Friday’s trades
ESM7. Mar. 31, 2017. 30-minute bars.
Sell: 2370.50-2372.50
Keyline: 2360.75-2358.50
Buy: 2349.50-2347.25
Friday was the end of the first quarter as well as the expiration for the monthly options on the S&P500, and the trading during the day session was bent into unusual positions to accommodate that.
For Nat’s overnight traders there was an easy entry at her Keyline. Day session traders could enter at the same price, but needed to be quick.
From that point the price rose steadily on declining volume throughout the day session … until the final half hour before the close of the Index at 4:00 p.m.
In that last half hour the price covered almost the entire daily range — going down — and the volume almost equaled the entire daily volume to that point.
The trading was frenetic, and the intention (which was successful) was clearly to move the price below the 2360 strike price for option expiration.
Traders who managed to exit their positions before the final sell-off had a potential profit of about $400 per contract. Those who stayed to the end saw the futures close virtually unchanged for the day.
There may be similar high-volatility moves this week, especially around the payroll data being released during the week. See the weekly market preview for more.