Two pieces of news today: jobless claims at 8:30 and the home purchase index at 10:00.
Yesterday ran to the upside, came back down, and closed the day with a doji. That indecision candle at the top of the move is the reason the bias reads bullish into Thursday rather than exhausted.
On the one hour there is a clean trend line to the upside and a strong Asia session. Support sits at 29,375, the green line, and price had been consolidating there for a long stretch before finally breaking out. A second trend line is marked on top of the first.
The new support after that breakout is 29,545, the green line just under price. NQ is pulling back into it on the hour.
This is trading education, not a signal or a promise.
Levels drawn before the open
Every level below was drawn on the chart before 9:30 ET and checked against the price axis. Each one was graded after the close by the same fixed rules, whichever way it went.
| Level | Role at the open | Result | What price did |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29,774.25 | resistance | held | reached 15:40 ET, no 5-min close through; price moved 42.75 pts away after |
| 29,375.50 | support | not reached | never within 5 pts; closest 230.25 pts away |
Session 09:30-16:00 ET: open 29,718.25, high 29,793.25, low 29,605.75, close 29,744.50. Reached = traded within 5 points. Broke = a 5-minute close more than 10 points through after reaching it. Held = reached and never broke. Support or resistance is set by where the level sat against the opening price. A level is a reference drawn in advance, not a forecast, and a held level is not a trade result.
The plan
The continuation case is a pullback into 29,545 that rejects and carries on to the upside, with 29,774 as the level above. The failure case is a break of 29,545, and then a retest of either the VWAP or the trend line underneath. The five minute shows the same setup after the trend line break: retest, hold, continue. Both branches were drawn before the open.
In the video
- 0:00Thursday open: NQ climbing, around 29,567
- 0:11The calendar: jobless claims 8:30, home purchase index 10:00
- 0:19Yesterday's recap: the rally and the doji close
- 0:27Why a doji at the top reads bullish here
- 0:33Turning the levels on for the rest of the week
- 0:39The one hour: the trend line and a strong Asia session
- 0:46Support at 29,375 and the breakout from consolidation
- 0:54Marking the second trend line
- 1:00New support at 29,545 and the pullback into it
- 1:10Reject and continue, or break and retest the VWAP
- 1:21The five minute: the same setup after the break
- 1:31Hold 29,545 and 29,774 is the level above
Short clips from this prep
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Trading education only. Not financial advice, not a signal, and no promise of any result. Full disclaimer.