Monday Prep

Friday ended up a fairly balanced session within a wide range. The push lower into the 25.50-29.75 zone saw selling dry up and there was a 65 point reversal over the next two hours.

Overnight the market has been strong, led by European indices. The range is 2660.00-2700.75 versus settle at 2669.50.

If prices can hold above Friday’s high then the next major target is the 2728.00 CHVN. Failure to do that would put Friday’s settlement and vpoc as immediate targets below.

Friday Prep

Yesterday’s open tried to move price back to settlement but underlying stock momentum was positive and the down move was short lived. The rally cleared the overnight high and found support there before an attempted move back to the 2728 CHVN. The move fell short of there and had a fast liquidation drop into the close. The after hours results from AMZN and GOOG have led the weakness overnight with nearly an 80 point range from last night’s high to the overnight low.

The overnight range is currently 2690.00-2646.00 on above average volume. The move below Wednesday’s lows is going to be an important pivotal area today . Acceptance below there keeps the pressure on the downside. We've not really seen any panic selling yet and we may not until the February lows get taken out. That’s still around 100 points below here which could easily be done in a day or two at current volatility. At that point if there’s no follow through below the Feb lows there’s room for some very aggressive rallies. In the meantime, a lack of downside momentum is likely to see buyers try to move back to the 2728 CHVN.

Keeping a close eye on NQ today as likely to be in the driving seat as AMZN is roughly -10% pre-mkt.

It’s the lack of downside follow through and momentum that can enable the big turnaround moves. However, in the absence of any majorly positive news today the main expectation is for sellers to step in on rallies and try to hold below Wednesday’s low.

Today’s zones of interest:

Thursday Prep

The caution going into yesterday was whether or not a move back to the CHVN at 2728.00 would either find support or fail and potentially trigger a liquidation move. The eventual break of the prior day’s low on the second attempt (after bouncing to the vpoc on the first try), really accelerated the move, dropping about 40 points in the last hour.

Overnight so far the range is 2658.75-92.50 versus settle at 64.25. The overnight high is at an important area for bulls to push through if there’s going to be any chance of a reversal. Failing to break that could leave the market balancing in the lower half of yesterday’s range or try to extend lower. The after market earnings today from AMZN & GOOG and how the Nasdaq responds ahead of that are going to be hugely influential later in the day particularly.

My main expectation is for some consolidation in the bottom half of yesterday’s range with an attempt to test the lows. A failed breakdown could lead to a very aggressive short covering rally, as could a hold above the overnight high could target the 2728.00 CHVN. Any breaks lower are going to need broad market participation and momentum to be sustained.

Zones of interest today:

Wednesday Prep

A quick look at the monthly, weekly and daily charts above puts things into context and as we can see from yesterday’s move on the daily, the market tested the lowest volume area at the bottom of the major volume distribution on the composite profile.

Yesterday’s open at 2715.50 was a 41 point gap below the prior settle. In yesterday’s note I stated: If there’s an early move back to the overnight vwap in the first hour, it could be telling whether that holds or not to the ongoing action. The 24 hr vwap was at 2723.25 at the open and the initial move higher stalled and reversed at the vwap to make the eventual lows on the day. The heavily short and extended move got aggressively bought for the rest of the session and eventually closed the range gap from Monday. Volume was heavy at 2.8m contracts.

Overnight so far the range is 2719.25-50.00 versus settle at 2746.25. The in-range composite high volume node (CHVN) is at 2728.00 which could become a magnet on a failed move higher towards the 2750-52 CLVA. Pushing through and holding above 52 puts 71 as next target. Failure for 2728 to hold puts yesterday’s reversal into question and could trigger a liquidation move lower.

Zones of interest for today below:

zones.PNG

Tuesday Prep

A weak day overall with a initial failed move higher after the open. Value was lower on the day with the 2760.25 vpoc forming below the prior day low and a poor low left at 2751.00. Price action was messy for much of the session and neither the overnight high or low was breached, which is unusual.

Overnight saw heavy selling across Asia, which has driven European markets lower. The ES range is currently 2757.50-2714.25, with the bulk of trade in the lower half of the range. Last week’s low was 2745.25 and the October low from the 11th is 2712.25. Clearly the market is very short relative to last night’s close and susceptible to a squeeze higher on positive news. Sentiment is negative though and my main expectation is for rallies to be sold if they happen.

Zones of interest for today are below. The 2711.75-14.50 zone is the intermediate bull/bear as a close below there could trigger much more selling. Currently the market would be opening on roughly a 35 point gap lower to last night’s settle at 2756.50. If there’s an early move back to the overnight vwap in the first hour, it could be telling whether that holds or not to the ongoing action.

