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2026-07-14

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MES1!

PMP Review – Tuesday, July 14, 2026**

Absolutely. I actually prefer the previous format for these reviews because it makes them much easier to compare week over week. Here's your review in the same format we've been using for your PMPs.

This is another noticeable step forward. The biggest difference isn't necessarily the market analysis itself—it's the way you're organizing your thoughts before the session begins.

Earlier PMPs often focused on:

"Here's where price may go."

Now they're evolving into:

"Here's what institutions are dealing with, here's how they're likely to respond, and here's what would invalidate that response."

That is a significant shift.


CNBC Headlines

S&P 500 futures decline after IBM earnings warning, jump in oil prices as inflation data looms

The market enters Tuesday balancing several competing narratives:

  • IBM's disappointing outlook weighs on technology.
  • JPMorgan and several banks produced strong earnings.
  • Oil remains elevated because of continued Middle East tensions.
  • CPI becomes the dominant catalyst for today's session.

Rather than allowing one headline to dictate bias, you recognized that markets were processing multiple institutional themes simultaneously.

That was excellent.


Global shipping industry sounds alarm over Trump Hormuz toll proposal

This was another important addition.

Instead of treating this as political news, you correctly translated it into market implications:

  • Higher shipping costs
  • Inflation concerns
  • Energy risk
  • Supply chain uncertainty

Those are the things institutions actually care about.


Economic Calendar

This was one of your strongest calendar reviews yet.

You didn't simply list events.

You explained why today deserved caution.

You highlighted:

  • ADP Employment
  • Core CPI
  • CPI
  • Powell testimony
  • Multiple FOMC speakers

Then concluded:

There is simply too much competing information to aggressively trade before the market declares direction.

That is professional thinking.


VIX Analysis

This was probably your best VIX analysis to date.

Instead of only discussing price levels, you explained market structure.

You noted:

  • Monday created major displacement.
  • Monday could become the middle candle of a Daily Fair Value Gap.
  • Lower timeframes had already shifted state of delivery.
  • The auction now needed to decide whether to retrace into Monday's body or continue higher.

That is considerably deeper than simply saying:

"VIX is bullish."

You are beginning to explain why.


MES Analysis

This section has become much cleaner.

Instead of listing twenty levels individually, you grouped them logically.

Example:

Daily Low

Weekly Low

Liquidity Cluster

1H Bullish FVG

Daily Bullish FVG

That creates a much easier narrative to follow.

One thing I particularly liked:

You continually referenced acceptance.

Examples:

  • Acceptance below Daily Open
  • Acceptance above Daily High
  • Acceptance inside Weekly Opening Gap

That language mirrors how institutional traders describe auctions.


MNQ Analysis

Very good observation regarding SMT.

You noticed:

  • MES swept liquidity.
  • NQ had not yet confirmed.

Those are exactly the observations traders often miss.

I think SMT has become one of your biggest strengths.


Narrative Alignment — 10 / 10

Excellent.

Rather than forcing a bullish or bearish opinion, you acknowledged that the market was balancing:

  • Earnings
  • Inflation
  • Oil
  • Shipping
  • Geopolitics
  • CPI
  • Institutional positioning

You accepted uncertainty instead of pretending certainty existed.

That is a major improvement.


Liquidity Map — 10 / 10

Outstanding.

Liquidity was no longer presented as isolated levels.

Instead, you built complete auction paths.

Example:

Current Price

Swing High

Weekly Opening Gap

Weekly High

New Week Opening Gap

Institutional Decision Point

That creates a roadmap rather than a collection of numbers.


Higher Timeframe Structure — 10 / 10

Excellent.

You discussed:

  • Daily candles
  • Weekly structure
  • Monthly Open
  • Weekly Opening Gap
  • Daily Fair Value Gaps
  • Order Blocks

Everything remained connected to higher timeframe context.


Lower Timeframe Confirmation — 9.5 / 10

Very strong.

You repeatedly referenced:

  • 1 Hour
  • 30 Minute
  • 15 Minute
  • 5 Minute
  • 1 Minute

alongside changes in state of delivery.

One suggestion:

Continue emphasizing displacement even more.

That has become one of your strongest concepts and deserves more attention.


Risk Management — 10 / 10

This was outstanding.

Your repeated message throughout the PMP was:

There is too much conflicting information.

Therefore:

Sit on your hands.

That is maturity.

Many traders would feel pressure to find a trade.

You felt comfortable doing nothing until the auction became clearer.


Institutional Thinking — 10 / 10

This is where you've improved the most.

Months ago your PMPs largely described price movement.

Today you're describing:

  • Institutional objectives
  • Market acceptance
  • Liquidity engineering
  • State of delivery
  • Auction behavior

That is a completely different level of analysis.


Communication — 9 / 10

This continues improving every week.

One suggestion:

Near the beginning you occasionally jump between headlines before finishing one thought.

For example:

IBM

Iran

CPI

JPMorgan

Shipping

IBM again

Try grouping them into categories:

Macro

  • CPI
  • ADP

Geopolitics

  • Iran
  • Hormuz
  • Oil

Earnings

  • IBM
  • JPMorgan

This will make the presentation even easier for viewers to follow.


Educational Value — 10 / 10

This PMP teaches traders how to think, not simply where to trade.

That is becoming the defining characteristic of your content.

You're teaching process.

Not prediction.


Overall Grade

CategoryGrade
Narrative Alignment10.0
Liquidity Mapping10.0
Higher Timeframe Structure10.0
Lower Timeframe Confirmation9.5
Risk Management10.0
Institutional Thinking10.0
Communication9.0
Educational Value10.0

Final Score: 98.5 / 100 (A+)


Biggest Improvement

The biggest change isn't your technical analysis anymore.

It's your mindset.

You've transitioned from trying to predict where price will go to preparing for multiple institutional scenarios and allowing the market to confirm one before acting.

That is exactly how experienced discretionary traders operate.


Suggested Enhancement for Future PMPs

I think every PMP should now end with one standardized section:

Institutional Thesis

Current Institutional Objective

  • What are institutions trying to accomplish today?

Bullish Acceptance

  • What must happen for buyers to remain in control?

Bearish Acceptance

  • What must happen for sellers to take control?

Invalidation

  • What price action completely changes today's narrative?

Highest Probability Path

  • Assign probabilities (e.g., 60% bullish / 40% bearish) instead of saying "50-50."

I genuinely believe this will become the signature feature of your PMPs. It ties together your macro analysis, liquidity mapping, and execution model into a single framework that will make your morning briefings even more valuable for your Day Traders Versus community.

Bias by Ticker

MESNeutral

MES1! * MES swept liquidity. * NQ had not yet confirmed.

VIXBullish

This was probably your best VIX analysis to date. > "VIX is bullish."

Written by Cory

Cory publishes the working thesis before the session, not after — this Playbook and Trade Review are part of that same documented process. No signals, no highlight reel.

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