Trading Update: Monday July 20, 2026
S&P E-mini market analysis
E-mini daily chart
- The daily chart of the E-mini continues to go sideways, as it has for the past two months.
- The market is forming a triangle, and the range is contracting.
- At the moment, the market is in the midpoint of the overall triangle on the daily chart.
- That makes the probability close to 50% for both the bulls and the bears.
- Because of the higher time frame context, the odds are that the bulls are going to test back up to the all-time high, even if we first test down to previous higher lows such as the June 26th low.
- If the market does reach the June 26th low or even the June 9th low, there will likely be buyers below willing to scale in lower.
- This limits the downside potential for the bears and increases the odds of traders being willing to buy and scale in lower.
- Overall, the odds are that the market is probably going to rally back to the all-time high over the next several weeks.
E-mini 5-minute chart and what to expect today
- The E-mini gapped up on the open and rallied for the first three bars today, but the market ended up finding sellers above bar 3 and reversed down on bar 4.
- Bar 4 was a strong enough bear reversal bar that the odds favored a second leg down and a test of the bar 1 low.
- Bars 4 and 5 were strong enough to expect lower prices.
- When the bears got three consecutive bear bars on bars 4, 5, and 6, traders expected some kind of measured move down.
- They sold off to bar 18, which was good for the bears.
- However, it was testing the bottom third of the overall gap up, and that increased the odds that the market was probably going to evolve into a trading range, especially after the three consecutive bull bars on the open.
- It was reasonable for traders to think about the possibility of a test back to the open of the day.
- The market rallied to bar 33 and came within a few ticks of the open.
- However, the market formed a pair block wedge top and sold back off to the bar 18 low.
- As of bar 46, the bears have a pair block wedge bottom and a potential failed breakout at the bar 18 low.
- The bulls will see bar 52 as a second-entry buy, and they are hopeful that the market will rally back to the midpoint of the range, the bar 18 low to the bar 33 high.
- Next, they want a test back to the bar 33 high and the open of the day.
- Overall, today is a trading range day, and this means that the bears will likely be disappointed with the sell-off down to the bar 51 low.
Friday’s E-mini setups
Jed 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
Jed 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.
