Good morning traders! Welcome back to a new week. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We spent some time with our neighbors watching the Superbowl. I'm not a stick and ball fan but it was nice to hang out with friends.
We had an exceptional day Friday. It was a nice way to end the week. Take a look at our results below: 

There's honestly not much to be unhappy about with our YTD performance. I've mentioned this before but Scalping cotinues to be a huge help for us as well as the 1HTE's. I'm also really happy with how many Theta fairies we've been able to get on. I'm entering today with a short /MNQ scalp and a Theta fairy that only has the call side working. I'm currently down on both of these but I think with regards to tariffs, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me four times? Come on!" I just think I'd rather be bearish here and need to roll up and out vs. bullish and need to roll out and down.

Let's take a look at the technicals to start the week.
Bullish bias and futures are up this morning but...I'm positioning for some bearish moves. CPI and PPI are out this week. "policy volatility" is coming into play and we'll take about systemic vs. unsystemic risk and how, regardless of technicals, I'd rather have some bearish exposure right now.​

Overall, I don't seem much to be impressed about in this price action. 

​This week, the SPY closed marginally lower at $600.77 (-0.16%). After three weeks of tight price action paired with a squeeze, next week’s CPI and PPI data could be the catalyst for the next major move. This index will have to gain the top of the ascending triangle to push higher, while the rising trendline from the August 5th lows could act as a critical support level if sellers take control.

​QQQ posted a modest gain this week, closing at $522.92 (+0.12%), as it continues to inch higher within a well-defined ascending triangle. Monday’s bounce off the lower trendline reaffirmed key support, keeping bullish momentum intact. Now in the third week of its squeeze, QQQ is nearing the triangle’s apex, potentially setting up for a decisive move on next week’s CPI announcement.

​IWM lagged behind its index peers this week, closing lower at $226.00 (-0.21%) and testing the lower boundary of its ascending channel, a key level since October 2023. Now, in a prolonged squeeze that has turned negative for the first time since last summer, the stage is set for a decisive move. Will this extended squeeze lead to a breakdown, or will buyers dig in here at support?

Let's take a look at the expected moves for the week..
​I.V. for the week isn't horrible and it's not amazing. We should be o.k. to get both debit and credit setups working this week.

The VIX1D at 16 is agian, middle of the road levels. Not great...not horrible. 

I look forward to seeing you all in the live trading room shortly!

Welcome to Friday. The gateway to the weekend! We had an absolutely perfect day yesterday. Check it out below.

See you all in the live trading room shortly. Let's see if we can put another $1,000+ dollars in our pockets today to end an awesome week on the right foot.

Welcome back traders! We are finally to expiration day of our 15DTE "mistake" NDX trade. For a quick recap, I errantly placed a 0DTE as a 15DTE (I have a habit of doing that!) We've traded around it for the last two weeks and the mistake actually looks pretty profitable. Building more of these (on purpose) may not be a bad way to go in this current enviroment. Here's my results from yesterday. I took a flyer right before the close on NDX that lost but most of our traders skipped it. Otherwise is was a solid day. I'm loving our setups in scalping. I'm really interested to see how we finish out this year with scalping and our ATM program. I think both of these hold a lot of promise. 

