Trading Plan for 2/13

If Yellen’s testimony weren’t delayed… then would Wednesday’s session have trended up in anticipation of her repeating the bullish comments from Tuesday’s appearance?

Pattern points… (Setups and technicals)[pay]
Wednesday morning’s probe of fresh highs fulfilled outstanding objectives from Tuesday afternoon. Closing above 1818.00-1819.00 resistance would have created a new objective above. But Wednesday’s retest of resistance held.

Not that sellers exploited it. At least, not fully.

The retest up to 1823.25 was retraced back down to 1812.00, which is essentially a prior low following Tuesday’s close. It was tested and retested, chipping away at its support. Interim bounces, meanwhile, chipped away at 1818.00-1819.00 resistance.

Breaking either way Wednesday afternoon would have been likely to trend in that direction. Outlasting the close now allows again for a false break either way. Regardless, not closing again above 1818.00-1819.00 resistance wouldn’t have any bearish implication, which requires actually closing under a prior low.

[/pay]What’s Next… (Outlook and opportunities)[pay]
Thursday’s second part of the Fed chairman’s Congressional testimony has been cancelled due to the blizzard bearing down on the East coast. That’s right. One snow job cancelled another. I’ll be interested in the effect on reactions to Yellen’s eventual appearance, as there is often a predictable price pattern. But any effect of the delay should be discounted already.[/pay]

Look for at least one update overnight or ahead of the Morning Market Tour… My thoughts on the day’s econ calendar are linked here.