Automation MODE = OFF on 04/07/2025

At 8:55 am EST, the order book is jumpy and wide ranging. Some brokers have removed day trade margins. Last night there was a massive gap down of over 5% in the stock indexes. The market has recovered from the lows but the average range of the five minute bars has expanded and VIX spiked to near 60 in the pre-market session.

This time last year, April 2024, at higher index levels in the Nasdaq 100, the average range of five minute bars was between 10-20 with open of the day session spikes nearly 40.

In this session, the median five minute bar average range is about 80, (4-8 times higher than this time last year) and currently near 100, with spikes as high as 140 on the session.

This is our general recommendation, regardless of market direction.