Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:
Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:
- In Asia 7 out of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp -0.68%, Hang Seng +0.10%, Nikkei -0.28%
- In Europe 13 out of 13 markets are trading higher: CAC +1.08%, DAX +0.74%, FTSE +0.95%
- Fair Value: S&P -0.73 NASDAQ +5.40, Dow -42.70
- Total Volume: 1.25mil ESZ & 995 SPZ traded in the pit
Today’s Economic Calendar:
Today’s economic calendar includes the beginning of the FOMC Meeting, MBA Mortgage Applications 7:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET, a 30-Yr Bond Auction 1:00 PM ET, and Consumer Credit 3:00 PM ET.
S&P 500 Futures: Pre-Election Grinder
After trading in a 16.75 handle overnight range, the S&P 500 futures opened Tuesday’s regular session at 2736.75, down -2.75 handles. The first move after the bell was down to an early low at 2635.75, before strong buying in a thin market propelled the index futures up to the morning high of 2751.75 right at 9:00. From there, the ES drifted down to 2742.00 just after 9:30 for the mid morning low, and then traded up to 2751.25 around 10:15 for the midmorning high. The futures continued to climb to a late morning high, which would be the high of the day, at the 2753.25 price at 11:45.
The afternoon saw a sideways chop for the first hour, but then the ES began to drop as the MiM came online showing large to sell early. The early afternoon high was 2752.25 before traveling down to 2737.75 heading into the final hour. The futures rallied up to 2761.00 in the final hour as the MOC came out as 1.6 billion to sell, and printed 2754.25 on the 3:00 close, before settling the day at 2759.25, up +19.75 handles, or +0.27%.
In the end, the ES did exactly what I said it would, thin to win would prevail. After a big MOC to sell, the ES rallied 12 handles in the final 30 minutes of the day. In terms of the ES’s overall tone, the markets acted fine. In terms of the days overall trade, only 1.23 million futures traded, that’s at least 1 million shy of what the daily volume has been over the last 3+ weeks.
Disclaimer: Trading Futures, Options on Futures, and retail off-exchange foreign currency transactions involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge, and financial resources. Any decision to purchase or sell as a result of the opinions expressed in the forum will be the full responsibility of the person(s) authorizing such transaction(s). BE ADVISED TO ALWAYS USE PROTECTIVE STOP LOSSES AND ALLOW FOR SLIPPAGE TO MANAGE YOUR TRADE(S) AS AN INVESTOR COULD LOSE ALL OR MORE THAN THEIR INITIAL INVESTMENT. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.