🚨 I’ll be live at 9 AM ET for the Daily Profit Plan🚨
 We’ll celebrate another Engineered Options winner, prep for a new Daily Profit Play, hunt for new trades for Options Edge and share an end-of-day bonus strategy [tap to join us]!
We’re sitting at all-time highs with three major catalysts hitting simultaneously this week, and that’s exactly the kind of environment where I need the market to prove it can hold these levels rather than just assuming everything is fine.
I’m looking at the current structure, and honestly, it feels questionable.
When patterns look like this, I don’t want to get ahead of the price action. I want the market to prove it.
That means showing strength that can actually sustain, not just giving us quick pops that fade as soon as new information hits the tape.
Here’s what we’re dealing with: an Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that could shift sentiment, the Magnificent Seven (MAG7) reporting earnings with potentially lackluster forward guidance, and a possible government shutdown dropping on Friday.
That’s a lot of stuff for the market to navigate from a price action perspective.
I could be wrong, and maybe the market just rips higher from here — and that would be fine, I suppose…
But right now, with all these moving pieces in play, I want to see proof that we can sustain levels above these highs before I start adding positions aggressively.
The Government Shutdown Wild Card
The potential shutdown on Friday adds another layer of uncertainty that I’m watching closely.
The big question is whether it actually makes headlines and rattles the market in any meaningful way.
If it does happen, we’re looking at another weird window of unknown duration.
How long does it last? Are we going into another extended shutdown?
This would be the second one for this administration, the first was the longest in history and the second was the second longest — so the optics heading into midterms aren’t great.
Now, if they’re using this as an opportunity to clean up inefficiency and fraud, then maybe that’s a different story.
Make that the angle and the reason.
Why I’m Staying Cautious at These Levels
The combination of the FOMC decision, potentially disappointing guidance from the MAG7, and a government shutdown possibility creates a cocktail of risk that the market needs to digest.
It’s just stuff — multiple catalysts that need to be navigated through.
On top of that, I’m fully aware that prices could easily pull back 5-7%, maybe even 10%, without doing anything unusual.
A drop like that would simply take the market back into previous ranges and fill trades that have been sitting open for weeks.
That’s not a doom scenario — it’s just a realistic possibility based on where we are.
Seasonally, this matters too.
February, March and April are typically a stall. It’s a window where the market has a tendency to soften up, get a little weaker and consolidate before deciding its next major move.
Stalling in that period while navigating catalysts like the ones in front of us isn’t far-fetched — it’s actually pretty normal.
This is exactly why I’m not rushing to chase these highs.
I need the market to show me it can handle this confluence of events and maintain its footing above current levels. That’s my proof point.
Could we just melt up from here regardless? Absolutely.
But I’d rather miss the first move up and get confirmation than get caught buying the high right before we navigate through all this uncertainty.
The market will tell us what it wants to do — I’m just making it prove the strength first.
I’ll see you in the markets.
Chris Pulver
Chris Pulver TradingÂ
Follow along and join the conversation for real-time analysis, trade ideas, market insights and more!
- Telegram:https://t.me/+av20QmeKC5VjOTc5
- YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialWars
- Twitter:https://x.com/realchrispulver
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealchrispulver
Important Note: No one from the ProsperityPub team or Chris Pulver Trading will ever contact you directly on Telegram.
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.Â
P.S. 1 Daily Trade Delivered 362 Winners in 2025…
JUST by aligning every single trade with the market’s expected range for the day!
And in the first 11 trades this year, this same approach has delivered 10 winners.
Want to see how to get in on the next opportunity?
DISCLAIMER: We develop tools and strategies to the best of our ability, but no one can guarantee the future. There is always a risk of loss when trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Stated results are from live published alerts between 8/26/24 and 1/22/25. The win rate has been 89.3% on the options with an average return of 14.62% over a one-day hold time.
