Futures Pointing to a Higher Open...

2:20 pm ET - the 1,075 horizontal resistance is holding although the SPX hit 1,079.46 on an intra-day high earlier...this is to be expected in front of so many important earnings announcements this week starting with INTC on Tuesday...see Friday's guidance and tonight's post for more on earnings... 1:06 pm ET - Look at XLF, SPX, SOX and LLTC this way... (click image to enlarge) 1:00 pm ET - XLE continues strong, XLF is gaining strength which is bullish as SPX moves near its highs... (click image to enlarge) 12:00 pm ET - the SPX is back on track at 1,077.52 +0.56% after hitting a high of 1,079.46...XLE is now up 96 cents or 1.72%...BDK has pulled back and is up $3.14 or 6.65%...Semicondcutors SOX +1.94%...WLT, LLTC, FSLR, LVS, BRCM, GOOG, FLS, HANS, XLNX, TC, BAC, AA and JOYG have gains between 1 - 3%+ Learn the Lesson - thanks for sharing your BDK comments...I'm looking forward to reading more, so keep them coming...one comment posted "...was very disappointed when a huge gain turned into a nice gain." There is a lesson here, too. Sometimes setback distorts our view and at other times success distorts our view. My point this morning was that those who stayed with their intermediate plan of trading the trend were being rewarded for following their rules and that those who abandoned their plan due to price fluctuation were missing out. If the plan is to trade towards a 60 target due to the Inverse Head and Shoulders breakout and the trend continues to that end, then options will be worth more at some future point than they were at this morning's high. In other words, if the trend continues a "huger (yes, I know I'm coining a word here) gain" which is bigger than this morning's "huge gain" will soon be apparent...just like the current price is way above the price after the analyst downgrade. The paradox here is that the pull back from this morning's "huge gain" is actually an opportunity, not a disappointment...what you say, "an opportunity? Have you lost your mind on POT, PCP and ICE?" Think about it this way. Volume this morning after less than 3 hours is 2.3 million shares. Average daily volume is 1.3 million shares. So in less than half a trading day volume is 76% above average. Who did all that buying this morning between 50 and 52.25? Was it small money? Okay, so it was big money. If big money is buying between 50 and 52.50, why are they buying in that price range? Is it because they think it is going down? Or maybe is it because they think it is going up? Since big money creates the trend, isn't YOU'RE knowing that big money is still buying at higher prices a very positive development for an option trader with an intermediate term plan? Maybe that knowledge is worth a lot more than the difference between a huge gain and a very nice gain. If the trend is still intact and the price moves towards 60, wouldn't a pull back actually represent a buying opportunity, not a disappointment opportunity? "The mind is its own place, and in it self, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." John Milton, Paradise Lost Dave's Insight: Enjoy the profits, Enjoy the opportunity! 10:07 am ET - the SPX quote seems stuck at 1,075.06...is acting like a data glitch off the exchange...don't know this for a fact but SPY and ES moving and SPX is not? Anyone else see the same? 10:00 am ET - SPY is making a new high this morning as it touches 108.08...the SPX is at horizontal resistance 1,075.06... BMO – ES +5 and NQ +7 futures are higher in pre-market trading pointing to a higher open. AAPL +1.22, GOOG +8.65 and BIDU -3.75 are mixed in pre-market trading. The dollar weakened as the Euro rose overnight sending oil prices higher in electronic trading. XLE is up 50 cents in pre-market trading. Learn the Lesson: Now, this morning is an excellent lesson in why trend is the most important factor. On September 23, BDK was downgraded by a lesser known analyst and the stock moved lower but stayed in its intermediate term up trend. I stated publicly that an intermediate term trader should stick with their trading plan and hold the stock. Follow the trend not the recommendation of an analyst that you do not know, unless following an unknown analyst is part of your plan. This morning BDK raised their Q3 guidance to well above consensus. The stock is up $4.26 or 9% at 51.50 in pre-market trading. Congratulations to those who traded the trend and not the price fluctuation. Post any comments on your experience with this stock. SPX Support = 1,061…1,056 Resistance = 1,075…1,100 Look at these Charts… (click image to enlarge) At the Open on Monday SPY – QQQQ – AAPL – PCLN – HANS – WYNN – FSLR – BIDU – GOOG – HOLX – FAS – AXP – BAC – STT – ZION – ADBE – AKAM – FLIR – MA – V – JCI – ISRG – NKE – BDK – CAT – DOW – WLT – FUQI – FWLT – WHR – X – JOYG – CAM – FCX – ARO – LVS – COST – AA –