S&P
Mid-day Update… More function than form.
Target area now being used as support.
The likely upside objective this morning was to fill the gap back up to Tuesday’s 2841.00 close. 
The likely resolution was to extend almost relentlessly and probe the 2843.50 upper-end of Tuesday’s late consolidation that contained that gap. Finally, expending so much energy to exceed so much resistance was likely to correct back down.
That initially relentless upside’s objective? 2844.50-2846.00. But testing it as resistance only consolidated, and then surged higher to attack 2852.00. But the pattern’s form was maintained, and the single leg of relentless follow-through did correct — but only down into the 2844.50-2846.00 range.
The follow-through expended excess buying pressure, but its reaction down can still be a temporary correction. It gets more difficult to avoid reversing the trend down if the correction can’t hold a test of 2842.00. And it gets to be bearish under 2835.50.
Meanwhile, already no longer hugging this afternoon’s 2848.00 bias-up signal, exiting the noN-bias environment should start trending toward the next resolution — either back down into yesterday’s range at 2811.00 or 2802.00, or on the way back up to and through last week’s 2863.50 highs.
Look ahead: Economic Calendar – for Fri Aug 17, 2018
A midday look ahead in preparation for economic reports and events scheduled for the next trading day.
Highlights: Two high-profile report are released simultaneously (with a third) after Friday’s open, and both are reliably influential to price action.
*Consumer Sentiment
10:00 AM ET
E-Commerce Retail Sales
10:00 AM ET
*Leading Indicators
10:00 AM ET
Baker-Hughes Rig Count
1:00 PM ET
Afternoon Bias
| THU afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) | SPX | ES |
| Bias-up: above | 2847.00 | 2848.00 |
| …would target | 2853.00 | 2854.00 |
| Bias-down: under | 2841.75 | 2843.00 |
| …would target | 2836.25 | 2837.50 |
| Signal status: noN-BIAS, STILL TESTING BIAS-UP SIGNAL | . | |
| 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… Going with it.
Gap up maintains, slow to extend.
The overnight rally testing 2837.00 had pulled back pre-open to test 2832.00 as support. 
That was Friday morning’s low, and the upper-end of the range whose recovery would extend the overnight rally. Its reaction through the open did probe fresh highs up to 2839.00.
At least, the gap up was maintained. But it didn’t extend. No higher high printed until after the first half-hour, and then grudgingly by 2 ticks a half-hour later.
Nevertheless, expectations remained intact for filling the gap back up to Tuesday’s 2841.00 close. It’s being tested now. Potential remains alive for probing it up to 2844.50, which would be vulnerable to another corrective dip. Ultimately, however this test of 2841.00 resolves, not reversing this morning’s recovery makes the retest of 2864.00 and higher likely back in-play.
The First Trade & Pre-open Tour Recording… News-driven.
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…
Tuesday night’s 20-point slide greeted Wednesday’s open at Monday’s close and under Friday’s lows, which served as resistance to the balance of the session. The open’s 23-point collapse to 2803.00 never extended any deeper any later, but it contained two intraday rallies. Barely, in the second rally’s case, which was just shallow enough to fulfill the fresh low close that Friday’s confirmed breakout had required. The morning’s low stopped 1 point short of its room for noise under the decline’s 2808.00 objective, which held two tests as support. The knee-jerk reaction to a headline coincided with an existing 2811.00 buy signal to produce the session’s second rally leg. The cash session’s 2819.00 closing equivalent was still overlapping 2818.00, a pivotal level that had served to attract morning sellers and now also afternoon buyers. Actively bearish WedEX triggered, as barely as Wednesday’s close had fulfilled the outstanding requirement for an eventual lower close.
Overnight action’s new info…
Fluctuating around yesterday’s close was almost reversing when another headline (China sending delegation to U.S. for trade talks) triggered another favorable knee-jerk reaction. Its surge tested and retested 2832.00 before dipping to 2825.50 into and out of Europe’s opens. But that found support to launch another upleg probing higher to 2837.25.
If, then…
Did I mention yesterday that the door remained open to probing fresh lows Thursday down to 2802.00? Only three times, noting each reason why (including the afternoon’s 2811.00 headline origin being an attraction below). Reaction to overnight news has made that less likely — so long as the open gaps up enough launch a recovery leg, as I also noted. Interestingly, that’s Friday’s 2826.00 and 2832.00 “higher prior lows” (now support, assuming their recovery through the open), whose solid breaks yesterday had finally invalidated Monday’s bullish Isolation setup. Gapping up would also serve by proxy to invert yesterday’s bearish WedEX. WedEX’s inversion is official if maintained through the opening 15 minutes of volatility, which would also negate any near-term attraction back down to 2802.00. The rejection of attractions below typically accelerates the pace of trending to attractions above.
First Trade…
[Click here to view the Bias parameters] Exiting the open at 9:45 above 2832.00 would be likely also to recover the 2830.50 bias-up target through 10:15 to renew the bias-up signal. Exiting the open above 2828.00 would be likely at least to trigger the 2824.50 bias-up signal.