Grinding at Highs — Patience Requiredby Tony Rago It’s been a slow-grind kind of tape, and those are never the easiest — especially sitting at all-time highs. ES continues to do the heavy lifting while NQ lags a bit, but the roadmap is clear: holding defended pullbacks keeps the door open for a push toward
Leadership Check at the Openby Tony Rago NQ is still boxed inside Friday’s range while ES is pressing its nose higher, trying to break out above recent highs. For NQ, bulls need to reclaim and hold above 25,633 to open the door toward 25,750 and 25,812 — those are the upside markers that signal real
New Week, New Game Planby Tony Rago The first trading week of 2026 is here, and it’s kicking off with a busy news slate that could inject some volatility into the tape. Venezuela headlines are the big macro watch right now — so far the market hasn’t reacted much, but that can change quickly once
Year-End Drift — Eyes on the Levelsby Tony Rago Last trading day of 2025 and the tape is doing what holiday tape usually does — quiet, thin, and a little deceptive. Participation is light, but that doesn’t mean it’s risk-free. Low volume can still produce quick bursts of volatility if orders hit an empty book,
Waiting on a Sparkby Tony Rago It was a quiet overnight session, and for now the tape looks like it wants to stay that way. ES bulls need to hold above the weekly pivot at 6,957 and then reclaim the weekly open at 6,980 to really shift momentum back in their favor — that weekly
Christmas Eve morning, I did something most traders never do. I went backward. Not to relive trades I missed or second-guess decisions I made. I went back to validate the setups themselves. To answer a simple question that separates confident traders from uncertain ones. “All we’re doing in this homework process is we’re going back
Quiet Tape, Patience Requiredby Tony Rago We got the quiet overnight session we expected, and for now the day session is shaping up the same way. When conditions are like this, it’s important to stay open-minded — markets can offer everything or absolutely nothing. That means patience is the trade. Instead of forcing action, it’s
Holiday Tape — Stay Patientby Tony Rago We’re setting up for more holiday-style trade today — lower volatility, thinner participation, and a slow grind kind of tape. The open should still matter, though. Typically you’ll see the most opportunity in that first hour as overnight positioning gets sorted out, then activity tapers off as the
Holiday Tape, Opening Range Rulesby Tony Rago New week, new opportunities — but context matters. With Christmas week here, volume typically thins out as we move closer to the holiday, which can exaggerate moves and make levels more important than ever. Bulls pushed price higher into the close, setting a constructive tone, but in lighter
Wednesday morning, CPI data dropped and the NQ was sitting at a critical inflection point. Traders in my room wanted to know what to do. Buy the level because it’s on the chart? Short into strength? Wait for confirmation? I walked them through exactly how I think about these moments. “I don’t ever just like
