Balanced Day

Yet another classic trading day, with a just after 7:30 minor low of yesterday, being the trade of the day long.  S1 level too boot.  Late day look above the daily highs, minor high and fail, trade of the day number 2.

Two utterly perfect range extreme minor high and minor low trades for the textbook today.

When minor low levels like these get bought within the 1st hour and a half, the bots just dog pile and shorts just forget it.  The crew here has a definite rule that if the prior day's lows are tested in this manner at 7:30, we don't even think downside until range highs. Even then, this market has punished thoughts of selling at highs.

The buyers didn't have it all that easy today -- as the daily grind higher has been broken and the move off the lows higher took out the morning HOD, but the minor high stalled out.  Last hour selling commenced at 12:00 and back to range lows price went.

The end of day squeeze to highs pattern sure has been broken for now.

But it was just an inside range day so, all of the credit goes to the bulls

Here are the intra-day screen shots for our two trades of the day: 

Fed Blues

We all "knew" (high odds) that the red bar was coming.  And once the fed announcement up push could not muster anything more than a peak above the 5 minute swing high, they liquidated it lower.
But liquidation bars in a market like this are buy program bait. And the market closed to re-trace the entire bar.

So tomorrow we watch out for more downside, but instantly forget such a notion if the programs are buying-inclined.

Fed Crack is the ultimate drug.

We really like our stock charts of the day.  Now that is one powerful pattern!

Same Movie

Another classic grinder day higher.  This is too mechanical and a red bar is coming.

That, or we are just wrong and the artificial buying pressure just keeps the game alive longer and farther than anyone can think possible.

Bring on the Fed Freaks tomorrow.

Red Bar Looming?

This up "Ultra-Grind-Higher" (trade mark) is getting pretty long in the tooth and I'm sensing that a red bar of some variety is looming. Lots of divergences today and it feels like inventory is way too stinking long with laggards.

Price is grinder higher via "ghost mode".  Neutral to diverging sediment everywhere.

Nice floor trader R1 reversal today, trade of the day.

Creeper Grinder Up

Our analysis was spot on as, sure enough, the grinder, creeper, (make that A HIDEOUS grinder, creeper) buyers came in and the market drifted higher all day long.

Is this August?

Hideous creeper grinds are typically not bullish but they are definitely not reversal signals!

Laggard Sellers

Well, well, yesterday's R3 reversal was a clue!  No?

Looking at today's session, the 8:00 downside tail that turned bait at Monday's range low, was all the information I needed to surmise that the lows were in for the day.  Pathetic sellers didn't have a chance.

But with semi's and financials leading the sectors down, it was clear that buyers would have a tough time pulling off their usual squeeze higher.  JPM, you swine.

Bottom line: A miserable failure for sellers today.  I am looking for an upside push come tomorrow of some sort.

Bad JPM.  Give the government 13 billion as a get out of jail free card for the criminal CEO, and more minions want to join the party. Next up is the 6 billion settlement with the institutional investors screwed over.

But if I were a JPM billionaire CEO, I'd gladly cough up 20 billion to get a year of home detention versus the 30 year sentence of hard time that I really deserve.

Money talks.

News Flash: The Market Is Up

Our diary is going to be short tonight. Almost as short as the days are getting.  Hello late October!

The major news flash to report is that the market was up today.  Cough!

Jobs report gap up launched higher and turned bait at 7:30 and R3 for a HOD print.  And our rule is to watch the hell out as reversals, at these floor trader pivot levels can really pack a punch. Especially rare are R3 touches in the 1st place!

And right on cue the liquidation to range lows printed.  The kicker was that it printed a stop running excess tail, minor low of A period. Oh those minor lows!

On cue, the buyers came back in at the minor low and ground it higher back to near range highs.  If it were not a raging bull market, a morning mechanical rejection at R3 would have most likely killed the market today.

It's Monday

Typical low volume, low volatility, balanced Monday.

Once again, the trade of the day was to sell the minor high of Friday's range highs 1st hour and then ride it to gap fill.

Then TICK diverge at gap fill was also a very decent long trade idea.  But with no TICK above +600, the up move was doomed to fail.  And as so many times exampled before, with an early morning look above and fail of the prior session, they looked it below range lows late day.

But in the bull market of lore, buyers stepped right in to take it up back into the range.

Balance, baby...

SUBMIT!

I was talking with a trading buddy today and we both marveled at (and laughed at too) how our minds want to do nothing else but fight this market -- and short it.

It's just how we are wired -- to fight.  To be the hero who knows above anyone else when a reversal is at hand.  I suppose that it's caveman gene-pool bullshit surfacing -- or both of us are just nuts. Most likely the latter for sure.

Despite a slow, grinding Friday, some great patterns showed their hand as the upwards grind was on yet again.

Google popped to over 1k today and printed a clear signal that the company is taking over the world.  The true probable Evil-Empire that knows every word we write and every interest we have.

CMG feeding thier way into stock wonderland too.

LIke Clockwork

Like clockwork, the high odds scenario played out in the form of a completely "magical" move to all time highs.  Rarely seen is such a absolutely perfect morning trend on the 5 minute,  right into those highs.

Oh, and the last hour burst to highs printed right on cue!

So we are on watch for a possible reversal at this new highs zone.

But it looks like smooth sailing for higher prices.

All (Dysfunctional) Systems Go!

The morning gun higher was a little too rapid and petered out exactly at R2.   Mechanical reversals at highs like this typically don't bode well for continuation and, right on cue, the market based for most of the session and never took out R2.

But there was plenty of health underneath the hood and no sign of pending inventory needing to be adjusted lower.  Cleanly above prior day's ranges and financials leading the charge.

Trade of the day if not going long the open was to buy the last hour pullback to the VWAP and ride the predictable last hour ride back up to range highs.

With all time highs just above, it's high odds that a test is coming.

With the dysfunctional Governmental printing presses back on line, it's all systems go.

Nice bull day with Financials leading the charge up 2%

Inventory Games

After 3 closes at or near highs, inventory finally got a little bit too long and pushed lower.

Nice patterns today.  The trade of the day was to fade the gap fill and then a minor high peek above yesterday's range highs and 1700 zone.

The mid-session base then gave way for a look down of the morning session lows.  There were a host of clues that the breakdown was coming, not the least of which was the minor high above yesterday's range highs.  Small caps were severely diverged lower and breadth in general was weak.   Descending triangle pattern too boot.  All great stuff.

Market is spazzing around after hours so far on news.   So far up. Any good news and the trend higher will get bought hard is my best inclination.  But that's a hindsight observation indeed!

Don't Fight The Grind

Today featured a nice morning session breakout trade.  The TICK was all over that one.  An edge-feast if there every was one!

Typical grinder up type of day.  Not even the 1700 zone could usher in a sell response whatsoever.  Zombie low volume holiday session.

Intra-market themes were screaming for the most part too.

And for the 3rd day in a row they closed it on highs.

As always with this type of lower momentum, inside range, lower volume, grind higher structure, there is significant risk of a big red bar.  But we play the game and don't fight the grind.

You think that the markets are not flesh-eating-monsters?   This is not buying, it's short covering.  Only the fear of utter-total-annihilation can double a stock in a day.  And up almost 5x in a week.

Welcome to the party. Hope that you like your seat at the table.  If not, then the cake will not taste all that good.

Daily slides...