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

CHARTROOM LINK (pre-open Market Tour begins at 8:55 ET)

Through the prior close... Eking higher through the morning had attacked 2060.00 when the noon hour began. The next two timing windows were spent sliding to attack overnight lows within 6 ticks at 2048.75. The final hour's bounce only attacked 2056.00 instead of recovering it, still undermining the rally's momentum. Overnight action's new info... Choppy ranging eventually touched 2056.00, which was rejected abruptly. Sliding into and out of Europe's opens reached 2042.25. A 7-point bounce resolved down to momentarily touch 2041.25, quickly settling in to range narrowly around 2044.50. If, then... Including last night's slide, three relatively substantial downlegs have developed since Wednesday morning's attack on 2065.00. There is a fine line between temporary correction and momentum reversal, especially ahead of a high-profile influential econ report like this morning's monthly payrolls. The pullback is vulnerable to becoming a trend reversal if not already ended by the open. While 2044.50's test would suffice for completing a pullback, it has room for noise down to 2039.25. The next lower objective at 2032.00 could be a last line of defense before reinstating 1980.00. All of which could become moot by a favorable reaction that opens back within yesterday's range. First Trade... No preliminary levels are considered prior to an Employment Situation report.

Substantial recovery gets ahead of itself. Opening at 2039.25 and probing fresh lows created a bottoming pattern that was sealed upon recovering 2038.50. Its reward was expected to be a substantial morning-long rally.

We got the substantial part already, but not yet the morning-long.

The 20498.75 bias-down signal was touched by 10:15. Actually, within 3 minutes of 10:15, invoking the grace period. It was not recovered through 10:30, triggering late bias-down. Late bias-down, or not, the 2038.50 buy signal's latest pullback limit held its test to avoid being violated. Another surge extended the recovery to 2053.50.

Two substantial rallies do not equate to morning-long.

Being a bias-down environment, the 2048.75 bias-down signal should define the range's upper-end. This requires its retest. Triggering bias-down had put into play a retest of the 2042.50 bias-down target. So, 2048.75 need not hold as support. After at least testing 2048.75, this being only a late bias-down environment, the rally could still resume. Meanwhile, a deeper pullback would be more credible.

FRI afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above  2064.25 2056.00 ...would target  2067.50  2061.25 Bias-down: under  2056.25 2048.00 ...would target 2050.75  2042.50 Signal status: LATE BIAS-UP FAQ INTRO VIDEOS #1 and #2 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.

Substantial rally fulfills its upside. Recovering 2038.50 after twice probing fresh lows post-open had suggested a substantial morning-long rally would develop. This being a Friday, the morning's bias is likely to extend into the afternoon. The morning's late bias-down signal contradicted the bullish scenario. But the requirement to retest this morning's 2048.75 bias-down signal can become "unfinished business below." And it has. Meanwhile, a noon hour pullback fulfilled its minimum objective at 2050.50. Its recovery has extended to fresh session highs at 2058.50 and triggered late bias-up. The 2061.25 bias-up target is in-play.

New trend high closes on Friday all but ensure another eventual higher close before becoming vulnerable to a durable downtrend. It doesn't prevent an immediate pullback, but the pullback would likely be temporary. Friday's new trend high close did start to fulfill the next higher upside objective at 2067.00-2068.00 which would have been in-play Wednesday afternoon had its rally resumed. Friday's new trend high close was overlapping Wednesday's prior high enough not to qualify as a breakout. That would have been bullish separately had Monday closed higher. But now closing higher Monday wouldn't be any more bullish. 2056.00 was recovered through a close, which starts to suggest a new rally leg underway -- not simply a single higher close. This would be undermined by only ranging Monday around last week's highs. Meanwhile, 2048.75 is "unfinished business below." It must be retested for having been Friday morning's bias-down signal, which was triggered late. But its retest is not required on any particular timetable. I'll send the link overnight to this weekend's Saturday Review, which begins at 9:30am ET. Details and other markets coverage are discussed in the post-market Wrap recording here.