As you can see, there is no standout bias in any of the sectors that I track.  I will personally be following the calendar side of the index biases, the third box below, which has unanimous sell signals.  Please keep in mind, this is not a strictly mechanical  decision.  My reasoning, however, is that the market is obviously buckling now, following a rather relentless overbought condition.  The seasonal bearish bias is very strong at this time.  Furthermore, this strikes me as being reminiscent of Black Monday.  I was trading back then, and fortunate enough to be positioned the right way leading into it.  The market actually set a downside point record on the preceding Friday.  The entire preceding week was both bearish and volatile.  Clearly people were getting freaked.

I think there is a chance for some major downside fireworks on Monday, but be advised, it won't be easy to stay with any position.  The counter-trends are certain to be ferocious.

If there is going to be an in-your-face rally to answer this week's down action, you should probably see it occurring immediately.  The market will open right at or near its lows.  If on the other hand, the market is trading near its lows by 9:00 a.m. Central Time, you may enter shorts and use the existing highs as a stop.  That could represent some significantly large territory.

Either-Or Biases

The first set of biases includes six biases that individually signal either long or short on a daily basis, except for the rare tie.  Each bias has a +1 value for long bias, and a -1 for short.  The bottom line is the sum total, which can range from -6 to 6.  Positive totals are bullish; negative are bearish.  For bullish signals (opposite is bearish):

1. The 2-day average is below the 5-day average.
2. The close is above the 40-day average.
3. The highest close of the last 50 days occurs before the lowest close of the last 50 days.
4. The day's trading range is smaller than the 10-day average range and the day's close is higher than the 10-day average close OR the day's range is larger than the 10-day average range and the close is lower than the 10-day average close.
5. The close is above the midpoint of the average 15-day range.  (The 15-day high average plus the 15-day low average divided by 2.)
6. Fade the majority direction of the last three open-to-closes.

Infrequent Biases

The five infrequent biases are listed below.  For bullish signals (opposite is bearish):

1. Four successively higher closes were followed by yesterday's down close.  Today's action was irrelevant.  
2. Five successively lower closes were followed by today's up close.
3. CUP trade.  For the last three trading days, the middle day had both the lowest low and the lowest close.  In addition, the low on the middle day must also be lower than the lows from the previous three trading days before the middle day.  (CAP is the reverse and bearish.)
4. The highest low minus the lowest low of the last three days is less than or equal to 20% of the highest high minus the lowest low of the last three days.
5. For the previous two days, the market closed lower than it opened.

Calendar Biases

The calendar biases in the indexes are listed below.  For a more in-depth explanation of these, click here.

Click here for the TradeStation summaries of all 14 futures biases.

DISCLAIMER: It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in this column will be profitable or that they will not result in losses. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. Examples presented in this column are for educational purposes only. These set-ups are not solicitations of any order to buy or sell. The author, Tiger Shark Publishing LLC, and all affiliates assume no responsibility for your trading results. There is a high degree of risk in trading.

Art Collins is the author of Market Beaters, a collection of interviews with renowned mechanical traders. Much of Art's TigerSharkTrading.com material will be expanded upon in his upcoming book that is scheduled to be released later this year.  E-mail him at artcollins@ameritech.net.