​March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH25) are up +0.05%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are down -0.08% this morning as investors awaited a new round of U.S. economic data, remarks from Federal Reserve officials, and an earnings report from “Magnificent Seven” member Amazon.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s main stock indexes ended in the green. Johnson Controls (JCI) surged over +11% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after the company posted upbeat FQ1 results and raised its FY25 adjusted EPS guidance. Also, chip stocks gained ground after the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to a 7-week low, with Marvell Technology (MRVL) climbing more than +6% and Nvidia (NVDA) rising over +5%. In addition, Amgen (AMGN) advanced more than +6% and was the top percentage gainer on the Dow after reporting better-than-expected Q4 results. On the bearish side, Alphabet (GOOGL) slumped over -7% and was the top percentage loser on the Nasdaq 100 after the Google parent reported weaker-than-expected Q4 revenue as growth in its cloud business slowed. Also, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell more than -6% after the chipmaker posted weaker-than-expected Q4 data center revenue, and its full-year forecast for the data center business failed to impress investors. 
The ADP National Employment report released on Wednesday showed that U.S. private nonfarm payrolls rose by 183K in January, up from 176K in December (revised from 122K) and beating the consensus estimate of 148K. Also, the final estimate of the U.S. January S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 52.9 from the 52.8 preliminary reading. At the same time, the U.S. ISM services index fell to 52.8 in January, weaker than expectations of 54.2. In addition, the U.S. December trade deficit was -$98.40B, wider than expectations of -$96.50B and the largest deficit in nearly three years.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin stated on Wednesday that policymakers require more time to assess the trajectory of the U.S. economy and inflation amid heightened uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policies, reinforcing expectations for rates to remain unchanged. Also, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said he is comfortable keeping interest rates on hold until policymakers gain a clearer understanding of the overall impact of the Trump administration’s policies on tariffs, immigration, deregulation, and taxes.
U.S. rate futures have priced in an 85.5% chance of no rate change and a 14.5% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the next central bank meeting in March.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s primary focus in lowering borrowing costs is on 10-year Treasury yields rather than the Fed’s benchmark short-term interest rate. He stated in an interview with Fox Business that regarding the Fed, “I will only talk about what they’ve done, not what I think they should do from now on.” Bessent reiterated his belief that increasing energy supply would aid in reducing inflation.
Fourth-quarter corporate earnings season continues, with investors looking forward to fresh reports from notable companies today, including Amazon.com (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Philip Morris (PM), Honeywell (HON), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Fortinet (FTNT), and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO). According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average +7.5% increase in quarterly earnings for Q4 compared to the previous year.
On the economic data front, investors will focus on U.S. Initial Jobless Claims data, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists expect this figure to be 214K, compared to last week’s number of 207K.
U.S. Unit Labor Costs and Nonfarm Productivity preliminary data will also be closely watched today. Economists forecast Q4 Unit Labor Costs to be +3.4% q/q and Nonfarm Productivity to be +1.5% q/q, compared to the third-quarter numbers of +0.8% q/q and +2.2% q/q, respectively.
In addition, market participants will be anticipating speeches from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.435%, up +0.34%.

Yesterdays price action was what I had predicted and it was enough to get us a slightly bullish outlook going into todays session.

I'm not going into this session with any real lean or bias. I'll note the demarcation points below for a bullish or bearish trigger. Things for the most part look bullish. It's only the IWM that still can't get back up above it's 50DMA.

I'll see you all in the trading room shortly!

Welcome back traders! We had a great day yesterday. Not a perfect day. Our SPX debit didn't hit but our NDX did. I want to do a training review today on the nine main orderflow indicators we use and what is showing on our live scalping zoom feed. See below:

Supertrend, Parabolic SAR, Pivot point, Squeeze indicator, Audible order flow with Tickstrike, $TICK, $ADSPD, $VOLSPD are the ones we'll focus on today.

As I mentioned, our results were solid. 

I want to stress, once again, how important it is to have diversified strategies working each day. I can't remember the last time we've had a day where something wasn't losing money and yet, you'll see our YTD results are impressive. You never know what's going to work. Scalping is one example. We did scalp yesterday but no results were posted because the cover is set to expire this Friday but there's $2,500 potential profit sitting there. Our Theta fairys are another example. We hit a $170 profit last night in a couple hours. 

Sometimes the cash is pouring in on scalping and Theta fairys and sometimes we go a whole week without a single entry. You just never know what opportunities the market will offer up each day.
​Let's look at the markets:
Poor earnings results from GOOG and AMD as well as China issues with AAPL are dragging the futures down this morning. It's put us back to a neutral rating to start the day which means it will just be a crap shoot about direction (IMHO).

Heaven knows we've had plenty of volatility and movement this past week but in terms of actual ranges or directional bias there's absolutely nothing happening!  At some point we will move from consolidation to trending. Neutral days can be the trigger days for that to happen. I don't see that taking place today but you never know.

