After the Bell

Friday, September 4, 2026 · U.S. cash-hours review

Retrospective research sample. These scenarios were reconstructed after the session, not issued as live alerts. No executed trades or performance results are reported.

The Two Minute Trader

1. The overnight Nasdaq extension did not hold. NQU6’s last minute before 4:00 p.m. ET closed at 29,568.75, below its Asia high of 29,643.75. ESU6 finished that minute at 7,723.75, also below its earlier Asia range. The morning divergence gave way to weakness in both contracts.
2. A direction can be right without a qualifying entry. The illustrative ES long never reached its trigger during the entry window. NQ produced the required two closes below its reference, but the subsequent retest never arrived before noon. Neither plan qualified.
3. Carry the question forward, not the expired order. Can the indices recover the lost ranges with broader participation, or will rebounds fail? These Friday intraday conditions have expired. Fresh prices, session ranges and gamma are needed for the next plan.

What changed

London had extended NQ beyond its Asia high while ES stayed within its earlier range. Both contracts finished U.S. cash hours below their opening minute: ES below its Asia low, NQ below its Asia high.

Contract	Cash-hours reference
ESU6	9:30 a.m. minute open: 7,742.00; Cash-hours low–high: 7,711.75–7,751.00; 3:59 p.m. minute close: 7,723.75
NQU6	9:30 a.m. minute open: 29,588.25; Cash-hours low–high: 29,468.00–29,691.75; 3:59 p.m. minute close: 29,568.75

These are September futures prices during 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET, not SPX cash-index values or official futures settlements. All 390 one-minute intervals are present for each contract. Source: Databento GLBX.MDP3 historical minute bars; bar conventions.

The conditions, checked

ES — extension never qualified. The illustrative long required two five-minute closes above 7,764.50, followed by a retest holding above it. From 9:45 a.m. to noon, ES’s high was 7,748.25. The initial confirmation was therefore absent. There was no entry to invalidate.

NQ — confirmation appeared; the entry did not. The bars ending at 10:20 and 10:25 a.m. ET closed at 29,601.75 and 29,595.75, both below 29,643.75. Those were the first qualifying consecutive closes after 9:45. The plan then required a subsequent retest of the reference. From 10:25 to noon, the highest traded price was 29,602.50—still below it. The retest never appeared, so the plan expired without entry.

An earlier touch of the level cannot satisfy a retest required after confirmation. Nor can the subsequent decline replace that missing condition. Relaxing either rule afterward would describe a different plan.

What stays unresolved

This price review does not establish a dealer-gamma explanation for the selloff. The morning SPX/ES/NQ gamma map was not verified. It also does not establish outcomes for the gold or LULU watches, which lacked qualified entries and synchronized price evidence.

The next session’s question is whether the indices can reclaim their lost ranges with support from rates and broader participation. Any new entry needs fresh conditions and its own Invalid. Friday’s references remain historical context; both intraday plans have expired.

Kill the Level · Spot. Plan. Kill.

For educational and informational purposes only. Not personalized investment advice. Trading involves risk, including loss of principal. Past, hypothetical or simulated results do not indicate future results.