Non-Committal Friday Action In The S&P 500

In a ho-hum day of economic news on Wall Street, both the DJIA and S&P500 are trading sideways. At the halfway point of the U.S. session, commodity pricing has been the big story with both gold and WTI reversing off of early gains. The USD Index has plunged south, posting a test of several daily support levels. For a muted Friday session, it looks like traders have left stocks in search of opportunity elsewhere.

S&P 500 Technicals

After a failed auction above Thursday’s high, the December E-mini S&P 500 futures contract has sold off moderately. Today’s range is tight, featuring a test of downside support at the Daily SMA (2714.00).

Sometimes muted action can provide solid rotational trading opportunities. The noncommittal stance of the S&P 500 has brought two levels into play for this market:

• Resistance(1): Bollinger MP, 2753.00
• Support(1): Daily SMA, 2714.00

Bottom Line: For the remainder of the session, I will be looking to fade the extremes of today’s range. Sells from beneath the Bollinger MP at 2752.75 and buys from above the Daily SMA 2714.25 are likely to be effective. With a modest 8 tick profit target and 1:1 risk vs reward ratio, these trades are an affordable way to play the limited volatility of today’s E-mini S&P 500 market.