​March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are trending down -0.91% this morning as disappointing results from Alphabet and Advanced Micro Devices weighed on sentiment.
Alphabet (GOOGL) slid over -7% in pre-market trading after the Google parent reported weaker-than-expected Q4 revenue as growth in its cloud business slowed. Also, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slumped more than -8% in pre-market trading after the chipmaker posted weaker-than-expected Q4 data center revenue, and its full-year forecast for the data center business failed to impress investors.
Market participants now look ahead to a fresh batch of U.S. economic data, comments from Federal Reserve officials, and corporate earnings reports, with a particular focus on results from entertainment giant Disney.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s three main equity benchmarks closed higher. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) jumped about +24% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after the data analytics company posted upbeat Q4 results and issued above-consensus Q1 and FY25 revenue guidance. Also, megacap technology stocks advanced, with Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) rising more than +2%. In addition, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) climbed over +8% after the artificial intelligence server maker announced that it would provide an FQ2 business update on February 11th. On the bearish side, Estee Lauder (EL) plunged more than -16% and was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 after the cosmetics and skin care company provided a downbeat FQ3 outlook and announced job cuts. Also, Merck & Co. (MRK) slumped over -9% and was the top percentage loser on the Dow after halting shipments to China of its Gardasil vaccine and offering a weak FY25 forecast.
A Labor Department report released on Tuesday showed that the U.S. JOLTs job openings fell to 7.600M in December, weaker than expectations of 8.010M. Also, U.S. December factory orders fell -0.9% m/m, weaker than expectations of -0.7% m/m and marking the largest decline in 6 months.
“[The latest reading on U.S. job openings] eases upside risks into Friday’s employment report in a way that is helpful for the Federal Reserve and markets,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.
Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Tuesday, “As long as the economy and the labor market remain strong, I see it as appropriate for the Committee to be cautious in making further adjustments... I do not think we need to be in a hurry to change our stance.”
Meanwhile, U.S. rate futures have priced in an 83.5% chance of no rate change and a 16.5% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed’s March meeting.
Fourth-quarter corporate earnings season rolls on, and investors await new reports from notable companies today, including The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Qualcomm (QCOM), Arm Holdings (ARM), Uber Technologies (UBER), and Ford Motor (F). According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average +7.5% increase in quarterly earnings for Q4 compared to the previous year.
On the economic data front, all eyes are focused on the U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment Change data, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists, on average, forecast that the January ADP Nonfarm Employment Change will stand at 148K, compared to the December figure of 122K.
Investors will also focus on the U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI and the S&P Global Services PMI. Economists expect the January ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI to arrive at 54.2 and the S&P Global Services PMI to be 52.9, compared to the previous values of 54.1 and 56.8, respectively.
U.S. Trade Balance data will come in today. Economists foresee this figure standing at -$96.50B in December, compared to -$78.20B in November.
U.S. Crude Oil Inventories data will be released today as well. Economists estimate this figure to be 2.400M, compared to last week’s value of 3.463M.
In addition, market participants will be looking toward speeches from Fed officials Barkin, Goolsbee, Bowman, and Jefferson.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.471%, down -0.93%.

Welcome to Tues. traders! Are we getting a little stability, post tariffs? I'm looking for a bullish day today. More on that in a minute. We had a good day yesterday considering we had no idea (no one did, no matter what they said) about the tariffs. Would they or wouldn't they be implemented. How would the market be effected? Yesterday was going to be a big unknown so we traded really small (in comparision to a normal day) and waited most of the day before entering our trades. We still netted an 11% gain on the day. It brings up the ever present question...what's more important, transparency or premium? You'll usually get the best premium on your credit trades if you establish them right at the open but you lack transparency and a lot can happen those next 6.5 hrs. before the market closes. If you wait, like we did yesterday where we only had 1-2 hours left in the day, you get much better transparency but much less premium. I think it tough to apply a universal rule that one is always better than the other. There was enough volatility yesterday that we picked transparency over premium. Every day this is one of our main questions we ask ourselves. Here's our results from yesterday. One last comment...on days that are "scary" or uncertain or volatile, scalping can yield great risk/reward setups. I'm a firm believer that you need as many tools as possible. 

Let's take a look at the markets
Technicals are still bearish after the weak last couple of days but I'm looking for that to change today.

Yesterday was incredibly bullish. Yes I know technicals are bearish. Yes I know we finished down on the day but...we spent most of the day climbing out of the hole that futures dug. Note the green candles.

