Friday's emini session was one of rolling price action from 8:30am EST to the close. Up & down thru rolling swings that finished lower than Thursday's close. Neither buyers or sellers could prevail... but one side or the other will probably wrest control by the finish of this week ahead.

R2 = solid red line
R1 = dashed red line
Pivot = navy blue line
S1 = dashed green line
S2 = solid green line

ES (+$50 per index point)

S&P 500 futures gapped down from the open, dropped thru S1 values and wedged below there for a bit, stepped upwards toward Globex highs and then chopped back down to close near the lows. Clearly an unstructured session, no directional bias at all. Several decent swings for small profit trades, 10.5pt total intraday range.

ER (+$100 per index point)

Russell 2000 futures were relatively stronger than other eminis as usual. Opening gap was filled, quick trip down to S1 soon swung upwards above the daily pivot point. That didn't last, and a break below tapped previous support then turned resistance before dropping -5pts into the closing bell.

Again, mostly a sideways session that spanned 10pts high to low but only offered several small-profit plays.

ES (+$50 per index point)

The most recent low - high swing closed below 62% retrace on Thursday, then tested & failed that former support as the session highs on Friday. Year 2006 price action is rolling thru a sideways range that appears to be wedging up for directional blastoff, up or down. 1262 previous lows are next visible support with 1250 just below there.

ER (+$100 per index point)

Small caps remain the pillar of strength. Now sitting right on 38% retracement of the previous low-high swing, this index is 100% bullish. Thursday's long red candle followed by Friday's Doji of indecision does visually state that price action must hold sideways to higher if further upside is in the cards. A break below 715 in a daily close would be quite bearish indeed.

Summation
Small caps and mid caps continue to be the market leaders, or should we say market props beneath charts that look extended and in need of rest. The FOMC event has passed, earnings season will wind to a close with traders left to buy or sell stocks on their own merit. Or might the tapes remain hostage to guesswork on what the Fed will do next? My guess is that some as-of-yet unknown catalyst will drive the markets somewhat higher or shock them considerably lower. For now we work within sideways, choppy conditions and await the next directional trend from there.

Trade To Win
Austin P
www.CoiledMarkets.com
(Online video clip tutorials... open access)

Austin Passamonte is a full-time professional trader who specializes in E-mini stock index futures, equity options and commodity markets.
Mr. Passamonte's trading approach uses proprietary chart patterns found on an intraday basis. Austin trades privately in the Finger Lakes region of New York.