9:10 am Eastern  -  There are some big battles going on right now. Here are some observations about where SPY is right now, and what we might expect to happen in the near term:

• Monthly and weekly charts are still bullish - above their respective 50-period MA. Yesterday, price bounced off the weekly 20-period MA. Currently, this is beginning to look like what happened on the November 17 week. Price found a bottom at the weekly 20-period MA and the bulls started their next rally from there. But don't forget, on both the monthly and weekly timeframes, there is still room on the downside for a longer-term reset, while still keeping the overall picture bullish. Bottom line? SPY 700 is still a target on the upside in the big picture. It just might be more difficult for the bulls to get there now (if they can do it at all), because of the increased overhead resistance that has been created with the last week's price action.
• Daily chart and most everything shorter (4-hour, 3-hour, 2-hour, etc.) is bearish currently. While price can bust though and get above important resistance areas, it probably won't be easy for the bulls. Coupled with the info in the first bullet above, this can mean there is still more downside before the bulls can muster enough strength to move higher.
• 682.01 was the bear axis for yesterday. Price got back up to that level in the premarket session and the bulls have been fighting to stay above it, but the bears are still defending it well. The level itself is a gauge for today. There still might be reactions after the open today, but it would be more risky to trade against 682.01. Above is better for the bulls. Below is better for the bears.
• 677.62 is yesterday's close. If price gets down there today, there could be a battle there, but I would want to see more reasons in real time to validate its importance as support before trading against it. That level is more of a gateway to lower prices. Yes, there's a lot of space under 680.96 before price would get to 677.62, but it is what it is. Under 682.01 and under 680.96, is a place where being short is the better odds. Trading against 677.62 depends on the circumstances of price and time if/when price gets down there.
• 674.28 is the real line in the sand for the bears. If the bulls can't hold that and get price to bounce again from that area, the risk increases that price will fall from that area. It could be the longer term reset that we've been saying is possible - like weeks or months - while still keeping the overall picture bullish.
• The other levels on the board for today are designed for base hits. There will still likely be increased volatility while buyers and sellers jockey for position. So, giving the levels more wiggle room and giving trades more time to develop would be smart. Also, adjust position size accordingly to reduce risk.
• The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index data release is dropping at 10:00 am Eastern. Be aware of where you're at leading up to that news item because it could move price around. Trade well today!

Trading by the Ticks & Trades Strategy, here is where you would have landed for the day:

It's hard to kill a bull. They did a good job fighting and getting on top of a lot of resistance areas. So far, what's happening looks similar to what we suggested in the Game Plan from this morning - that bounce off the 20-peiod moving average on the weekly chart might play out like what happened last time price visited the 20-period MA the November 17 week. But the weekly close this time gave us a doji candle, and the timing is getting close to something bigger happening. It could take a week or two, but the SPY needs to break out above the latest highs and try to tag 700 and maybe get above for an attempt at a log higher, or the pull back we got this week is just a sign of bigger things to come on the downside. The bulls are not out of the woods yet. Lots of back and forth in a more-or-less sideways thing. Breaking down from the whole range isn't out of the question yet. If or when DJT hits 20,000, let's see what they do with it soon thereafter. If they fall, SPY is likely not too far behind. But that's  all speculation. What about our levels for the day - how did they work out?

First trade was a long, launching off 685.54 right at the close of the 9:45 am candle. They handed you a Base Hit before falling down into 684.72 at 9:57 am. That triggered another long trade for Base Hit number two. When price fell into 683.25, the long trade was triggered at 10:17 am, because of a 6-cent Near Miss that happened at 10:08 am. Giving the levels more wiggle room could have meant you got in on that long trade at one or both of those bounces, but per the rules, there was no long trade at 683.25. At that point in time, we were still waiting to see what price did with the axis level at 682.01. There was a chance that it could have been tested, and that would have made staying in a long trade from 683.25 more risky., But bullish behavior became apparent as price fought to get above our upper levels - and succeeded. There was no Recycle trade on the short side against 685.54 with price got back up there because the 10:12 am test was too early to attempt the Recycle Trade, and it ended up being a Near Miss. So when price hit 685.54 again at 10:22 am, it was a 50/50 chance that they'd react again and pull back or bust though. As it turned out, there was another good pull back, but we can't count it per out rules. The levels worked though, no matter how you look at it. Unless you tried getting on board on the long side once price cleared our highest levels for the day to see how many points you could pull as the bulls took control, the easy approach by sticking to the process gave you two Base Hits.

Per the rules, a total of 8 ES points for the day.