Trading Plan for 3/13

If Wednesday afternoon’s buyers still have a reward coming… then Thursday doesn’t have time to delay delivering it. Wednesday’s last-minute surge back to the morning’s high still seems a little shallow for having prevented the entire afternoon from breaking afternoon lows.

Pattern points… (Setups and technicals)[pay]
Despite rallying nearly 15 points off session lows and back to the morning’s 1868.50 high, buyers gained no traction for their efforts Wednesday. The bias environment and noon hour both ranged sideways under the morning’s high. Probing above them was delayed until well after the final hour had begun. So, avoiding another dip Thursday would require gapping up, and extending higher.

Having rallied into Wednesday’s close, gapping down under the afternoon’s 1862.50 lows would trigger a session-long decline.

A hold-long was not considered, since the morning’s low was touched and not exceeded through Wednesday’s close. That creates potential for a dip. That’s the only reason why a hold-long wasn’t considered. But rallying overnight would be credible for extending higher intraday.

[/pay]What’s Next… (Outlook and opportunities)[pay]
The front-month rolls forward to June at Thursday’s open. It’s still March overnight. The discount is approximately 7 points.[/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.