​March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH25) are down -0.01%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are up +0.08% this morning as investors awaited the latest reading on U.S. job openings, comments from Federal Reserve officials, and corporate earnings reports from heavyweight names.
Stock futures initially moved lower after China retaliated to new U.S. tariffs. China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced on Tuesday that it will impose a 15% tariff on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% tariffs on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles, and pickup trucks. The measures are set to take effect on February 10th. China’s commerce ministry also announced that starting Tuesday, the country will implement export controls on tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium products. In addition, China said it would launch an antitrust probe into Google. This marked the resumption of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, though China’s response was seen as restrained.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indexes ended in the red. Moderna (MRNA) sank over -7% and was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 as vaccine makers retreated amid expectations that vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. would be appointed to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Also, automobile stocks dropped after President Trump announced tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, with Tesla (TSLA) sliding more than -5% and General Motors (GM) falling over -3%. In addition, FedEx (FDX) slumped more than -6% after Loop Capital downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy. On the bullish side, IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) surged over +11% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after the pet healthcare company posted upbeat Q4 results and issued solid 2025 EPS guidance.
Economic data released on Monday showed that the U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 50.9 in January, stronger than expectations of 49.3 and marking the highest level in 2-1/3 years. Also, the U.S. January S&P Global manufacturing PMI was revised upward to 51.2, beating the consensus of 50.1. In addition, U.S. construction spending rose +0.5% m/m in December, stronger than expectations of +0.3% m/m.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated on Monday that the central bank should be more cautious in reducing borrowing costs due to increasing uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration. “Now we’ve got to be a little more careful and more prudent of how fast rates can come down because there are risks that inflation is about to start kicking back up again,” Goolsbee said. Also, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated that he wants to wait “a while” before lowering interest rates again following last year’s cuts, given the uncertainty surrounding the direction of the U.S. economy in 2025. In addition, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said, “There’s no urgency for making additional adjustments.”
Meanwhile, U.S. rate futures have priced in an 86.5% probability of no rate change and a 13.5% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the next FOMC meeting in March.
Fourth-quarter corporate earnings season continues in full flow, with investors anticipating fresh reports from major companies today, including Alphabet (GOOGL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), PepsiCo (PEP), Merck (MRK), Amgen (AMGN), Pfizer (PFE), and PayPal (PYPL). According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average +7.5% increase in quarterly earnings for Q4 compared to the previous year.
On the economic data front, all eyes are focused on the U.S. JOLTs Job Openings figures, set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists, on average, forecast that the December JOLTs Job Openings will arrive at 8.010M, compared to the November figure of 8.098M.
Investors will also focus on U.S. Factory Orders data. Economists expect this figure to be -0.7% m/m in December, compared to the previous number of -0.4% m/m.
In addition, market participants will be anticipating speeches from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.579%, up +0.79%.

Welcome to a new month of trading and a new set of market catalysts called "tariffs". The market got thrown into turmoil late Friday as the treat of tariffs turned into more of a reality. I say more of a reality vs. an actual reality because there is still a chance (slim?) that this goes away. The tariffs were implemented last Saturday but they are really "implemented" until tomorrow, Tuesday. The EU tariff threat seems like it will be worked out before implementation and Trump has mentioned he will be talking to Canada and Mexico today, one day before D-day. It's a massive game of chicken with huge potential for market swings. Futures certainly look ugly this morning but if PLTR reports the blow out numbers expected today and a resolution is found (possibly after the market closes) Tomorrow could be a big up day...could be. It's a big guessing game right now. Here's our results from Friday.

Let's take a look at the markets. Probably not a surprise that the technicals are bearish to start the day.
​

​The SPY ETF closed the week in negative territory at $601.82 (-1.00%). Buyers stepped in early Monday morning, absorbing the DeepSeek dip and driving prices higher in a steady grind with Momentum holding a higher low. By Friday, the gap was finally filled—but just as SPY approached new all-time highs, the tariff news hit, triggering a sharp reversal into the weekend.

My lean or bias today is neutral. Futures are down 100 points on /ES. Depending on the outcome of the negotiations that are planned with Canada and Mexico we could get a big swing one way or the other. To guess right now would be just that, a guess. 

Back to another Friday! Crazy how fast this week has gone for me. Let's all get out of the house this weekend and do something! We had a solid day yesterday, once again. I was on the wrong side of two big scalps which hurt me there but we are up $1,100 this morning so that should get us a better result to finish off the month. We couldn't quite make it a full month without a losing day. Close! Oh so close. Here's our results below:

We've brought in almost $30,000 of profit this month including the 1HTE's. Its been a great start to the year.
Let's take a look at the market and what's moving it. 

The Dow is certainly pushing on its ATH's but the rest of the indices are still stuck. We were finally able to get some weekly setups back on our oil faithful SPY/QQQ/IWM. Hopefully next week we'll be able to continue those.

