Trade Strategy 8.22.24

Markets

Jackson Hole Preview: The ‘Powell Put’ Makes a Comeback

As the S&P 500 regains its footing after a volatile few weeks, all eyes are on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

With inflation cooling to its lowest levels since 2021 and economic data showing resilience, investors are eagerly awaiting clues from the Fed chief on the direction of interest rates, particularly the likelihood of a rate cut at the September FOMC meeting.

Powell is scheduled to deliver his highly anticipated keynote speech at 10:00 AM EST on Friday, at which he is likely to give signals that the central bank is poised to begin gradually cutting rates starting next month. As confidence in a ‘soft landing’ for the economy grows, the big question for investors at this point isn’t whether the Fed will cut rates, but rather by how much and how fast.

As of Wednesday morning, markets were pricing in a 69% chance that the Fed would lower interest rates by 25-basis points by the end of September and a 31% chance of a deeper 50-basis point cut, according to the Investing.com Fed Monitor Tool. A week ago, the odds of a more significant cut were higher, reflecting the evolving expectations surrounding the Fed’s next move.

Source: Investing.com

Economic Calendar

 S&P 500

Prior Session was Cycle Day 1: Price established a new cycle low at 5613.50 and held bid throughout the session fulfilling the Money Box Target Zone (5653.50 – 5657.50) as depicted in prior DTS Briefing 8.21.24. Remainder of the day was consolidation with a range of 41 handles on 1.012M contracts exchanged.

 …Transition from Cycle Day 1 to Cycle Day 2 

This leads us into Cycle Day 2: Bulls remain in-control above CD1 Low (5613.50) as traders are essentially in a holding pattern ahead of the JPOW speech at JHOLE (see preview above). Bull trend defined by “One Time-Framing” on the daily charts is the key to the next reversal lower on a violation and conversion of the 5605 – 5615 zone.

Initial Cycle Target is 5650, followed by 5670…5675…5680 Penetration Level. As as always, we’ll defer to Mr. Market to be our guide for this session.

Know Thy Plan! Our discipline of maintaining positioning that is aligned with market forces continues to serve us well, so stay the course.

As such, scenarios to consider for today’s trading.

Bull Scenario: Price sustains a bid above 5635, initially targets 5650 – 5655 zone. 

Bear Scenario: Price sustains an offer below 5635, initially targets 5615 – 5610 zone.

PVA High Edge = 5643      PVA Low Edge = 5628         Prior POC = 5635

*****The 3 Day Cycle has a 90% probability of fulfilling Positive Cycle Statistics covering 12 years of recorded tracking history.  

ES Chart

Nasdaq 100 (NQ)

Prior Session was Cycle Day 1: Price established a new cycle low at 19771.50 and held bid throughout the session fulfilling the Money Box Target Zone (19956.50 – 19982.25) as depicted in prior DTS Briefing 8.21.24. Remainder of the day was consolidation with a range of 210 handles on 473k contracts exchanged.

 …Transition from Cycle Day 1 to Cycle Day 2 

This leads us into Cycle Day 2: Bulls remain in-control above CD1 Low (19771.50) as traders are essentially in a holding pattern ahead of the JPOW speech at JHOLE (see preview above). Bull trend defined by “One Time-Framing” on the daily charts is the key to the next reversal lower on a violation and conversion of the 19775 – 19745 zone. As as always, we’ll defer to Mr. Market to be our guide for this session.

Know Thy Plan! Our discipline of maintaining positioning that is aligned with market forces continues to serve us well, so stay the course.

As such, scenarios to consider for today’s trading.

Bull Scenario: Price sustains a bid above 19875, initially targets 19960 – 20010 zone. 

Bear Scenario: Price sustains an offer below 19875, initially targets 19822 – 19805 zone.

PVA High Edge = 19907       PVA Low Edge = 19827         Prior POC = 19868

NQ Chart

Trade Strategy: Our tactical trade strategy will simply remain unaltered…We’ll be flexible to trade both long and short side from Decision Pivot Levels. Continue to focus on Bull/Bear Stackers and Premium/Discounts. As always, remaining in alignment with dominant intra-day force increases probabilities of producing winning trades.

Stay Focused…Non-Biased…Disciplined  ALWAYS USE STOPS!

Good Trading…David

“Knowing is not enough, We must APPLY. Willing is not enough, We must DO.” –BR

*****This trade strategy report is disseminated for “education only” and should not be viewed in any way as a recommendation to buy or sell futures products.”

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

IMPORTANT NOTICE! No representation is being made that the use of this strategy or any system or trading methodology will generate profits. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There is substantial risk of loss associated with trading securities and options on equities. Only risk capital should be used to trade. Trading securities is not suitable for everyone.

Disclaimer: Futures, Options, and Currency trading all have large potential rewards, but they also have large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in these markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose.

This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell futures, options, or currencies. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this web site. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.

CFTC RULE 4.41 –HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN

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