9:13 am Eastern  - In yesterday's Game Plan, we talked about how when price is in the middle of stuff with no clear trend defined, price can go either direction at any time. We've been witnessing this for several months. We can still drill down and identify levels each morning that have a higher-than-usual probability of being areas where the bulls and bears will battle it out and give us opportunities to pull Base Hits, but the story is the same: price keeps bouncing between  the highs and lows of a large consolidation range.

The big picture narrative hasn't changed. SPY will either finally get to 700 and possibly spike it higher than many traders seem possible, which could create a short squeeze. Or price gets down to and under the 675.00 to 673.50 zone and starts closing daily, and maybe weekly candles under it. That scenario would likely mean lower prices; either large drops as panic selling ensues, or a slower drip lower as levels of support begin to fail one after another. Meanwhile, for the time being, price continues to stay in the middle of stuff, making it challenging to say with confidence which direction the big picture is likely headed next. We need to see more clues and signals in the big picture before we can have the conversation of where the next leg could be.

With all that said, it should be clear that there is uncertainty in the market as a whole. Unexpected things can happen at any time. For today, there is a bull axis at 685.71. Getting above and staying above is better for the bulls in the near term. The level itself is not a tradable level by default, unless there are other reasons present if/when price gets there that increases its validity as overhead resistance. It is mostly a gauge.

There is level at 682.37, which is yesterday's close. It is also not meant to be traded unless you see more reasons in real time if/when price interacts with 682.37. Getting below that level opens the door to the official bear axis for today which is 680.10. That could be good level to trade against, but like every Daily Level posted each day, it helps if you see additional reasons in  real time that indicate that the level could be good support.

Note the zone down at 677.61 to 676.93. That area and below it is where more support starts to show up. The first major line in the sand for the bulls to defend is the 675.00 to 673.50 zone. That's an area we need to be aware of, even if the levels aren't plotted on the chart for today. We know they're there. The other levels around that area, like 674.84 and 672.74 are there for different reasons, and could be good for Base Hit trades. If the bigger back-and-forth continues, it's possible that there could be bigger support down in that area, giving the bulls the energy needed to start another rally. It would be in keeping with the back and forth in the large consolidation pattern.

Right now, price is near the bottom of the big-picture range. If price does get down to the 675.00 to 673.50 zone or below, understand that the bigger risk is that it could be the time when the bulls hand the ball over to the bears and let price drop. Not saying it will happen, but the back and forth in the aforementioned range won't last forever. Something's going to give eventually. 

At 10:00 am Eastern, there is a Consumer Confidence data release. Be aware of your surroundings leading up to and after that announcement. It could be the catalyst for bigger moves. Trade well today.

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

Price came down into our bear axis of 680.10 soon after the opening bell and bounced nicely. I was tempted to go long there, despite the interaction of price with the level happening within that first 15-minutes of the opening bell - which is a violation of the rules. I did not and regretted not getting on board. That was where the bulls started to take control. No trade there if you followed our process. The next two level up that price hit, 682.37 and 685.71 were not meant to be traded, so nothing to do at those levels. Both of those levels were important in their own right though. But no trades yet - not until the short at 687.85. 

The operating level up at 687.85 was 685.80. So, if SPY would hit 685.80 - as in, equal to or greater than that operating level - then a short trade in the E-minis would be triggered. Look at where price went at 12:28 pm. They went right up to 685.80 and hit it to the penny before pulling back quickly - enough for a Base Hit. Price was never able to get much above that level for the rest of the day, so that one Base Hit trade was the only official trade for the day, that is, unless you happened to do what I wished I did and gone long with a handful of ES contracts at 9:37 am when price bounced from 680.10. The levels are important.

Per the rules, a total of 4 ES points for the day.