The news that moved us, first down, then up late yesterday and apparently into this morning was the word "tariff". They look like they are coming. Maybe Saturday at the earliest. Is it a bluff? A bargining tool? We'll know when the markets open next Monday. PCE is out this morning and that could shake things up as well.

​March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH25) are up +0.46%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are up +0.73% this morning as solid earnings from Apple and Intel buoyed sentiment, while investors geared up for the release of the Federal Reserve’s first-line inflation gauge.
Apple (AAPL) rose over +3% in pre-market trading after the iPhone maker reported upbeat FQ1 results and offered reassuring FQ2 revenue guidance. Also, Intel (INTC) gained more than +2% in pre-market trading after reporting better-than-expected Q4 revenue.
Investors are also preparing for President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement this weekend. Trump stated that he would enact his threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1st, citing the flow of fentanyl and substantial trade deficits as key reasons for his decision. He also threatened China with tariffs but did not specify a level.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indices ended in the green. International Business Machines (IBM) surged nearly +13% and was the top percentage gainer on the Dow after the IT giant posted upbeat Q4 results and provided strong FY25 revenue growth guidance. Also, Lam Research (LRCX) climbed more than +7% and was the top percentage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 after the semiconductor equipment firm reported better-than-expected FQ2 results and offered an upbeat FQ3 forecast. In addition, Tesla (TSLA) advanced over +2% after the EV maker revealed plans to start robotaxi operations and projected a “return to growth in 2025.” On the bearish side, United Parcel Service (UPS) tumbled more than -14% and was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 after the shipping giant issued below-consensus FY25 revenue guidance. Also, Microsoft (MSFT) slumped over -6% and was the top percentage loser on the Dow after the tech giant reported weaker-than-expected FQ2 Intelligent Cloud revenue and said its cloud-computing business will continue to grow slowly in FQ3.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in its initial estimate of Q4 GDP growth, said on Thursday that the economy grew at a +2.3% annualized rate, weaker than expectations of +2.7%. Also, U.S. December pending home sales plunged -5.5% m/m, weaker than expectations of no change and marking the biggest drop in 5 months. At the same time, the number of Americans filing for initial jobless claims in the past week unexpectedly fell by -16K to 207K, compared with the 224K consensus.
“Overall, the economy is on firm footing heading into 2025, which should support risk assets given the strong linkage between economic growth and corporate profits,” said Josh Jamner at ClearBridge Investments.
Meanwhile, U.S. rate futures have priced in an 84.0% chance of no rate change and a 16.0% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed’s March meeting.
On the earnings front, notable companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM), AbbVie (ABBV), Chevron (CVX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), and Charter Communications (CHTR) are slated to release their quarterly results today. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average +7.5% increase in quarterly earnings for Q4 compared to the previous year.
Today, all eyes are focused on the U.S. core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred price gauge, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists, on average, forecast that the core PCE price index will stand at +0.2% m/m and +2.8% y/y in December, compared to the previous figures of +0.1% m/m and +2.8% y/y. 
Investors will also focus on the U.S. Employment Cost Index, which came in at +0.8% q/q in the third quarter. Economists expect the fourth-quarter figure to be +0.9% q/q.
U.S. Personal Spending and Personal Income data will be closely monitored today. Economists anticipate December Personal Spending to be +0.5% m/m and Personal Income to be +0.4% m/m, compared to November’s figures of +0.4% m/m and +0.3% m/m, respectively.
The U.S. Chicago PMI will be released today as well. Economists estimate this figure to arrive at 40.3 in January, compared to the previous value of 36.9.
In addition, market participants will be looking toward a speech from Fed Governor Michelle Bowman.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.534%, up +0.49%.

The trade docket is busy today. Our take profit already hit for last nights Theta fairy. So nice to start the day off with $100 dollars in our pocket. We'll keep scalping with what we setup yesterday and this morning. There's another $1,000 additional potential there. AAPL, ABBV, ALTR, ASUR, CAVA, CRNX, GCBC, GE, IWM , LENZ, SPY/QQQ, QTTB, SUM, TEAM, TSLA, V, VALU, XOM, 1HTE, 0DTE's with SPX, NDX and possibly NVDA and MSTR.

