Today’s trading session was marked by choppy price action, strategic dip buying, and a massive MOC (Market on Close) imbalance.

• Morning Session:

  • The market started with a slow, two-way chop as traders assessed the early price action.

  • Key levels, such as ORR Mid (5560), held firm, providing a foundation for dip buying opportunities.

  • Traders observed potential hidden orders (“icebergs”) in the market, suggesting larger players were disguising their true positions.

• Midday Activity:

  • Dip pullbacks continued to provide long opportunities, with PTGDavid emphasizing patience and discipline.

  • Bulls attempted to reclaim prior lows, leading to more directional movement.

  • By early afternoon, market momentum increased, setting the stage for the “Shake n Bake” move around 2 PM.

• Late-Day Action & MOC Imbalance:

  • The end-of-quarter (EOQ) and end-of-month (EOM) dynamics brought heightened volatility.

  • A major MOC buy imbalance of $14.144 billion was observed, one of the largest PTGDavid had ever seen.

  • Nearly half of the imbalance was paired before a final wave of selling pressure emerged.

  • The session closed with a dramatic push-and-pull between buyers and aggressive sellers.

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Educational Takeaways from Today’s Session:

📌 Choppy Markets Require Patience: Traders identified strong cross-currents throughout the day, reinforcing the need for disciplined entries and exits.

📌 Understanding Iceberg Orders: Large traders sometimes break up their orders to hide true intentions. Recognizing this can help in making informed trade decisions.

📌 Dip Buying Strategy: The market repeatedly rewarded those who bought pullbacks rather than chasing strength.

📌 MOC Imbalances Drive Late-Day Moves: A massive MOC imbalance created a liquidity event, showing the impact of institutional order flow on price action.

📌 End-of-Quarter Effects: EOQ window dressing influenced price action, with funds positioning portfolios before the close.

Today’s session was a textbook example of how to navigate market structure, institutional order flow, and tactical trade execution.