Sample Pre-Market Brief
This is an example of the pre-market brief AbsoluteGreed members get at 8:00 AM ET every trading day. @TheSquawk posts it in The Watchlist, the members’ pre-market channel, before the cash open. It covers the overnight NQ and ES levels, the day’s scheduled releases with times, the headlines that matter, and where the liquidity traps sit. Members reply underneath with their own reads.
Example only. The levels, times and headlines below show the format. They are not today’s market, and nothing in the brief is a recommendation to buy or sell.
THE SQUAWK · Thursday, [date] · 8:00 AM ET
Overnight was a 40-point nap in NQ that ended in a 6:00 AM stop run nobody asked for. ES spent the night pinned under yesterday’s high like it owes somebody money. The real business starts at 8:30 with claims.
Levels
| NQ | ES | |
|---|---|---|
| Prior-day high | [ ] | [ ] |
| Prior-day low | [ ] | [ ] |
| Prior-day settle | [ ] | [ ] |
| Overnight high | [ ] | [ ] |
| Overnight low | [ ] | [ ] |
Calendar (ET)
| Time | Release | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 AM | Initial jobless claims | The only number before the open. A surprise moves both indexes in seconds. |
| 9:30 AM | Cash open | Opening range forms. Spreads widen, fills get worse. |
| 10:30 AM | EIA natural gas storage | Irrelevant for NQ and ES. Ignore it. |
| 12:00 PM | Fed speaker | Usually noise. Occasionally a headline. Know it’s there. |
Headlines
- Megacap earnings after the bell. Expect the afternoon to get quiet and then stupid.
- Treasury yields edged higher overnight. Rate-sensitive tech noticed.
Where the traps sit
- NQ: The overnight high sits a few points under the prior-day high. Two highs that close together are a pool of resting stops. The first push through them after the open is the classic spot where breakout buyers become the liquidity. If price can’t hold above, those buyers are trapped.
- ES: It’s still inside yesterday’s range. Middle-of-range trading before 10:00 AM is where accounts go to bleed slowly.
- 8:30 AM: The first spike on claims is a coin flip with a spread attached. Being flat through the print is a decision, not a missed trade.
Desk rules for today
- No new positions from 8:25 to 8:35 AM.
- Know your daily loss limit before 9:30. Write it down.
- Tag your plan in the Reckoning at 4:15 PM, or don’t bother pretending you had one.
Education and market context only. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.
What members get
The brief is one part of the trading day on the floor:
- Every trading day before the open: the full brief, with replies from members marking up their own levels.
- During the session: the War Room, for live peer talk. Ideas and reads, never calls.
- After the close: the Daily Reckoning at 4:15 PM ET, and The Morgue for honest post-mortems on losing trades.
The free Friday email includes a slice of the brief every week. Sign up with the form below, or see what membership includes.