Welcome to Thursday, or what we call "FOMC hang over day"! I have to start off todays blog with this...I don't hype up what we do or what we've built here. I'm not the guy screaming about get rich quick or guarantees of profits. I actually try to downplay the opportunity but my gosh!... We've had one heck of a great month and I do think it's at least partially attributed to our unique setups. Who else has our earnings results? We intented the Theta fairy. We pioneered 1HTE's on Bitcoin. Our approach and order entry to trading 0DTE's is something I haven't seen anyone else do. Our scalping program hasn't had a single losing day this month and is on track for over $120,000 APR. Our passive, asset allocation portfolio is up almost 9% this month. I want to knock on wood and hopefully I'm not ruining our stellar run but man...I'm just proud of what we've done here.

Here's our results from yesterday:
​

Let's take a look at the markets.
​Buy mode is trying to get a foot hold.

Markets are still pinching. A big move could be incoming. 

The IWM finally seems to be stabilizing. That means we'll be back on our IWM millionaire maker trade today.

​March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are trending up +0.54% this morning as investors digested earnings reports from big U.S. tech companies.
Tesla (TSLA) gained over +2% in pre-market trading despite reporting weaker-than-expected Q4 results, as the EV maker revealed plans to begin robotaxi operations and projected a “return to growth in 2025.” Also, Meta Platforms (META) rose about +2% in pre-market trading after the social media and tech giant reported better-than-expected Q4 results and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that 2025 would be a “really big year” for AI, though light Q1 revenue guidance capped gains. At the same time, Microsoft (MSFT) fell more than -3% in pre-market trading after the tech giant reported FQ2 Intelligent Cloud revenue that missed analyst expectations and said its cloud-computing business will continue to grow slowly in FQ3.
Investors now look ahead to fresh U.S. economic data, including the first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP and jobless claims figures, along with a slew of corporate earnings reports, with a particular focus on results from “Magnificent Seven” member Apple.
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged yesterday. The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to maintain the federal funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4.50%, following a string of rate cuts last year. In a post-meeting statement, officials reiterated that inflation remains “somewhat elevated” but omitted a reference to its progress toward their 2% target. Later, Fed Chair Jerome Powell clarified that the reference to inflation was merely an effort to shorten the sentence, rather than convey any significant message.
At a press conference, Powell stated that officials are in no hurry to lower interest rates, adding that the central bank is pausing to observe further progress on inflation. “With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance,” he said.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indexes closed lower. Packaging Corp. (PKG) fell over -9% and was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 after the maker of cardboard boxes issued below-consensus Q1 EPS guidance. Also, Nvidia (NVDA) slid more than -4% and was the top percentage loser on the Dow and Nasdaq 100 after Bloomberg reported that Trump administration officials were exploring additional curbs on the company’s chip sales to China. In addition, Danaher (DHR) slumped over -9% after the life sciences firm posted weaker-than-expected Q4 adjusted EPS. On the bullish side, F5 Inc. (FFIV) climbed more than +11% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after the company reported upbeat FQ1 results and provided a strong FQ2 revenue forecast. 
Economic data released on Wednesday showed that preliminary U.S. wholesale inventories fell -0.5% m/m in December, stronger than expectations of +0.2% m/m. 
Meanwhile, U.S. rate futures have priced in an 82.0% probability of no rate change and an 18.0% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the next central bank meeting in March.

Welcome back to FOMC day! We had another excellent day yesterday. It's been quite a month for us. I generally budget 10K of buying power for our scalping efforts and an additional 10K for our 1HTE's. We have more than doubled that money in the 1HTE's and are close to doubling it in scalping. That's $20,000 of income this month just with those two strategies. These are also strategies and setups you won't get anywhere else. It's also important to note, you don't need to day trade to have good potential. Our passive ATM portfolio is up almost 6% for the month. That's an annualized APR of 72%. Will we make 72% this year? Uh...probably not! Impressive none the less. Here's our overall results from yesterday.

Today's blog is short and sweet. We have FOMC today. For those of you that are new to our trading room it's worthwhile to review how we approach it. We have a bunch of earnings trades today and hopefully at least one 1HTE. We also have a "Extrinsic rich" Theta fairy working this morning. Other than that, we sit on our hands for most of the day until the FOMC minutes drop. We usually get a bit of a flutter at that point but its Powells testimony one half hour later that usually gets things moving. CME futures and analysts are predicting no rate cut so eyes will be on future looking statements. About 20-35 min. into Powells testimony is when we look to get our 0DTE's started. This is also when our scalping with the QQQ's starts. Today is about patience and discipline and sitting on our hands.
I do want to review our "game changer" calendar setups we are using with our scalping so if you can tune in to the zoom today, please do. I've got two live examples I put on last night to illustrate.

