Trading Update: Tuesday March 31, 2026
E-mini end of day video review
S&P E-mini market analysis
E-mini daily chart
- The E-mini formed a fourth consecutive bear bar following the second entry short on March 25th. With the market being at support of the 6,400 major round number and the sell-off getting climactic, the favor today is a bull bar ending the bear streak.
- Today is the final trading day of the month, and the bulls are hopeful that they can get a rally, creating a tail below the monthly chart low.
- With today also being the final day of the quarter, there’s increased risk of a surprise move later in the day as institutions adjust positions going into the new quarter.
- Because of how climactic the daily chart is at the major support of the 6,400 round number. The odds are the bulls are going to get a couple of legs sideways to up and test the November 2025 lows. This means that the market is probably going to rally over the next couple of weeks.
- Because the channel down is tight, the first reversal up might be minor. This means the bulls may have to form a double bottom.
- The reality is likely that bulls are buying, scaling in lower. This increases the odds that the bulls are going to get a bounce.
E-mini 5-minute chart and what to expect today
- The market gapped up on the open and rallied for the first 7 bars of the day. The gap up was large enough on the open that the odds favored a second leg up. Today is likely to be a trading range day or a bull trend.
- Bulls are hopeful that the gap up is a spike and that the market will channel for the rest of the day. With the sell-off down to bar 18 being fairly strong for the Bears, it increases the odds of sideways trading for the next several bars.
- As of bar 27, the market is in breakout mode, slightly above the moving average. This makes the probability slightly better for the Bulls getting a second leg up and a test of the 5,000 round number. The market came close to the 6,500 round number on the rally up to bar 7, but did not quite reach it. Therefore, odds are the market will probably break above the 7 high later today.
- Traders should be open to the possibility of a surprise later in the day as institutions decide on the close of the monthly chart and the end of the quarter.
Yesterday’s E-mini setups
Richard created the SP500 E-mini chart.
Here are reasonable stop entry setups from yesterday. 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
Richard created the SP500 E-mini chart.
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.
