Mid-day Update… Minutes until the Minutes.

Sloppy, choppy ranging about to abandon its inhibitions.

The open’s bouncing around persisted through the morning, and now also through the noon hour. The morning’s noN-bias is followed by this afternoon’s no-bias signal. The market continues to be inhibited by anxiousness ahead of FOMC Minutes due at 2:00 ET. By the same token, the market continues to be vulnerable to volatility triggered by the Minutes.

We know the catalyst is being greeted prior to probing fresh highs up to 2902.00 or higher. And also that reacting to the news beyond this afternoon’s 2886.00-2891.50 bias signals would be no-bias trending that requires retracement. So, an initially favorable knee-jerk reaction up — especially if it touches 2902.00 — might be unable to withstand the attraction back down, which could become exacerbated into reversing the trend down.

Similarly, a knee-jerk reaction down — especially if it visits 2981.00 — could reverse up sharply.

Exiting the bias environment beyond either of its 2881.00 or 2897.25 bias targets would invalidate the required retracement. Regardless, volatility is about to come alive, with more predictability than this morning’s sloppy and choppy.