Rate Hike Imminent

Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:

Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:

• In Asia 6 out of 11 markets closed lower: Shanghai Comp -0.27%, Hang Seng -0.43%, Nikkei -0.47%
• In Europe 9 out of 12 markets are trading lower: CAC -0.31%, DAX -0.06%, FTSE -0.47%
• Fair Value: S&P +3.19, NASDAQ +20.84, Dow +9.18
• Total Volume: 1mil ESM, and 1.3k SPM traded in the pit

Today’s Economic Calendar:

Today’s economic calendar includes MBA Mortgage Applications 7:00 AM ET, Current Account 8:30 AM ET, Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Meeting Announcement 2:00 PM ET, FOMC Forecasts 2:00 PM ET, and the Fed Chair Press Conference 2:30 PM ET.

S&P 500 Futures: #ES Pre-Rate Hike Chop

Monday nights Globex range was 2729.00 to 2719.25, with a total volume of 190,000 contracts traded. The first print in the S&P 500 futures off Tuesday mornings 8:30 open came in at 2720.00. After the open the ES rallied up tp 2725.25, pulled back a few handles, made another new high at 2725.50, and then pulled back 2719.25. The futures then rallied up to 2727.75, dropped down to a lower low at 2616.25, and then made a lower high 2727.50. After the last push up, the ES made a series of lower highs, and going into 11:00 sold off down to a new daily low at 2713.50 before bouncing up to 2723.50. At 12:00 volume was just over 700,000 contracts. After the push up to 2723.50, the ES made a lower low by three ticks down to 2712.75, and then popped back up to 2719.00.

Facebook shares continued to selloff as political leaders in the U.S. and EU have called for aggressive inquiries into whether the technology giant failed to stop improper access and handling of user data. On top of Mondays losses, Facebook was down another -4%, its biggest decline in four years, and has shaved more than $50 billion in share value in the last two days.

After 2:00, the ES traded up to 2726.75, as the MiM went from $271 million to buy to $706 million to buy. The futures dumped back down to 2719.50 as the MIM fell back to $328 million to buy. On the 2:45 cash imbalance reveal, the MiM jumped up to $945 million to buy, and the ES traded up to 2721.00. The futures traded 2720.50 on the 3:00 cash close, and 2724.00 on the 3:15 futures close, up +1.25 handles, or +0.05%, on the day.

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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.}