After the close on Thursday, the Fed followed through on a recent promise to raise the discount rate by 25 basis points. This has spooked the markets, and S&P futures fell more than 10 points in Globex trading (to this point).

An $SPX close above 1108 would return the market to at least a neutral status. However, if $SPX can't exceed Thursday's high, it will remain in a bearish mode.




The equity-only put-call ratios remain on sell signals, as they continue to rise.




Market breadth measures are now overbought. Short-lived corrections are common when the oscillators are this overbought. Moreover, a couple of days of declines could generate breadth sell signals.




Volatility indices ($VIX and $VXO) closed lower again, and that eliminates the bearish uptrend that had existed in $VIX. So the $VIX chart is once again in a downtrend, and that is bullish.




In summary, this is sort of a "last chance" for the bears. As long as Thursday's highs are not exceeded, the picture is bearish. Otherwise it is not.

Lawrence G. McMillan is the author of two best selling books on options, including Options as a Strategic Investment, recognized as essential resources for any serious option trader's library.