On the composite volume profile the nearby high volume area is around 2728-34, so any absence of further breakdown or complete reversal could see prices continue to consolidate in that area.

Monday Prep

We got an inside day on Friday following a failed attempt higher early on. Volume has been consolidating around the last two weeks HVN at 2773.00.

Overnight the range is 2749.75-82.00 versus settlement at 2767.50. I’m expecting buyers to hold the 71-73 zone if there’s to be any meaningful rally today or the market may continue to rotate back and forth again. Until sellers can take out last week’s low then my main expectation is for buyers to step in on dips. A push higher could accelerate as buy stops get triggered following the last couple of days action. Momentum and broad market strength are needed for continuation or we may see failed attempts.

Friday Prep

With the move and hold below the overnight low early on it looked like we were in for further downside, though the break higher after the first hour tried to change that but had little upside momentum behind it or broad market strength. When that move failed, the reversal back below the overnight low gathered pace targeting the prior day low and breakout point mentioned as being pivotal in yesterday’s note. The acceleration lower moved into the centre of the recent balance broken out of and lacked the late afternoon selling drives we saw last week.

Going into today, the overnight range is relatively narrow at 2771.00-86.50 versus settle at 2772.25. Yesterday’s VPOC at 2771.00 is also the overnight low. Expecting fairly neutral activity until either the overnight high or low is breached and held above/below.

Zones of interest today:

Thursday Prep

Opening inside the 2810.50-13 zone yesterday, there was a quick tag of the prior vpoc and prices shot lower with underlying stock weakness (see NYSE TICK & Advance/Decline above). The ‘back & fill’ of the prior day’s single prints completed in the first 90 mins stopping to the tick at the prior day initial balance high, where the big breakout started. The dip buyers and short covering managed to rally price back to settlement before a choppy wait ahead of the FOMC minutes then some 20 point swings into the close. The potential for breaking out above the 17.75-19.75 zone looked limited because of the still quite negative A/D.

Overnight so far the range is 2800.25-17.50, within yesterday’s afternoon range and versus settle at 2816.25. Short term remains range bound following an upside breakout after a much bigger selloff. The breakout gets invalidated for me if prices hold below yesterday’s low and then we could see a move towards the recent lows. Until that happens we either remain in this breakout range and/or attempt to push and squeeze higher.

Zones I’m watching today on the split overnight/RTH profiles:

Wednesday Prep

The bullish move in yesterday’s overnight session did not give back after the open and once the breakout above the prior day triggered buy stops, the momentum continued and accelerated higher, with underlying stock momentum and breadth strong. The NYSE advance/decline line had hit 2000 by lunchtime which was a very strong tell that things were more likely to continue, in the absence of any news. The jagged volume profile is in keeping with a trend day and as new shorts enter the market their stops continually get triggered helping the move. Earnings season continues to be positive in general, and NFLX had blowout numbers after hours.

One of the best buying opportunities was the pullback to the overnight high (2774.50) about an hour after the open, as positive momentum and market breadth was sustained and prices were close to breaking out of the multiple inside days which was going to force short covering. I’ve learnt the hard way, as most people do, to not fade these types of days but just get onboard the move on pullbacks.

Overnight so far has seen an attempted move higher and reversal, with the range currently 2805.50-24.25 versus settlement at 2817.75. Yesterday’s profile left several areas of single prints as the forcing action of the short squeeze left little time at breakout points. We could see an attempt to back and fill some of these, though odds favour that the move is either going to consolidate at higher prices or continue higher, over there being a complete reversal (news headlines aside).

Zones for today are below. My main expectation is for buyers to step in on dips and continuation higher if we see the Nasdaq and Russell in alignment. Note that the 50% retracement of the all time high to the recent swing low is at 2829.75, so worth watching order flow closely if it gets there. The 2798.00-00.50 zone has potential to see support on first test. Failure to hold that puts price back inside the last Wednesday’s range and questions the strength of the breakout. As always the underlying momentum and market breadth is going to help context to trades.

Tuesday Prep

Opening inside the prior two days range, price action was really erratic for much of the session, with some wide swings each way. Overall though, there higher highs and higher lows with what looked like an attempted breakout in the afternoon just ahead of the prior days high. This was stopped in its tracks as headlines regarding the Saudi involvement in the Khashoggi disappearance hit the wires and the market puked 30 points into the close.

Overnight has recovered much of the late drop, with the range currently 2745.25-70.25, moving up steadily from the 44.75-46.25 zone. Earnings season continues today with Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs already out and Netflix reporting after hours. With the overnight market positioned long there’s potential for a correction to this early on but failure to do that is a sign of strength and increases the chance for an upside break. Either way the short term tone seems to be more bullish after last week’s move and we could see buyers on dips.

Zones of interest today: