Macro Spark:
US CPI YoY lands at 2.7% (vs. 2.8% forecast, prior 2.7%), adding fuel to rate-cut bets for September. Futures traders immediately recalibrated — the CPI spike put ES in a holding pattern before launching toward upside objectives.

Key Levels & Playbook Moves:

• Pre-CPI “Sandbox” Zone: 6420 – 6440 mapped early as the post-data battleground.

• Initial Bull Target: 6420 tagged quickly, flipped from target to support.

• Cycle Day Milestone: Three-Day Cycle Official Target 6443.50 ✅

• Bonus Rounds: 6454.50 ✅ then 6462.50 ✅ before afternoon pinning dynamics emerged.

Intraday Color:

• Early Open Range longs? Stopped out.

• Lean shifted sell-side mid-morning, then flexed back as buyers aggressively defended 6420.

• Afternoon gamma gravity pulled price toward the 99th percentile strike at 6445, creating a slow “pin” into the close.

• MOC drama: $3.7B sell imbalance flipped to a $1B buy — buyers “sucking sellers like a vampire.”

Trader Wisdom of the Day:
“You can’t control trade outcomes. You can only control entries and exits that meet your criteria. Everything else is noise.”