For the second day in a row, the U.S. indices have met the opening bell in the green. However, the bullish sentiment has faded, with the DJIA, S&P 500, and NASDAQ closing the first half-hour of trade slightly in the red.

Aside from Thursday’s U.S. Q4 GDP release, this week’s economic calendar is a bit thin. The pre-Wall Street open brought a few peripheral releases:

Event                                                                    Actual      Previous

MBA Mortgage Applications (March 18)           8.9%            1.6%

Goods Trade Balance (Jan.)                              $-72.14B    $-80.39B

Trade Balance (Jan.)                                           $-51.1B      $-59.9B

This group of figures is overwhelmingly positive. Potential home buyers are becoming more active and the Trade Balance for January has fallen substantially. If nothing else, these secondary metrics may give investors reason for optimism going into tomorrow’s GDP report.

New All-Time Highs For The NASDAQ?

Last Friday was a brutal session for June E-mini NASDAQ futures. Sellers took control of the market with vigor, driving values off of all-time highs to an extremely negative close. This week has been better for tech stocks. Bargain hunters have stepped in to ensure the NASDAQ stays in bullish territory.

If the early optimism continues to fade, a key downside support level may come into play:

• Support(1): Daily 38% Retracement, 7323.50

Bottom Line: For the remainder of the session, I will have buy orders queued up from 7325.25 in the June E-mini NASDAQ. With an initial stop at 7319.25, this trade produces 30 ticks on a standard 1:1 risk vs reward management plan.

While my current bias toward the U.S. indices is to the bull, today’s positive open has been wiped out. In the event we see further weakness ahead of Thursday’s GDP release, buying dips ahead of the weekend break will be a popular way to get in on the action.