Here’s the really scary part.

If this is the slope when central banks are defending…

The post-open immediate uptrend might have become bullish had it recovered 2080.00 instead of ranging around it. Refueling the open”s uptrend before meeting its 2082.25 target might have kept its momentum alive. Holding the 2073.00 preliminary level”s retest could have prevented resuming the overnight decline.

But here we are. Almost every recovery setup that I”ve described has been teased or tested, but never triggered. The consequence to failing any recovery has been to retest the 2054.00 overnight low, and probably also to probe it. And dropping 21 points from the post-open high has now come within 8 points of last night”s low.

It”s not Phd level analysis that the overnight rally was inspired by the Euro”s recovery. And it”s no secret that the Euro”s recovery was helped by central bank buying. The unknown is whether they”re still in there, buying.

Dropping relentlessly against strong-handed buying would be very bearish. It would also be very unusual, so let”s dismiss that possibility. What if so big a retracement has come by invitation? What if the “plunge protection team” and their like are stepping back to trap shorts? Smart, evil, or both, squeezing shorts can be effective. But this is a dangerous area to try holding.

For now, this is a bias-down environment whose 2060.25 target is in-play. New lows are in-play, too. But be prepared for a temporary counter-trend squeeze.