window trended up to fresh highs. This often extends the trend the following morning. Triggering the morning's bias-down signal might be the only path down. Details and other markets coverage are discussed in the post-market Wrap recording here. Monitor overnight Globex trading in the chaRTroom here.

THU morning signal (triggered at 10:15 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 3022.00 3024.00 ...would target 3027.50 3029.50 Bias-down: under 3008.50 3017.50 ...would target 3015.75 3010.25 Signal status: BIAS-DOWN, BIAS-DOWN TARGET EXCEEDED . BIAS VIDEOS... INTRO // EXAMPLE 1. At 10:15, trading above the bias-up signal or under the bias-down signal would put into play a test of its bias-up or bias-down target. 2. Not triggering either bias signal at 10:15 would be "no-bias," and the bias signals should define the bias environment's range. -- A test of the opposite bias signal would be targeted if one bias signal was tested before triggering no-bias. 3. Touching the bias signal within 3 minutes either way of 10:15 would invoke a grace period through 10:30 to trigger a late signal. -- "Late" signals don't require testing the opposite bias signal, but it's still likely. 4. Still testing the bias signal at 10:30 after invoking the grace period would trigger "noN-bias," with no bias influence.