Pre-market update:

• Asian markets traded 0.3% lower.
• European markets are trading 0.5% higher.
  
• US futures are trading 0.7% higher ahead of the market open. 
  

Economic reports due out (all times are eastern): Jobless Claims (8:30), Chicago Fed National Activity Index (8:30), FHFA House Price Index (9), PMI Manufacturing Index Flash (9:45), Leading Indicators (10), EIA Natural Gas Report (10:30), Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index (11)

Technical Outlook (SPX):

• Very concerning rejection yesterday on SPX that occurred right at the Fibonacci 61.8% retracement level. 
• Yesterday also formed a bearish piercing pattern. 
• Most concerning though was how the market sold off of its highs and finished right at the lows of the day. 
• This morning there is some strength in the pre-market, but should be viewed with some skepticism until it can break yesterday’s highs of the day. 
• This market is wild and erratic – if you are playing it with large position sizes, you going to find it very difficult to succeed. 
• With yesterday’s action I closed out some of my more volatile plays and kept the longs that performed well under difficult trading circumstances. 
• SPX 5 minute chart has a well defined head and shoulders pattern that will likely be nullified at the open. 
• SPX 30 minute chart yesterday was compromised when it failed to hold the trend-line off of the 10/15 lows.
• VIX popped 11.2% to 17.87 yesterday. 
• It would not surprise me one bit if we saw some consolidation in the current bounce. Holding the recent gains or only allowing for a minimal pullback is absolutely key here. 
• 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:

• Closed PIR yesterday at 12.63 for a 1.6% gain. 
• Closed RAX yesterday at 35.76 for a 1.7% gain. 
• Added one new long position to the portfolio yesterday. 
• Will consider adding 1-2 new positions today. 
• Remain long ROST at 76.76, AAPL at 101.73.
• 30% long / 70% cash. 
• Join me each day for all my real-time trades and alerts in the SharePlanner Splash Zone

Chart for SPX: