NASDAQ futures are coming into Thursday with a slight gap up after an overnight session featuring normal range on extreme volume.  Price pushed lower overnight, discovering a bid ahead of the Tuesday low before forming a sharp reversal and trading back into the Wednesday range.  At 8:30am advance retail sales data and initial/continuing jobless claims data came out better than expected.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering below the Thursday midpoint.

We have a busy economic calendar today ahead of a four day holiday weekend.  US markets will be closed Friday in Observation of Good Friday and closed again Monday in observation of Easter.  At 9:45 we’ll hear the Markit manufacturing/service/composite PMI data, at 10am leading index and business inventories, and at 11:30am both 4- and 8-week T-bill auctions.

Yesterday we printed a normal variation down.  The day began with a gap up and push to new all-time highs before sellers stepped in and worked the overnight gap fil.  We then chopping along the unchanged level for the rest of the day with sellers defending the midpoint and buyers defending the unchanged mark.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to press off the open, taking out overnight high 7708.50 and sustaining trade above it to set up a probe above all-time high 7733.50 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 sellers work into the overnight inventory and close the small overnight gap to fill down to 7689.  Look for sellers to trade down through overnight low 7660.25 to target the open gap at 7648.50 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers trade down to 7624 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Wednesday pro gap up after an overnight session featuring extreme volume on elevated range.  Price worked higher overnight, beginning to trend higher around 8pm New York and continuing to do so up until now.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering near all-time highs.

On the economic calendar today we have wholesale inventories at 10am, crude oil inventories at 10:30am, and the beige book at 2pm.

Yesterday the market printed a neutral day.  The day began with a gap up and two-way open auction that eventually gave way to a small push higher.  Sellers stepped in just ahead of the 7700 century mark and we went into a tight balance.  Volatility during settlement after Netflix and IBM earnings were released caused a spike that rapidly took the market range extension down, then range extension up, before ultimately closing near the midpoint.

Neutral.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for a gap-and-go higher, up through all-time hgih 7728.75.  Open air.

Hypo 2 sellers work into the overnight inventory and trade down to 7700 before finding a responsive bid (responsive relative to the open, initiative relative to the close) before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers close the gap down to 7680.75 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Tuesday gap up after an overnight session featuring elevated volume and range.  Price worked higher overnight, escaping a 5-day old value area by balancing for a bit along the Monday high then making another exploration higher.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering at levels unseen since October 3rd of last year.

On the economic calendar today we have industrial/manufacturing production at 9:15am, NAHB housing market index at 10am, then API crude oil inventories at 4:30pm.

Earnings season officially gets started today after market close when both IBM and NFLX report earnings.

Yesterday we printed a normal variation down.  The week began flat.  After a brief 2-way auction at the open, price drove lower, trading down through the Thursday low before discovering a strong responsive bid.  Buyers came to terms with the bottom-end of our daily mid for a few hours before continuing their campaign higher.  We ended the day near session high, up a few point on the day.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to gap-and-go higher, trading up to 7700 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 sellers work into the overnight inventory to close the overnight gap down at 7648.50.  Sellers cannot take out overnight low.  Instead we work higher to 7700 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers trade down through overnight low 7644.75 setting up a move to target 7624 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Monday with a slight gap down after an overnight session featuring normal range and volume.  Price marked time overnight, holding to less than a 20-point range.  Price briefly poked beyond Friday’s high for a bit, and and we approach cash open, price is hovering above the Friday midpoint.

On the economic calendar today we have 3-and 6-month T-bill auctions at 11:30am followed by long-term TIC flows at 4pm.

Last week was a slow drift.  Price steadily worked higher, slowly, advancing in a methodical auction.  Along the way the Dow started to lag behind.  The last week performance of each major index is shown below:

On Friday the NASDAQ printed a normal variation down.  The day began with a gap up and probe up beyond the weekly high.  This introduced some selling into the tape.  Said sellers worked lower, nearly closing the gap before finding responsive buyers who slowly campaigned price higher for the rest of the day.  They did not, however, press the market neutral.  And while the gap did not officially close, given the nature of NASDAQ futures, stopping just 1.50 point ahead of it is sufficient enough for me to consider the gap ‘filled’.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to work up through overnight high 7657 setting up a move to target the open gap at 7665.50 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 stronger buyers trade us up to 7697, likely tagging the 7700 century mark, before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 sellers press down through overnight low 7638.25 setting up a move to target the 7600 century mark.  Look for buyers down at the open gap at 7593.25 and two way trade to ensue.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Friday gap up after an overnight session featuring extreme range and volume.  Price worked higher overnight, making a steady campaign higher after briefly probing below the Thursday low.  The move higher was accented by Chinese economic data, and as we approach cash open, price is hovering near the Thursday high.

On the economic calendar today we have the primary April reading of sentiment from the University of Michigan.

Yesterday we printed a normal variation down.  The day began with a slight gap up beyond the Wednesday high that sellers quickly worked into.  Within 30 minutes of the cash open, price had taken out overnight low and discovered a responsive bid.  Sellers defended a checkback to the midpoint and made a second, initiative move lower which tagged the Wednesday naked VPOC at 7606.25 before buyers stepped in and drifted price a bit higher into the close.  We ended the day below session mid.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to gap-and-go higher, trading up through overnight high 7665 to set up a move to target 7700 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 sellers work into the overnight inventory and close the gap down to 7616.  Sellers continue lower, down through overnight low 7601.50 to close the gap at 7593.25 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers trade us down to 7588.50 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Thursday flat after an overnight session featuring normal range on extreme volume.  Price worked higher overnight, trading up beyond the Wednesday high before settling into balance.  At 8:30am initial/continuing jobless claims data came out better-than-expected.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering at the Wednesday high.

