Pre-market update:

• Asian markets traded 0.8% lower.
• European markets are trading 0.3% lower.
  
• US futures are trading 0.4% higher ahead of the market open. 
  

Economic reports due out (all times are eastern): Jobless Claims (8:30), Retail Sales (8:30), Import and Export Prices (8:30), Business Inventories (10), EIA Natural Gas Report (10:30)

Technical Outlook (SPX):

• Huge sell-off yesterday that hasn’t been seen since the pullback in early October. 
• SPX sliced through the 20-day moving average yesterday. 
• The two support levels I mentioned in yesterday’s trading plan, 2050 and 2030, were both broken yesterday. 
• This adds a drastic bearish element to the market going forward. Any rally going forward should be considered a dead cat bounce unless proven otherwise. 
• VIX rose an eye-opening 24.5% yesterday to 18.53. Highest level since October. 
• Double top on 30-minute SPX chart was confirmed yesterday. 
• Volume was well above average yesterday. 
• I wouldn’t look for the dead cat bounce to go much above 2051. 
• Yesterday’s move was a very rare move in that it is much more inclined to rally after a huge rally off of the lows the day prior. Bears defied the favorable, bullish odds. 
• The market doesn’t care about the economy nor earnings. That is not what is driving it. The market only cares about what the Fed is doing to keep equities propped up. 

My Trades:

• Added 2 new short positions today. 
• Stopped out of IBM at 160.95 for a 1.8% loss. 
• Stopped out of BABA at 103.88 for a 3% loss. 
• Will consider adding 1-2 new positions today. 
• Remain long GLW at 21.20, EBAY at 55.31, AAPL at 112.74. 
• 30% long /  20% Short / 50% cash. 
• Join me each day for all my real-time trades and alerts in the SharePlanner Splash Zone

Chart for SPX: