At the midpoint of the session, U.S. indices remain strong. Today’s bullish pressure has been a continuation of a 3-day run. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and escalating tensions with North Korea, strong sentiment towards U.S. equities is a bit of a surprise.

Heavy volumes and high levels of participation are defining today’s action. Both create optimal conditions for scalping strategies.

When Fundamentals And Technicals Collide

This morning’s negative U.S. housing bulletins momentarily stymied a strong S&P 500 market. It was a fortunate situation and one that provided opportunity.

Trade Breakdown: September E-mini S&P 500 Futures

I outlined this trade earlier and it proved to be a winner. A nice 10 tick scalp was readily available. Since then, the E-mini S&Ps have continued to rally, challenging the intraday high of 2469.50.

Increased market participation due to fundamentals typically lends relevance to technical indicators. This morning’s trade was a nice example of this concept being effective.

What’s On Tap For Tomorrow?

We will see where the markets end up today, but tomorrow is a big day for U.S. equities. Listed are the pre-U.S. session economic reports that will determine sentiment early on:

• Average Hourly Earnings (Aug)

• Average Weekly Hours (Aug)

• Unemployment Rate (Aug)

• ISM Manufacturing PMI (Aug)

These are key economic data releases. The U.S. employment data has been consistently positive as of late, so we will see if the hot streak continues.

In the meantime, check in with the signals page here at FX Leaders for trade ideas facing the most popular indices and forex pairs.