The S&P futures started out lower Tuesday, sold off hard and then rallied. Greek headlines and index arbitrage sell programs helped push the ESH15 down to 2056.50 in the early going and the index could not have looked worse, but @ChicagoStock, a well-known trader from the MrTopStep trading room, came out saying that the ESM15’s 3-day pivot came in at 2057 and was a retest of yesterday’s S&P cash low at 2053.75 and Tim from @TNTFutures came out saying….

Chicagostock ( 11:17:06 AM ): 3day pivot 2057, retest of yesterday’s cash low here 5375.

Top Notch ( 11:24:23 AM ): – I agree. I never liked them after they failed a move above yesterdays settle. However, I do expect a bounce at this time. Overall could find 2044.00 by end of day, a stretch

As traders, we need to gain as much of an edge as we can. MrTopStep does not believe in the one-trader approach. We believe in what we call the trading “collective,” where a number of skilled traders are providing trade ideas and levels. Yesterday’s trade at the low of the day was a great example of how the collective works together. By 1:08 CT the S&P futures had traded all the way up to 2069.00. Not only did @ChicagoStock give us the low, he also sold the 2067s before the ES collapsed early in the day.

Like the PitBull said in the MrTopStep “Unplugged” webinar, when he meet me he asked me if I follow the winners and I said yes, but today I don’t have to look too far, as they are all located in the MrTopStep trading room. While I do make some of my own trading decisions, I also appreciate the fact that there are so many talented people in our trading room to bounce my levels and trade ideas off of.

MrTopStep Trading Room BootCamp Special Offers!

In Asia 6 out of 11 markets closed lower and at 6:00 CT in Europe 7 of 12 markets are trading lower this morning. Today’s economic calendar has the MBA mortgage applications, EIA Petroleum Index, 2:00 ET FOMC meeting announcement and forecasts and 2:30 ET Federal Reserve Chair press conference.

Fade the Fed (S&P futures down 10 of the last 14 or down 7 out of the last 10 sessions)

Our view: We expect the first part of the day to be quiet. Regardless of how things end up this afternoon, the Fed is going to raise the bar when it comes to volatility. After years of telling the public that it wants to keep interest rates low, the Fed is approaching a turning point and at the same time creating uncertainty which the VIX lives off of. Is the S&P ready to start going up? I think it is, but that does not preclude some type of decision day flunk-a-dunk followed by a rally. We just have one thing to say: Fade the first move off the Fed announcement …

“S&P 500 Futures and the Pre-Fed Chop”

S&P Cash Study for the March Expiration

View all of the March Expiration Stats Here…

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

• In Asia 6 out of 11 markets closed lower: Shanghai Comp +2.13%, Hang Seng +0.91%, Nikkei +0.55%
• In Europe 7 of 12 markets are trading lower: DAX -1.23%, FTSE +0.53%, MICEX +1.26%, Athens GD.AT -3.66%
• Fair value: S&P -8.43 , Nasdaq -8.59 , Dow -85.19
• Total volume: 1.79 ESM and 44k SPH traded (mostly spreads)
• Economic schedule: MBA mortgage applications, EIA Petroleum Index, 2:00 ET FOMC meeting announcement and forecasts and 2:30 ET Federal Reserve Chair press conference..

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