Post-open Review… Spinning wheels.

The market has become stuck in Alabama mud.

From the movie “My Cousin Vinny” we learn that anyone who’s been stuck in Alabama mud knows your car needs a limited slip differential to extricate itself. Step on the gas, and one tire spins while the other does nothing.

This assumed only one tire is in the mud. This morning’s price action has both buyers and sellers stuck, ranging choppily around 2056.00. Both tires are spinning wildly, without gaining traction either way.

The first hour’s first three 15-minute checkpoints overlapped 2056.00. That had already warned us trending this morning would be difficult or unlikely. There are five 15-minute checkpoints, including the open and the one-hour mark. with only one not overlapping 2056.00. And, then, only barely.

Today’s most bullish scenario was likely to be backing-and-filling, expressing pessimism ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls report which can be bullish from a contrarian perspective. Walking gingerly on eggshells can be another option for pre-news price action. It offers limited trading opportunities, except waiting for an extreme to fade. Be careful not to force a trade.