Nasdaq / Russell Bull Monster, The Gift That Keeps Giving

Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:

Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:

• In Asia 8 out of 11 markets closed lower: Shanghai Comp -1.38%, Hang Seng -1.35%, Nikkei +0.61%
• In Europe 12 out of 13 markets are trading lower: CAC -0.52%, DAX -0.93%, FTSE -0.75%
• Fair Value: S&P +2.93, NASDAQ +24.33, Dow -0.59
• Total Volume: 1.07mil ESU & 539 SPU traded in the pit

Today’s Economic Calendar:

Today’s economic calendar includes U.S. jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing survey at 8:30 a.m., The Minneapolis Fed’s Neel Kashkari speaks at 9 a.m. ET, The Conference Board’s leading economic index for May, out at 10 a.m., EIA Natural Gas Survey at 10:30 a.m.

S&P 500 Futures: S&P Lags Behind Market Leaders, Russell 2000 and Nasdaq Composite

Maybe this will change at some point, but if you have the wherewithal to hold your long positions and not get shaken out, adjust or hedge when the ES falls because of some type of headline news, in most cases the ES will end up going right back up the day the markets falls, or the next day. I talk to the PitBull about this all the time. I know some of us ‘have to get out’, that we just can’t take the heat or hold when the ES is 20 or 30 handles against us. The fear is that the markets will keep going down and blow up our trading accounts. Maybe if we all had a million bucks in our accounts we could hold, but few retail traders have that kind of cash parked in our accounts. So what happens? We get washed out of our positions, lose money and then… miss the next move up. Personally, I have always been a bull guy, I like buying weakness, but I have to admit I think the news headline agos control the markets now, and have made it an even more unlevel playing field.

Yesterday’s trade started with the Asian markets trading higher and Europe up modestly. After trading down to 2757.25 on Globex the S&P 500 futures rallied up to 2776.25 and traded 2775.00 on the 8:30 futures open. The ES traded in a 3 1/2 handle range for the first forty minutes, making a high at 2757.75, and then sold off down 2767.00 at 9:30. After the low the ES slowly rallied up to a new daily high 2778.25 just after 12:00. The futures then pulled back down to 2770.00 at exactly 2:00 as the MiM started to show $243 million for sale. The MiM then flipped to $185 million for sale as the ES up ticked up to 2775.00. The ES traded 2772.50 on the 2:45 cash imbalance reveal, as the final MiM showed $1.1 billion for sale, traded 2771.75 on the 3:00 cash close, and settled at 2771.75 on the 3:15 futures close, up +5.5 handles, or up +0.20% on the day.

In the end, the ES broke a three day losing streak. That said, there is still a dark cloud floating over it as China could end up boycotting US goods. While China can not win a tariff war with the US, a boycott could set off some very negative economic consequences. On the other side of this, the markets will rally sharply if the two countries do ultimately strike a deal. In terms of the markets overall tone, the ES traded firm until late in the day when the MiM came out showing $1.1 billion for sale. In terms of the days overall trade, it was a slow trading day that only did two thirds of Tuesday’s volume.

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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.}