Also on the economic calendar today we have 4-and 8-week T-bill auctions at 11:30am followed by a 30-year bond auction at 1pm.

Yesterday we printed a normal variation up.  The day began with a gap up in range.  Sellers were unable to resolve the overnight gap, instead we began to campaign higher, closing the Monday gap before drifting back down to the daily mid before the 2pm FOMC minutes.  Third reaction after the FOMC minutes was up and we spent the rest of the day auctioning higher, eventually closing near session high.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for sellers to press down through overnight low 7624.50 setting up a move to target 7615 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 stronger sellers trade down to tag the 7600 century mark.  Look for buyers down at 7588.75 and two way trade to ensue.

Hypo 3 buyers press up through overnight high 7661 setting up a move to close the open gap at 7665.50 before pausing, building steam then making a second thrust higher to tag the 7700 century mark before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Wednesday with a slight gap up after an overnight session featuring elevated volume on normal range.  Price worked down through the Tuesday low last night before popping back up through the daily midpoint.  At 8:30am consumer price index data came out below expectations.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering right along the mid.

Also on the economic calendar today we have crude oil inventories at 10:30am, a 10-year note auction at 1pm, and FOMC minutes at 2pm.

Yesterday we printed a neutral day.  The day began with a gap down in range.  After an opening two-way auction, buyers began to work into the gap but were unable to completely fill it.  Instead, shortly after going range extension up the market ran into sellers.  Two more attempts were made to work higher before sellers pressed down through the entire daily range and sent us neutral.   Late in the day we worked back up off the lows.

Neutral day.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to work up through overnight high 7612.75 to target the open gap at 7624.25.  Then look for the third reaction after the FOMC minutes to dictate direction into the second half of the day.

Hypo 2 sellers work into the overnight inventory and close the gap down to 7593.25 then continue lower, down through overnight low 7575.75.  Look for buyers down at 7556.75, then look for the third reaction after the FOMC minutes to dictate direction into the second half of the day.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers press a liquidation, trading down to the open gap at 7518.75.  Then look for the third reaction after the FOMC minutes to dictate direction into the second half of the day.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Tuesday gap down after an overnight session featuring elevated volume on normal range.  Price worked lower overnight after briefly exceeding the Monday high.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering above Monday’s mid.

On the economic calendar today we have JOLTS jobs openings at 10am, 4- and 8-week T-bill auctions at 11am, and a 3-year note auction at 1pm.

Yesterday we printed a double distribution trend up.  The day began with a gap down and drive lower.  Said drive lost its steam after closing the 04/04 open gap nearly to the tick.  From then onward the market auctioned higher, encountering some sellers at the overnight gap zone before rebuilding strength and making a second, sustained push into closing bell.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to work into the overnight inventory and close the gap up to 7624.25.  From here we continue higher, up through overnight high 7633.75.  Look for sellers up at 7660 and two way trade to ensue.

Hypo 2 sellers press down through overnight low 7599.25 setting up a move to target 7556 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger buyers trade up to the open gap at 7665.50 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Monday with a slight gap down after an overnight session featuring elevated range and volume.  Price worked up through last week’s highs briefly before falling back down into Friday’s range.  The nature of the move suggests a mini failed auction to the upside.  7600 is a key battleground for sellers as it marks where the aggressive selling began late last year as we ended Q3.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering below last Friday’s midpoint, about 10 points below 7600.

On the economic calendar today we have factory orders at 10am followed by 3- and 6-month T-bill auctions at 11:30am.

Last week began strong.  Unexpectedly strong economic data from China eased worries that the world’s second largest economy was leading us into a global recession.  The data put a strong big into the markets early Monday morning.  Buyers drove higher off the gap up clean through Wednesday afternoon before discovering strong responsive sellers.  The selling continued through Thursday afternoon before buyers again stepped and worked price higher.  Most of the indices finished the week at-or-near their highs.  The last week performance of each major index is shown below

On Friday the NASDAQ printed a normal variation up.  The day began with a gap up, inside the prior day range.  Sellers were unable to close the gap during an early two-way auction.  Instead we held a tight range above the daily mid for most of the day before finally going range extension up near the closing bell.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to work into the overnight inventory and close the gap up to 7605.75. From here we continue higher, up through overnight high 7619.75.  This sets up a move to target 7660 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 sellers trade down through overnight low 7585.50 setting up a move to target 7556.75 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 stronger sellers sustain trade below 7556.75 setting up a move to close the open gap at 7518.745 before two way trade ensues.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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NASDAQ futures are coming into Wednesday gap up after an overnight session featuring extreme range and volume.  Price worked higher overnight, trading up into the 10/4 range (a liquidation day) before forming a p-shaped balance profile.  This profile shape is often indicative of a short squeeze.  As we approach cash open, price is hovering near the overnight high, around the midpoint of the 10/4 liquidation day.

On the economic calendar today we have ISM non-manufacturing at 10am followed by crude oil inventories at 10:30am.

Yesterday we printed a normal variation up.  The day began with a slight gap up that was resolved during opening trade.  Sellers were unable to break down through the upper quad of Monday’s range before buyers stepped in.  From then onward, it was a slow ascent higher until the very end of the session when some responsive selling stepped in.

Heading into today my primary expectation is for buyers to gap-and-go higher, trading up to tag 7600 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 2 stronger buyers sustain trade above 7600 setting up a move to close the open gap at 7665.50 before two way trade ensues.

Hypo 3 sellers work into the overnight inventory and close the gap down to 7518.75.  Sellers continue lower from here, working down through overnight low 7513.25.  Look for buyers down at 7509 and two way trade to ensue.

Levels:

Volume profiles, gaps, and measured moves:

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