Last Trading Day Of April; Buy Bonds / Sell S&P

Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:

Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:

• In Asia 10 out of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp +0.23%, Hang Seng +1.74%, Nikkei +0.18%
• In Europe 10 out of 13 markets are trading higher: CAC +0.68%, DAX +0.25%, FTSE +0.51%
• Fair Value: S&P -1.66, NASDAQ +2.70, Dow -46.33
• Total Volume: 1.32 mil ESM & 1.5k SPM traded in the pit

Today’s Economic Calendar:

Tuesday: Markit manufacturing PMI, April (56.5 previously); Construction spending, March (+0.5% expected; +0.1% previously); ISM manufacturing PMI, April (58.5 expected; 59.3 previously); Auto sales, April (17.15 million vehicles annualized expected; 17.4 million previously).

S&P 500 Futures: Monday’s Crash & Burn, Trump Delays Steel Tariff Decision For EU, Other U.S. Allies

On Globex, the S&P 500 futures traded down to 2670.00 Sunday night, and made a high at 2682.25 around 5:15 AM CT Monday morning. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.7%, and the Stoxx 600 was up 0.10%.

The first print off the 8:30 futures open came in at 2675.00. The ES initially down ticked 1.5 handles, down to 2674.50, did a little back and fill under the vwap, and then rallied up to 2681.75. From there, the futures pulled back down to 2677.00, popped up to 2681.50, and then got hit by several sell programs, pulling the futures down to 2671.75, completing a MrTopStep 10 handle rule, when the personal income numbers came in softer than expected.

After that initial break, the ES had a small bounce, and then got hit by another wave of sell programs, pulling the futures down to 2663.00. Next, there was a small bounce, followed by a selloff down tp 2657.50. After a push back up to the 2662.00 area, the futures again sold off down to a new low 2654.25, and that’s when I put this out:

11:57:48: DBOY: bounce time.

The futures then rallied up to 2661.25, pulled back down to 2655.25, then traded up to 2664.50 before reversing down to a new low at 2652,25. After one last pop and drop down to 2649.75, the ES rallied up to 2658.75, and then tanked as the MiM started showing $1.8 billion to sell, trading all the way down to 2645.75 on the 3:00 cash close. The MiM backed off to only $1.1 billion for sale, and at 2:55 was only showing $17 million for sale. The ES settled at 2647.25, down -24.25 handles, or -0.91%.

In the end the last trading day of April was all about buying bonds and selling stocks. The Dow futures (YMM18:CME) closed down -156 points, or -0.64%, the Nasdaq 100 futures (NQM18:CME) closed off -57 points, or -0.85%, and the Russell 2000 (RTYM18:CME) ended the day down -15.70 points, or -1-01%. Despite the decline, volume on the NYSE was pitiful. At 2:52 CT, 8 minutes before the close, there was only 508 million shares traded.

Investors Are Pulling A Record Amount Of Money Out Of Stock Funds

According to the Investment Company Institute, investors have yanked a record $67 billion out of stock funds since the start of February. Investors yanked a record $41 billion from these funds in February, which was the biggest monthly exodus since January 2008, and another $2.4 billion in outflows came out US equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds for the week ended April 18.

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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.}