* JIM'S MARKET THOUGHT OF THE DAY *

I was up in Ely, Minnesota snowmobiling over the weekend when one of the biggest snowstorms in years hit the Midwest. Ironically, in Ely (which is about 10 miles from the Canada border) it did not snow at all, when it would have been nice to have a bit of fresh snow to ride in! While I knew before heading up to Ely that a winter storm was on the way, I did not expect it to be so big and powerful. Where I live in Iowa, we received an inch rain turning to ice before it snowed. Many thousands of homes in Iowa have lost electrical power due to the ice storm, and won't get it back for a while. I did take my laptop computers up to Ely with me, just in case I did get stranded because of the storm. And I was able to find an "Internet Café" to do a bit of work from on Saturday. I did make it back home Sunday night, with little travel problems. Ironically, I enjoy traveling to remote places like Ely, or the western U.S. I like the wilderness, yet I take my laptops to stay in touch with the markets! I just wanted to share my weekend experience with you, my valued reader. And I do like to hear from you and any experiences you have. You can drop me an email any time, even just to say hi, at jim@jimwyckoff.com .--Jim

U.S. STOCK INDEXES

The stock indexes are higher in quiet early morning electronic trading. The stock index bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage and there are no early technical clues markets are near a top. However, the markets have been trading sideways for about to weeks.

March S&P 500: The shorter-term moving averages (4-, 9- and 18-day) are neutral today. The 4-day moving average is below the 9-day. The 9-day is above the 18-day moving average. Short-term oscillators (RSI, slow stochastics) are neutral early today. Today, shorter-term technical support comes in at the overnight low of 1,453.50. Sell stops likely reside just under that level. More sell stops likely reside under shorter-term technical support at last week's low of 1,450.70. Upside resistance for active traders today is located at Friday's high of 1,459.30 and then at the contract high of 1,464.50. Buy stops are likely located just above those levels. Wyckoff's Intra-day Market Rating: 7.0

PIVOT POINT LEVELS FOR MARCH S&P 500:

Pivot:------------ 1,454.60
1st Support:------ 1,449.90
2nd Support:------ 1,446.00
1st Resistance:--- 1,458.50
2nd Resistance:--- 1,463.20

March Russell 2000: The shorter-term moving averages (4- 9-and 18-day) are bullish today. The 4-day moving average is above the 9-day. The 9-day average is above the 18-day. Short-term oscillators (RSI, slow stochastics) are neutral early today. Shorter-term technical support is located at Friday's low of 824.00. Sell stops likely reside just below that level, and then more sell stops are likely located just below technical support at 820.00. On the upside, short-term resistance is seen at the contract high of 831.50. Buy stops are likely located just above that level. More buy stops are likely located just above resistance at 835.00. Wyckoff's Intra-Day Market Rating: 7.0

PIVOT POINT LEVELS FOR MARCH RUSSELL 2000:

Pivot:------------ 827.30
1st Support:------ 824.00
2nd Support:------ 820.75
1st Resistance:--- 830.60
2nd Resistance:--- 833.85

March Dow: For today, sell stops likely reside just below support at Friday's low of 12,651 and then more stops just below support at 12,600. Buy stops likely reside just above shorter-term technical resistance at Friday's high of 12,710 and then at 12,750. Shorter-term moving averages are neutral early today, as the 4-day moving average is turning down. The 9-day moving average is above the 18-day moving average. Shorter-term oscillators (RSI, slow stochastics) are bearish early today. Wyckoff's Intra-Day Market Rating: 7.0

PIVOT POINT LEVELS FOR MARCH DOW:

Pivot:------------ 12,675
1st Support:------ 12,640
2nd Support:------ 12,616
1st Resistance:--- 12,699
2nd Resistance:--- 12,734

U.S. TREASURY BONDS AND NOTES

U.S. T-Bonds and T-Notes are higher early today, as prices have hit a fresh seven-week high overnight and the bulls are right back in business and have the near-term technical advantage.

March U.S. T-Bonds: Shorter-term moving averages (4- 9- 18-day) are still bullish today. The 4-day moving average is above the 9-day. The 9-day is above the 18-day moving average. Oscillators (RSI, slow stochastics) are neutral to bullish early today. Shorter-term technical resistance lies at the overnight high of 112 5/32. Buy stops likely reside just above that level. More buy stops likely reside just above technical resistance at 112 16/32. Shorter-term technical support lies at the overnight low of 111 19/32. Sell stops likely reside just below that level. More sell stops are likely located below support at 111 10/32. Wyckoff's Intra-Day Market Rating: 7.0

PIVOT POINT LEVELS FOR MARCH T-BONDS:

Pivot:----------- 111 15/32
1st Support:----- 111 3/32
2nd Support:----- 110 18/32
1st Resistance:-- 112 even
2nd Resistance:-- 112 12/32

March U.S. T-Notes: Shorter-term oscillators (RSI, slow stochastics) are neutral to bullish early today. Buy stops likely reside just above shorter-term technical resistance at the overnight high of 108.00.0, and more buy stops are likely located just above resistance at 108.08.0. Shorter-term moving averages are bullish early today. The 4-day moving average is above the 9-day. The 9-day is above the 18-day moving average. Sell stop orders are likely located just below support at the overnight low of 107.22.5, and then more sell stops just below support at 107.16.0. Wyckoff's Intra Day Market Rating: 7.0

PIVOT POINT LEVELS FOR MARCH T-NOTES:

Pivot:------------ 107.19.0
1st Support:------ 107.11.0
2nd Support:------ 107.01.0
1st Resistance:--- 107.29.0
2nd Resistance:--- 108.05.0