SPX Plays
Technical Analysis 101
Master candlesticks, patterns, indicators & Fibonacci
Stop staring at charts and start reading them. Learn how to set up TradingView, use multi-timeframe analysis, and identify key levels for SPX/SPY options scalping.
This guide covers practical charting setups and techniques for day trading SPX/SPY options.
Here's the critical mistake most scalpers make: they only look at the 1-minute or 5-minute chart. They see higher highs and higher lows, take a trade, and get stopped out when price hits a level they couldn't see on their lower timeframe.
The reality? Higher timeframes reveal levels that lower timeframes can't show you. A resistance level on the daily chart will wreck your 5-minute long trade every single time—and you won't even see it coming if you're not checking.
Before taking any scalp, check the higher timeframe. Know where you are in the bigger structure. A beautiful 5-minute setup means nothing if you're buying into daily resistance.
For SPX/SPY day trading, use this hierarchy:
Major support/resistance, trend direction, key levels that matter. Check this first—it sets the boundaries for your day.
Direction of the current session. Is the market making higher highs or lower lows today? This is your bias.
Where you execute. Find your higher highs/higher lows for trend entries, or reversals off key levels.
When the 15M and Daily agree on direction, your win rate goes up dramatically. When they conflict, reduce size or sit out.
Here's a timeframe hack most traders don't know: use the 65-minute chart instead of the 1-hour.
The regular trading session runs from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET—that's exactly 390 minutes. Here's why that matters:
390 ÷ 60 = 6.5 candles
You get 6 complete candles and one awkward half-candle at the end of the day. That final 30-minute candle has different characteristics than the rest, making it harder to read patterns and levels consistently.
390 ÷ 65 = 6 candles exactly
You get exactly 6 complete, uniform candles every session. Each candle represents the same amount of trading time, making support/resistance levels, patterns, and candle analysis more reliable.
Clean candle closes matter for swing analysis. With 65-minute candles, every session ends with a complete candle at 4:00 PM. No partial data, no weird half-candles throwing off your levels. In TradingView, you can create a custom 65-minute timeframe in your chart settings.
For your context timeframe, consider using 65M instead of 1H. You'll get cleaner candle structures that align perfectly with the trading day, making your higher-timeframe analysis more accurate.
Going long on a 1-minute higher high while the 15-minute is making lower lows. You're fighting the trend. The lower timeframe will eventually sync with the higher one—usually right after you get stopped out.
Not all support and resistance levels are equal. Some are just price memory—places where price bounced once. Others are institutional levels where big money clusters orders, and price reacts violently every single time.
Learning to distinguish between "just another level" and "a level that matters" is what separates profitable day traders from the rest.
Round numbers where human psychology and algorithms cluster orders. These are the big ones—institutional traders, market makers, and retail all watch these.
Major round numbers spaced at regular intervals. For SPX, these often come in 50-100 point increments. Big money moves at these levels.
The prior session's range. Day traders and algorithms reference these constantly. PDH/PDL are often first-touch magnets or rejection points.
Gamma exposure levels from options positioning. These show where dealer hedging will accelerate or dampen price movement. See our GEX Explained guide.
Here's something most traders miss: major levels are often evenly spaced. For SPX, key psychological levels typically fall every 50-100 points. Once you identify a few reaction points, you can extrapolate where the next ones are.
If you see major reactions at 5800, 5850, 5900, 5950, 6000... you can reasonably expect the next significant levels at 6050 and 6100. Mark them preemptively.
Round strike prices become magnets as expiration approaches. If SPX is near 6000 with heavy open interest at that strike, expect price to gravitate toward or get pinned near that level into close.
Both lines and zones have their place in your charting toolkit. Lines give you precision—especially trend lines and key horizontals from higher timeframes. Zones give you flexibility when price doesn't respect exact numbers.
The key is knowing when to use each. A horizontal line at 5950 marks a key level, but understanding that price might react anywhere from 5947-5953 helps you avoid getting stopped out on wicks.
Draw lines from higher timeframes first (Daily → 4H → 1H → smaller). A line from the daily chart carries more weight than one from the 5-minute. Then use zones around key levels to give yourself flexibility on entries.
