Pre-Open Market Open - 7:27 AM

Edit
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... Yhursday's 2769.50 open was only slightly negative, but it was well under Wednesday night's 2785.75 high. That triggered the Globex reversal setup to produce a bearish Thursday morning that almost touched 2750.00. A corrective bounce up to 2763.50 was eventually reversed to fresh session lows at 2747.00. Sellers gained traction for their efforts, but the late drop still stopped optimistically short of Tuesday's 2746.00 post-open low. A bounce closed back above the morning's 2750.25-2751.50 lows, but under 2756.00. Overnight action's new info... Quickly dipping attacked 2749.00 before reversing up more substantially. This morning's 2759.00 bias-up signal held the first multi-hour consolidation. It broke higher after midnight, extending effortlessly through Europe's opens, to probe 1 point above this morning's 2765.50 bias-up target. If, then... Another night, another reversal setup. So, another reversal setup caveat, too. First, the setup. Overnight action has trended relentlessly in one direction. And not arbitrarily, but back to the bias-up signal. Back to the bias-up target. Through yesterday afternoon's high (which printed before the bias environment had begun lapsing), and through yesterday's late-morning high for added effect. Exiting the open above a prior high suggests that new sponsorship intends to extend the trending intraday. Yesterday's last-minute bounce doesn't disqualify an open above yesterday afternoon's high from forming a "session-long rally" setup... And now, the caveat. Session-long rally setups can be as bearish as they would have been bullish, if the fully formed setup doesn't trigger. How? Relentless overnight trending can often inhibit reinforcements at the open, having become more attractive to counter-trend sponsorship. We'll know through the open, by whether a probed resistance is maintained or rejected. Regardless, be careful not to dismiss that post-open indication, especially if the overnight rally is maintained despite yesterday afternoon's sellers having gained traction and having been only minimally productive before the close. First Trade... [Click here to view the Bias parameters] Exiting the open at 9:45 above 2763.50 would be likely to trigger the 2759.00 bias-up signal at 10:15. Exiting the open under 2757.50 would be unlikely to trigger bias-up. Exiting the open above 2768.75 would be likely also to exceed the 2765.50 bias-up target through 10:15 to renew the bias-up signal.

Stock Market Opening Strategy - 10:51 AM

Edit
Gap up fails to hold all relevant resistance. Opening up to 2768.25 was quickly reversed back down through throughout the opening 15 minutes to to 2762.50. Yesterday afternoon's 2761.50 high was still recovered at that moment, at 9:45. It was being probed by another point a moment later. Regardless, its test was no longer relevant. Yesterday's late-morning high at 2763.50 had become more relevant, because the open tested it. Buyers could have conserved their energy instead of expending it above 2763.50 -- 5 points above it -- but that's what weak-handed sponsorship does. Apparently, that's who comprised the reinforcements attracted at that stage, as 2763.50 failed to hold through 10:15. The session-long rally setup is moot. It wasn't rejected decisively, so the setup's resolution won't necessarily be as bearish as it would have been bullish. Also, bias-up triggered cleanly, although its 2765.50 bias-up target wasn't exceeded in time to renew the bias-up signal. And an attempt to break under the 2759.00 bias-up signal at 10:30 held instead of being invalidated. So, the rally might resume. Friday morning bias often persists through the noon hour. But that's as much a held bias-up target as it is a triggered bias-up signal. And breaking back under 2759.00 when the bias environment lapses could resume yesterday's decline.

Tonight's Stock Market Trading Bias Levels - 11:59 AM

Edit
FRI afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 2763.75 2767.00 ...would target 2769.00 2772.25 Bias-down: under 2755.00 2758.00 ...would target 2747.50 2750.50 Signal status: NO-BIAS FAQ Flowcharts: Bias-UP // Bias-DN 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.

Day Trading Help - Mid-Day - 1:45 PM

Edit
Gap up recovered, not extended. Buyers proved they bit off more than they could chew by testing too many prior highs at the open. But an attempt to invalidate the 2759.00 bias-up failed. And its 2765.50 bias-up target was retested. Friday morning's bias signal persisted through the noon hour, and so did the 2759.00-2765.50 trading range. Now the afternoon has triggered no-bias. Neither bias signal was even touched, and the trading range has only narrowed up to 2765.50. All of which is under the 2767.00 open. This is not trending. If it were, then Friday afternoon would be extra-vulnerable and even likelier to extend it into the close. That's still possible, and I would fade fresh session highs only carefully. Very carefully, because of the potential for extending higher. Back under 2761.50 would start to signal momentum reversing down. That is also a vulnerability, but not a likelihood until actually probing the morning's lows. Not yet probing the morning's lows by the final hour's entry would be difficult to resume the decline today. MARKET WRAP WILL BE HELD EARLY TODAY AT 3:03 PM ET

Bias Wrap - 4:32 PM

Edit
Tuesday night's action had warned volatility would be expanding sharply. Which it did, all the way through Thursday's close. Thursday's close warned that lower lows were underway, which Friday's gap up all but rejected. But didn't exploit, as volatility left early for the weekend. Thursday night's relentless rally didn't extend Friday, but its rejection was limited to just that, not extending. It wasn't retraced, and only hovered near Thursday's upper-end. That makes Friday an Inside Day, not very meaningful -- but what else is new for a Friday. The close recovered 2756.00, but not 2767.00, which changes nothing about buyers still not regaining control. However, it does require sellers to prove without much delay that they're still in control. So, not already trending down after Monday morning would start to make a retest of recent highs likelier. Details and other markets coverage are discussed in the post-market Wrap recording here. Monitor overnight Globex trading in the chaRTroom here.

Tomorrow's Stock Market Trading Strategy - 5:55 PM

Edit
MON morning signal (triggered at 10:15 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 2760.50 2763.50 ...would target 2766.50 2769.50 Bias-down: under 2749.75 2753.00 ...would target 2743.00 2746.25 Signal status: BIAS-DOWN, BIAS-DOWN TARGET EXCEEDED FAQ Flowcharts: Bias-UP // Bias-DN INTRO VIDEOS #1 and #2 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.