The calendar has a busy middle: ADP weekly employment at 8:15, Fed Williams at 10:05, Fed Jefferson at 10:20, and Fed Barkin at 1:00. Three Fed speakers inside one session is the kind of day where the level matters more than the opinion.
The real subject today is what to do when price is approaching an all-time high, because there is no history above it to lean on. The lazy version is to pick a round number and announce it. Nasdaq is going to 31,000, guess. That is not a plan, and it is not what the chart says.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31,089.50 | resistance | not reached | never within 5 pts; closest 24.00 pts away |
| 30,910.00 | resistance | broke | reached 09:40 ET, a 5-min close 31.25 pts through at 09:50 |
| 30,731.75 | support | not reached | never within 5 pts; closest 31.75 pts away |
Session 09:30-16:00 ET: open 30,764.25, high 31,065.50, low 30,763.50, close 31,030.25. 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
Instead of a round number, the zone gets drawn from structure: the wick of the June 15 candle to the wick of the June 16 candle, the two highest points on the chart. That gives a band rather than a line, and its edges are 30,910 below and 31,089 above.
Underneath, the one hour shows an upward trend with a pin bar off support, and that support is 30,731. Price is currently below the VWAP, the blue line, so the sequence is specific: reclaim the VWAP first, then clear 30,910. Inside the zone above it, consolidation is the thing to expect rather than a straight run.
The other branch was drawn before the open too. If 30,910 refuses price and the session closes back below 30,731, the upside case is finished for the day.
On the six minute the structure is higher lows, and the higher high he points to sits just under 30,860. Taking that out and opening above it is what would turn the map green.
A level is not an entry. On an all-time high the level is a zone, and acceptance inside it is what makes the continuation real.
In the video
- 0:00Tuesday open: NQ up two dollars, around 30,782
- 0:07The calendar: ADP 8:15, Fed Williams 10:05, Fed Jefferson 10:20, Fed Barkin 1:00
- 0:24Yesterday's run, and why it is already irrelevant
- 0:42Turning the levels on
- 0:49Approaching an all-time high
- 0:56The real question: how do you trade a level with no history above it
- 1:04The round-number guess, and why it is not a plan
- 1:09Drawing the zone: the June 15 wick to the June 16 wick
- 1:27The one hour, and the top of the zone at 31,089
- 1:42The upward trend and the pin bar off support
- 1:50Support at 30,731
- 1:58Reclaim the VWAP, then clear 30,910
- 2:05Consolidating inside the zone, or losing 30,731
- 2:23The six minute: higher lows, and the high just under 30,860
- 2:39Questions, and the sign-off
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.