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E-mini Sideways Trading in Tight Trading Range

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Trading Update: Monday December 15, 2025

S&P E-mini market analysis

E-mini daily chart

  • Last Friday, the E-mini on the daily chart formed a bear bar, closing last Thursday’s low below.
  • The bears are hopeful that last Friday’s bear breakout is strong enough to get a second leg down and ultimately a measured move of the past two-week trading range on the daily chart.
  • The bulls don’t mind the attempt to the downside, as long as the market finds buyers and reverses up fairly soon.
  • The market may have to test down to the November 20th high, which was the top of a large bear breakout on the daily chart. Bears got trapped selling the high of this bar on November 26th, and because of that, there will likely be buyers on a retest of the November 20th high.
  • The odds still favor the bulls getting a second leg up. However, the longer the market goes sideways here in the tight trading range, the greater the risk that the bears get a downside breakout.
  • At the moment, the odds favor buyers below on any pullback in the bulls getting a second leg up in a test of the all-time high.
  • Traders must be mindful of the opposite and prepared for a potential sell-off down to the November 20th low. This was an area where the bears got trapped.
  • Overall, the daily chart is inside a tight trading range, and the odds favor more trading range price action. This makes the probabilities for buying or selling not ideal and fairly close to 50/50.

E-mini 5-minute chart and what to expect today

  • Today, formed a bear trend from the open down to bar 12. However, the sell-off down to bar 12 formed consecutive sell-climaxes, which is a parabolic wedge.
  • This increased the odds of the bulls finding buyers in the market, getting a couple of legs up.
  • The sell-off to bar 12 is a bear breakout on the 60-minute chart. That increased the probability that whatever reversal we got would likely find sellers. This is why the market found sellers around Bar 24. The rally up to bar 24 formed a second leg trap, and the market sold off back down to the 11 close.
  • Currently, as a bar 36, the market is forming a tight trading range, which is in breakout mode, and the market is deciding if the bears are going to get the downside breakout below the bar 12 low or a test of the bar 22 close.
  • Because of the earlier selling pressure down to Bar 12, the odds favor the market falling below the 12 low.

Friday’s E-mini setups

SP500 E-mini 5-Min Gap Down 2 Legs Down Then Trading Range

Richard created the SP500 E-mini chart.

Here are reasonable stop entry setups from last Friday. Chart shows each buy entry bar with a green arrow and each sell entry bar with a red arrow. Buyers of the Brooks Trading Course have access to a near 4-year library of detailed explanations of swing trade setups (see Online Course/BTC Daily Setups) linked to the Brooks Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns product.

The goal with these charts is to present an Always In perspective. If a trader was trying to be Always In or nearly Always In a position all day, and he was not currently in the market, these entries would be logical times for him to enter. These therefore are swing entries.

It is important to understand that most swing setups do not lead to swing trades. As soon as traders are disappointed, many exit. Those who exit prefer to get out with a small profit (scalp), but often have to exit with a small loss.

If the risk is too big for your account, you should wait for trades with less risk or trade an alternative market like the Micro E-mini.

Summary of today’s S&P E-mini price action

SP500 E-mini 5-Min Wedge Bottom Minor Reversal with Trading Range into Close

Richard created the SP500 E-mini chart.

E-mini end of day video review

Periodic end of day review videos will be moved to top of page when done.

See the weekly update for a discussion of the price action on the weekly chart and for what to expect going into next week.

Trading Room

Al Brooks and other presenters talk about the detailed E-mini price action real-time each day in the Brooks Trading Course trading room. We offer a 2 day free trial.

Charts use Pacific Time

When times are mentioned, it is USA Pacific Time. The E-mini day session charts begin at 6:30 am PT and end at 1:15 pm PT which is 15 minutes after the NYSE closes. You can read background information on the market reports on the Market Update page.

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