Quad Witch Walk Away Trade

Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:

Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:

• In Asia 8 out of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp +0.24%, Hang Seng -0.13%, Nikkei +0.16%
• In Europe 10 out of 13 markets are trading higher: CAC +0.35%, DAX +0.01%, FTSE +0.15%
• Fair Value: S&P +2.36, NASDAQ +24.83, Dow -8.25
• Total Volume: 1.32 million ESZ & 574 SPZ traded in the pit

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

Today’s Economic Calendar:

Today’s economic calendar includes the Quadruple Witching, John Williams Speaks 8:15 AM ET, Eric Rosengren Speaks 11:20 AM ET, the Baker-Hughes Rig Count 1:00 PM ET, and Robert Kaplan Speaks 1:00 PM ET.

S&P 500 Futures: Up Down And All Around

Chart courtesy of Stewart Solaka @Chicagostock – $ES_F So who’s winning? After overcoming August 3014 high last week market is right back to where it closed last Friday after one week of stopping out buyers and shorts. Mkt needs new buyers to carry ball further 3014, or we fall right back down…

During Wednesday nights Globex session, the S&P 500 futures traded down to a low at 2991.25, then rallied 24 handles to print a high at 3015.50, and opened Thursday’s regular trading hours (RTH) at 3013.50.

The futures were strong out of the gate after the 8:30 CT bell, despite the early morning weakness due to news out of Europe, and rushed to print a new high at 3023.50. After a little back and fill down to 3018.50, the ES continued to grind higher, eventually printing another new high at 3024.50, before easing off a bit going into the afternoon.

The late morning weakness started to snowball on rumors surrounding the China trade talks, and new sellers continued to generate, taking the ES back down to 3009.75 by 12:45.  

After a bounce up to 3016.75 the ES continued to trade lower, printing a new RTH low at 3004.75, as the MiM reveal came out showing small to sell. The futures then went on to print 3009.00 on the 3:00 cash close, and 3008.25 on the 3:15 cash close, down -0.25 handles.

In the end, the ES was down on early Globex, rallied before and after the open, then puked late in the day, but basically closed unchanged. In terms of the days overall trade, a total of 1.3 million mini S$P futures contracts traded. I guess that’s ok, but nothing to rave about.

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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.}