Basis the September e-mini S&P, the next major time target I’ve projected is July 31st. This date arrives on a Sunday, so  my expectation for a significant transition in the behavior of the market will likely be as of Monday, August 1st. During the first part of last week, I had worked out some overhead resistance levels for the market. The first level was 1330-1332. As of the markets close  this past Friday we are already there, at 1334. The next level of overhead resistance I’ve projected is 1380. Given this past weeks trend, it seems more probable that the projected time target of August 1st. will correspond to a market top. Therefore Long Strategies seem appropriate at this time.

The particular strategy a trader employs is certainly equity dependent. Last week, for example, for traders with less than $50,000.00 of equity, I suggested collar type strategies. One such variation might be to buy the underlying contract. Next protect the downside, with put purchases. The purchase of  puts enables you to weather volatility, in a way you could not, if you were using protective stops. A final leg would be to sell out of the money call premium. The premium you receive, partially finances the puts, and reduces the cost structure of the entire spread. Last week I was putting these type of spreads on for between 3 and 4 points.  Given different amounts of funds availabe for trades, make sure you have some prudent guidelines for appropriate strategies.