Price wicks through your level, stops you out, then reverses. You were right about the area but wrong about the exact price.
Price enters your zone, wicks around, then rejects. You wait for confirmation within the zone before taking the trade.
SPX: Major zones are typically 10-30 points wide. If a reaction happened between 5890-5910, that entire area is the zone.
SPY: Major zones are typically 1-3 points wide. A reaction between 589-591 becomes your zone.
Having zones is only half the battle. Here's how to actually use them:
When price blasts through a zone with strong momentum and closes decisively beyond it, that zone is broken. Don't try to fade it. Former support becomes resistance (and vice versa).
Your charting workspace should be clean, organized, and purposeful. Every indicator and drawing should serve a function. If you can't explain why something is on your chart, remove it.
For SPX/SPY day trading, use a multi-chart layout:
This is your primary trading chart. Full-size, all your key levels marked, indicators loaded. This is where you make decisions.
Intraday trend reference. Glance at this to confirm direction before entries. Keep it cleaner—just price and major levels.
The big picture. Only check this a few times during the day. Reminds you where major support/resistance lives.
Less is more. Here's a clean stack for day trading:
Optional additions based on your style:
Use templates: Save your indicator setup as a template so you can apply it to any chart instantly.
Sync drawings: Enable "Sync drawings" so your levels appear across all timeframes.
Use color coding: Make support green, resistance red, and neutral levels gray. Visual clarity helps fast decisions.
The best traders don't figure out their levels during the session—they mark them before the bell rings. A 10-15 minute pre-market routine sets you up to react instead of analyze in real-time.
Where did futures trade overnight? The overnight high and low are your first key levels. If we gap outside yesterday's range, that's significant.
Draw or verify your PDH, PDL, and PDC (previous day high, low, close). These are referenced by algos and institutions all day.
From the current price, what are the nearest support and resistance zones? Mark 2-3 above and 2-3 below. These are your targets and invalidation points.
If you're using GEX data, add the HVL, Call Wall, and Put Wall to your chart. These tell you where moves accelerate or stall.
"If we break above 5980, I'm looking for longs to 6000." "If we lose 5950, I expect a move to 5920." Plan before you trade.
When price hits a level you've already marked, you don't have to think—you just execute. This removes hesitation and emotional decision-making from your trading.
Premium members get daily gameplans with key levels, GEX analysis, and trade setups delivered before the bell.
Here's a mistake that costs traders money every single day: entering trades right at key levels.
You see price hit a support level you've been watching. "This is it!" you think. You buy. And then price consolidates sideways for 20 minutes, chops you out, and THEN makes the move—without you.
At key levels, you don't know if price will bounce or break. Entering immediately is a 50/50 gamble. Wait for price to SHOW you what it's doing before you commit.
Your job is to wait for the market to show its hand. Key levels tell you WHERE to pay attention. Price action tells you WHEN to act. Combine both for high-probability entries.
There are situations where entering at the level makes sense:
But if you're unsure, default to waiting. Patience is a trading edge.
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Use multiple timeframes. Check daily and 65-minute (or 4-hour) charts for major levels—65-minute is preferred over 1-hour because it divides evenly into the trading day (390 minutes ÷ 65 = 6 complete candles). Use 15-minute for trend direction, and 1-5 minute for entries. Never trade the lower timeframe without knowing the higher timeframe context.
Use both. Lines give you precision for key levels, especially from higher timeframes. Zones give you flexibility since price rarely reverses at an exact number. Draw lines first, then understand there's a zone of reaction around them.
Psychological levels are round numbers where institutions and algorithms cluster orders. For SPX, these are levels like 6000, 5900, 5800. For SPY, they're levels like 600, 590, 580. Price often reacts at these levels due to concentrated order flow.
Use a multi-chart layout: daily chart for major levels, 15-minute for intraday trend, and 1-5 minute for entries. Add VWAP, key EMAs (9, 21), previous day high/low/close, and pre-drawn support/resistance zones. Keep the layout clean.
Don't enter immediately when price touches a level. Wait for confirmation—a rejection candle, a higher low (for longs) or lower high (for shorts). Enter on the confirmation, not the first touch. You might miss a few points but you'll avoid false breakouts.