Heading into the final 35-40 minutes of trading, the e-SPZ is holding near its intraday high at 1222.75, but will it finish the session up there? Or will it give up ahead of the overnight session replete with the uncertainties of the path and strength of Hurrican Rita? Although my work pointed to a recovery rally that could climb to 1224-1225, I would not be surprised to see the intraday bulls cash in their chips ahead of the futures close. After all, the risks of a Katrina-like devastation and fallout in the energy sector still remain a high probability. Purely from a technical perspective, a break below 1217 will argue that the upmove is kaput.

MJP 09/22/05

Mike Paulenoff is a 25-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com, a real-time diary of his E-mini S&P and QQQQ technical analysis and trading alerts. For more of Mike Paulenoff, sign up for a FREE 30-Day Trial to his E-Mini/Index Futures diary, or try his QQQ Trading Diary.