Pre-market update (updated 9am eastern):

• European markets are trading 0.3% higher.
• Asian markets traded 1.1% higher.
• US futures are moderately higher ahead of the bell. 

Economic reports due out (all times are eastern): Jobless Claims (8:30am), EIA Natural Gas Report (10:30am), Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index (11am)

Technical Outlook (SPX):

• Quiet days for SPX as it finished unchanged on the day. 
• Yesterday marked a breathing opportunity after having rallied 40+ points on the SPX off the lows. 
• 30 minute chart on the SPX shows a good bit of consolidation over the past almost two days of trading. 
• Gap ups like we are seeing this morning, if it can survive the first hour of trading, will typically remain bullish the rest of the trading session. 
• 1538 remains the key level for the bears to push this market below, while SPX managed to break the short-term resistance of 1574 yesterday that likely clears the way for a retest of all-time highs. 
• SPX well above its 10 & 20-day moving averages now. 
• VIX settled in under 14. 
• Markets don’t care about the economy. That is not what is driving them. The markets only care about what the Fed is doing to keep equities propped up. 
• Both channels (July October 2012) and the price channel we are currently in are very similar in nature. 
• We haven’t seen a market pullback in excess of 4% since October/November time-frame. 

My Opinions & Trades:

• Added TSM at $18.37 yesterday
• VIP has a special dividend of $0.79 per share today. Adjust stops accordingly. 
• Will be looking to add 1-2 new long positions today. 
• Remain Long DISCK at $71.12, DISH at $38.10, DFT at $25.55.VIP at $12.22
• Join me each day for all my real-time trades and alerts in the SharePlanner Splash Zone

Chart for SPX: