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Daily Spot…
A daily summary of high-profile members of several complexes… View a more detailed discussion of each chart at the end of today’s Market Wrap.
Eurodollar Mar Contract (EC, ETF: (FXE, UUP))
Friday’s gap down within the prior low’s range allows a rally to begin without delay. Sunday night’s rally into “higher prior lows” would be credible for extending into a recovery if followed by a second consecutive higher close Tuesday — especially above 1.1470.
Gold Feb Contract (GC, ETF: (GLD))
Friday’s dip down to 1237.00-1240.00 support had held through the close, enabling at least a corrective bounce up to last week’s 1254.50 high. Meanwhile, breaking back under 1240.00 would invalidate the bounce and signal a new downleg underway.
Silver Mar Contract (SI, ETF: (SLV))
Sunday night’s bounce attacked Friday’s break under uptrending support at 14.71. Monday probed above it, still facing resistance at the gap back up to Thursday’s 14.83 close.
30-year Treasury Mar Contract (US, ETF: (TLT))
Still fluctuating Monday between the 141-24/143-08 buy and sell signals gravitated higher to at least touch the buy signal Monday, still needing to trigger or else react down aggressively.
Crude Oil Jan Contract (CL, ETF: (USO, USL) (UWTI-long, DWTI-short))
The ongoing range persisted coming out of the weekend, still likely to probe a fresh low momentarily for its rubber band effect to snap back up into a rally leg.
Natural Gas Jan Contract (NG, ETF: (UNG, UNL))
Greeting the weekend by breaking to fresh lows in this product tends to persist coming out of the weekend, which was done by gapping down even lower Sunday night. Trending down sharply intraday to 3.54 offers an opportunity to form a bottoming pattern, still having intraday risk down to 3.33.
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Mid-day Update… Big refueling rolls over.
Post-open bounce gives decline a lot of leeway.
Gapping down to the morning’s 2593.75 bias-down signal and extending to 2571.00 had apparently gotten ahead of itself. 
Its reaction had room up to the morning’s 2606.50 bias-up signal while still being likely to resolve down — rewarding sellers for absorbing the post-open bounce — as much as punishing the bounce for not gaining traction .
The bounce got to within 1 point of 2606.50. It was retested at noon, and held. The noon hour trended back down to eventual probe the morning’s low by 1 point of 2569.50.
This afternoon’s 2588.00 bias-down signal has triggered, and its 2580.25 bias-down target is exceeded at 1:20 to renew the bias-down. Its next lower objective is essentially 2555.00, although probably encountering 1-2 support tests along the way down.
Not yet extending down during the bias environment wouldn’t be bullish, unless the window were exited back above its 2580.25 bias-down target. That could produce another oversold corrective bounce ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC meeting. But no bottoming pattern is yet in sight.
Look ahead: Economic Calendar – for Tue Dec 18, 2018
A midday look ahead in preparation for economic reports and events scheduled for the next trading day.
Highlights: Tuesday’s calendar isn’t very busy as the FOMC meeting gets underway.
Housing Starts
8:30 AM ET
Redbook
8:55 AM ET
Afternoon Bias
| MON afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) | SPX | ES |
| Bias-up: above | 2604.25 | 2608.00 |
| …would target | 2613.50 | 2617.25 |
| Bias-down: under | 2584.00 | 2588.00 |
| …would target | 2576.25 | 2580.25 |
| Signal status: BIAS-DOWN, BIAS-DOWN TARGET EXCEEDED | . | |
| NEW: 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.
Post-open Review… Setting the tone.
Opening plunge’s retracement only resets the opening plunge.
Last night’s bounce up to the 2616.50 bias-up target had been retraced down to 2602.00 through Europe’s opens. 
A couple of times. The second time fell further, probing under Friday’s lows to greet the open at the 2593.75 bias-down signal.
Price promptly plunged through the opening 15 minutes of volatility to fresh lows at 2571.00. The next half hour recovered to attack 2593.75 to within 2 points, reacting down enough and in time to trigger bias-down.
The 2586.00 bias-down target held to avoid renewing the signal, but this is still a bias-down environment. The drop is free to resume, especially under 2581.00 — whose test just reacted up 13 points.
Today’s opening print was within last Monday’s range, so it is not a gap down under all prior lows that would require being retested from above. A rally here would leave no unfinished business below. However, that same opening structure undermines the gap back up to Friday’s close from being filled.
That said, back above 2595.50 could test 2622.00, back into Friday’s and last night’s ranges, while still being likely to resume the decline. The next lower objective is 2530.00-2538.00, probably on the way down to 2500.00.