Fewer IPO Announcements

Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:

Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:

• In Asia 7 out of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp +0.28%, Hang Seng +0.22%, Nikkei +0.09%
• In Europe 10 out of 13 markets are trading higher: CAC +0.25%, DAX +0.04%, FTSE -0.22%
• Fair Value: S&P +1.52, NASDAQ +20.75, Dow -18.28
• Total Volume: 1.03 million ESZ & 446 SPZ traded in the pit

_{*As of 7:00 a.m. CST}

Today’s Economic Calendar:

Today’s economic calendar includes 8-Week Bill Settlement, Redbook 8:55 AM ET, S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI 9:00 AM ET, FHFA House Price Index 9:00 AM ET, Consumer Confidence 10:00 AM ET, and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET.

S&P 500 Futures: Rip, Dip, Squeeze

Chart courtesy of Scott Redler @RedDogT3 – $spx futures+8 giving some upside follow thru to yesterday’s RDR as 2984 was reclaimed.. Now we see if it can hold 2999 pivot to build, or does it stay choppier (China headline helped) + qtr end Friday.

The way I see this is, it’s the same old story being told over and over. Out comes the headline, down goes the S&P 500 futures (ESZ19:CME), and then in comes the short squeeze. 

After Friday’s late day crunch, the ES rocked up to 3008.25 on Globex Sunday night, sold off down 2982.00, and traded 2986.25 on Monday mornings 8:30 CT futures open. The ES initially traded down to 2983.50, and then rallied up to 2994.75 at 8:52 am. 

After another drop, and a higher low at 2985.25, the futures rallied to print a series of lower highs at 2992.50 and 2986.75. At 9:55 the ES started to short cover, and ‘double topped’ at the 2992.50 level, after which it made yet another higher low at 2989.25. 

Once the new low had been established, the ES got hit by a buy program that pushed the futures up to a new daily high at 2996.25, then after two small pullbacks, it made two more highs at 2998.00 and 2898.75 at 12:54 CT. 

It was a very low volume grind, at 2:00 total volume was only 780,000 contracts, including the overnight Globex volume. 

At 2:09 the ES shot up to new highs at 3000.75 as the MiM went from over $200 million to sell to $650 million to sell. Just as the MiM increased to over $800 million to sell MOC, the ES made a new high by two ticks at 3000.75, and pulled back down to 2996.50 at 2:36. 

On the 2:45 cash imbalance reveal, the ES traded 2998.25 as the final MiM showed over $700 million to sell, and then sold off down to the 2993.00 area. On the 3:00 cash close the futures traded 2993.75, and went on to settle at 2997.50 on the 3:15 futures close, 

In terms of the days overall tone, the markets acted firm. It seemed like after the small early sell programs were done, the selling dried up, and buyers stepped in. In terms of the days overall volume, it was LOW, only 1 million December ES contracts traded.

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As always, please use protective buy and sell stops when trading futures and options.

_{Disclaimer: Trading Futures, Options on Futures, and retail off-exchange foreign currency transactions involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge, and financial resources. Any decision to purchase or sell as a result of the opinions expressed in the forum will be the full responsibility of the person(s) authorizing such transaction(s). BE ADVISED TO ALWAYS USE PROTECTIVE STOP LOSSES AND ALLOW FOR SLIPPAGE TO MANAGE YOUR TRADE(S) AS AN INVESTOR COULD LOSE ALL OR MORE THAN THEIR INITIAL INVESTMENT. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.}