Wednesday's session took a sharp turn
higher at precisely 3:00pm EST. Pre-staged buy programs across the entire stock
index market kicked in at that moment in time. What had been a somewhat drifty
day ended quite bullish on its face... or so things seemed to appear. Let's take
a peek at the daily charts to see where markets measure up as we approach the
end of this trading week.
ES (+$50 per index point)
S&P 500 futures posted a modest 12pt total
range yesterday, which is welcome relief from the inane 6pt daily ranges that
have plagued this symbol too often for a year now. We'll take what we can get!
Price action found early lows and worked its
way higher in rather drifty fashion until the final hour program-slam event.
Session highs went right to 1269 resistance we pointed out in this forum
yesterday. It'll take a break & close above 1278 before the bulls have cleared
clustered sell stops between here and there. Look for 1270, 1274 and 1278 to be
three price magnets (intraday) if traded to.
NQ (+$20 per index point)
Nasdaq 100 futures remain below layers of
recent resistance. Most recent high-low swing (solid lines) shows 1682 as
initial resistance, followed by a cluster up to 1700+. A break & close above
1702 on this daily chart is necessary to resume the uptrend in early January.
YM (+$5 per index point)
Dow futures have swung thru a 300-point
gyrational roll for three complete legs and a potential 4th wave higher in this
current move. The most recent high-low swing of roughly 250pts has retraced
nearly 62% of that span. A break & close above 10900 should have the sideways
range rolling upward again.
ER
(+$100 per index point)
Russell 2000 futures remain 100% bullish thru
the first part of 2006. Yesterday we saw a successful test of 62% support from
most recent low-high swing, with price action stalling out just below 38% former
support.
A break of yesterday lows on a closing basis
would be quite bearish, and a daily close back above 725 would like wise be
rather bullish. It remains to be seen whether small caps are leading the entire
stock market upward from within current sideways gyrations, or if that index is
the last Bastian standing before a fall.
Summation
Solid intraday trading action has graced our charts this week. We should expect
the same or better to close out the final two sessions ahead, with much more to
come. As for swing and trend trade potential? Those are games that require
extreme patience and a bit of fortitude during sideways range markets like
these. Short-term is the right timeframe to work within for now.
Trade To Win
Austin P
www.CoiledMarkets.com
(Online video clip
tutorials...
open access)
Austin Passamonte is a full-time
professional trader who specializes in E-mini stock index futures, equity
options and commodity markets.
Mr. Passamonte's trading approach uses proprietary chart patterns found on an
intraday basis. Austin trades privately in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
