Trading Plan for 2/3

So much for the pre-open blizzard of selling. It wasn’t going to extend with such low participation. And its recovery wasn’t going to gain traction for the same reason. So, the most bullish observation of the day is that it wasn’t very bearish. The inverse is as true for bears. [pay]

Pattern points… (Setups and technicals)
Breaking beyond either end of the 1300.00–1302.00 range would have been likely to extend in that direction. The lower-end held as support, instead of meriting shorting into the close.

Recovering 1302.00 overnight would be likely to test 1304.00. Recovering 1304.00 would put into play new highs above 1307.00 – potentially attacking 1310.00.

The door remains open to new highs, because sellers had plenty of opportunity to gain traction Wednesday. Perhaps they lacked sponsorship because of the weather, which won’t be such an issue Thursday. Breaking 1299.00 overnight would need to rally sharply from 1296.00-1297.00 to avoid sellers gaining traction.

What’s Next… (Outlook and opportunities)
Wednesday’s narrow ranging doesn’t alter the bigger picture. Fresh highs Thursday would be vulnerable to reversing down under Wednesday’s lows. New highs could be rejected through the morning, but probably not until the afternoon. In any case, Friday’s session would be greeted by selling pressures already underway, targeting a retest of Sunday night’s low. Closing above 1304.00 would suggest otherwise. [/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.