No bias or lean today. No levels. We try to stay open minded and just trade what we see later today. 
​See you all in the trading room shortly!

Welcome back traders! What an amazing day yesterday. It was an absolute home run. Now, to give us credit, we did corrrectly read the bearish flip on Friday and positioned ourselves coming into Monday with a bearish NDX setup. On the other hand, we clearly weren't expecting the kind of sell of we got. It was fantastic and we had a blowout success with all our trades. Scalping continues to kill it. We haven't had a single losing day all month and are right on pace for our $100,000 a year income goal. See our results below:

Let's take a look at the markets: Neutral rating to start out the day but there's some very bullish price action that happened under the surface yesterday that I'll share down below.
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Intra-day the selloff might have seemed monumental but big picture? Meh...

​Nvidia's market cap fell $593 billion today, which was by far the largest single-day decline for any company in history. The loss in value was bigger than the market cap of 487 companies in the S&P 500. Remember folks...one stock does not make a market...in the long term.

This is what is MOST interesting to me and why I'm very bullish right now. ​Believe it or not, market breadth actually improved today. 64% of S&P 500 stocks are now trading above their 200 Day moving average, the most since December 13

​March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH25) are up +0.09%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are up +0.16% this morning, stabilizing after yesterday’s dramatic selloff, while investors awaited the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting as well as a flurry of U.S. economic data and corporate earnings reports.
The dollar strengthened after U.S. President Donald Trump said he preferred significantly larger across-the-board tariffs than the 2.5% reportedly favored by new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Trump also stated that he would soon impose tariffs on foreign-produced semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and certain metals to encourage manufacturers to produce domestically. “I have it in my mind what it’s going to be but I won’t be setting it yet, but it’ll be enough to protect our country,” Trump told reporters Monday night.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed mixed, with the benchmark S&P 500 sliding to a 1-week low and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slumping to a 1-1/2 week low. Chip stocks tumbled after the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek sparked concerns about the potential demand for the most advanced chips and data centers, with Nvidia (NVDA) plunging nearly -17% to lead losers in the Dow and Broadcom (AVGO) sinking more than -17%. Also, nuclear power stocks, anticipated to benefit from rising demand driven by energy-intensive data centers for AI technology development, came under pressure, with Vistra Corp. (VST) plummeting over -28% to lead losers in the S&P 500 and Constellation Energy (CEG) dropping more than -20%. In addition, SoFi Technologies (SOFI) fell over -10% after the lender issued below-consensus full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance. On the bullish side, AT&T (T) climbed more than +6% after the company posted upbeat Q4 results.
Economic data released on Monday showed that U.S. new home sales rose +3.6% m/m to 698K in December, stronger than expectations of 669K.
“What was shaping up to be a big week in the markets got even bigger with the disruption in the AI space,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “That could make this week’s megacap tech earnings even more critical to market sentiment.” 
The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting later in the day. After cutting rates three times in late 2024, Fed officials are widely expected to keep them unchanged on Wednesday, given signs of a strong U.S. economy. Market watchers will likely focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-policy meeting press conference for any additional clues about when interest rates might be lowered further. 
Fourth-quarter corporate earnings season is in full swing, with investors awaiting new reports from notable companies today, including General Motors (GM), Starbucks (SBUX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Stryker (SYK), Royal Caribbean (RCL), and RTX Corp. (RTX). According to Bloomberg Intelligence, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average +7.5% increase in quarterly earnings for Q4 compared to the previous year.
On the economic data front, all eyes are focused on the U.S. Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists, on average, forecast that the January CB Consumer Confidence index will stand at 105.7, compared to last month’s figure of 104.7.
Also, investors will focus on the U.S. S&P/CS HPI Composite - 20 n.s.a. Economists expect the November figure to be +4.2% y/y, unchanged from October. 
U.S. Durable Goods Orders and Core Durable Goods Orders data will be closely monitored today. Economists forecast December Durable Goods Orders at +0.3% m/m and Core Durable Goods Orders at +0.4% m/m, compared to the prior figures of -1.2% m/m and -0.2% m/m, respectively.
The U.S. Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index will be released today as well. Economists estimate this figure to come in at -13 in January, compared to the previous value of -10. 
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.559%, up +0.68%.

Another busy day in the trading room. I look forward to seeing you all there!