SPX Daily Plan – Tuesday, July 15: CPI Bomb, Bank Landmines, and the 6300 Gamma Trap
CPI Day Freebie
🎯 SPX Daily Plan – Tuesday, July 15 (CPI Day)
“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…” ⚡
…Or get blown up by CPI and a JPM whiff.
🌅 OVERNIGHT SETUP – NVDA’s Gift + Dealer’s Trap
SPX caught a bid overnight (+25) after NVDA got a surprise hall pass on China AI chip exports. Cute. But none of it matters by 8:30 AM. That’s when CPI drops — and within minutes, all that comfy chop under 6300 could detonate.
We're hovering around 6294, pinned between short gamma quicksand below and a dealer fortress above at 6300. The VIX sits parked at 17, buried under puts, daring someone to wake it up. Meanwhile, banks report. Yes — JPM, C, WFC, and BLK — all before open. Hope you packed a helmet.
🎭 DOUBLE CATALYST DAY (CPI + BANK EARNINGS)
You wanted volatility?
→ CPI at 8:30 — biggest EM of the week
→ JPM, C, WFC, BLK earnings — sector rotation bomb
→ Fed Speaker Parade — 4 appearances today
→ VIX at 17 — trapped, waiting to either implode or detonate
Today is a SNOW DAY. No ICs. No strangles. No safe zones. If you’re not nimble, you’re dead.
📅 THE WEEK’S FLOW ARC
Today’s fireworks aren’t just standalone — they’re the opening act in a week packed with catalysts that cascade into one another:
Tuesday: CPI + Big Banks → set the tone
Wednesday: VIX SOQ + PPI → dealer flow bomb
Thursday: Retail Sales + $NFLX / $TSM earnings
Friday: Monthly OPEX → the great gamma unwind
You can’t afford to be wrong today, because positioning here sets up all the dominos for the rest of the week.
🔥 KEY LEVELS + CHOP ZONE FRAMEWORK
0DTE EM: ±47 → Range = 6240–6350
Full Straddle: 6225–6375
Spot: 6294
GEX Wall: 6300 = main magnet + dealer wall
Upper Pin: 6325–6350
Lower Magnet: 6260
Crash Guard: <6180
NO Paywall CPI Day Freebie
⚖️ CHOP ZONE: 6260–6315
This isn’t your usual 20-point chop.
It’s a 55-point grinder with 5 pivots inside.
6260 = Lower boundary (bounce zone)
6270–75 = Secondary support
6280–85 = Mid-zone S/R
6300 = MM wall vs magnet (true inflection)
6310–15 = Upper shelf → breakout decision point
You’ll know very fast whether CPI breaks this zone — or traps you in a 15-minute chop cycle that eats theta and sanity.
📍 SPX ROAD MAP – 0DTE IF/THEN
📈 IF CPI Cool + Banks Beat
→ Snap through 6315
→ Magnet pull to 6325
→ 6350 upper pin unlocks
→ VIX dives under 16
→ Financials lead the charge
📉 IF CPI Hot + Banks Miss
→ Sliced under 6260
→ Accelerates to 6225
→ Risk-off flush to 6200
→ VIX > 17 = gamma puke
😵💫 IF CPI Mixed + Banks Mixed
→ Trapped in 6260–6315
→ Time decay wins
→ VIX stalls at 17
→ Wait for SOQ/PPI to provide direction
🔁 CHOP ZONE PLAYBOOK (6260–6315)
IF bounce from 6260–6270
→ Watch test of 6280–85
→ Hold = 6300 retest
→ Acceptance = 6310/15
IF rejection at 6300
→ Fade back to 6280
→ Break = test 6270 → 6260
IF test of 6315
→ Breakout = 6325 magnet
→ Fail = fade to MM wall (6300)
⏰ INTRADAY STRUCTURE
7:00–8:30 AM
Stay light
MM anchor = 6300
Trap zone = 6280–6305
8:30–9:30 AM
CPI hits → don’t be a hero
Reaction trades only
Watch vol, not bias
9:30–10:30 AM
Highest vol
Trend should reveal
Dealer flows stabilize
10:30+
Earnings impact rotation
Pin/unpin prep for SOQ
Time decay kicks in hard
⚠️ ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Wednesday = VIX SOQ + PPI → positioning fallout
Friday = OPEX → gamma unwind + false breaks
This isn’t about charts. It’s about flows
Two-way hedging = high risk of fakeouts
Bank earnings today will reorder leadership if strong
🧠 CHEAT CARD
🟥 6300 – GEX wall
🟧 6260–6315 – Chop zone
🔸 6270–75 – Support band
🔹 6280–85 – Mid-zone pivot
🟨 6310 – Upper shelf
🟩 6315 – Breakout decision
🧲 6325 – Magnet pin
🔺 6350 – Upper GEX pin
⛔ <6200 – Gamma puke zone
📺 JOIN ME LIVE – 8:30 AM ET
CPI breakdown. Scalp targets. Gamma flows. Let’s trade the chaos together:
YouTube 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@DocMcGraw
Twitter/X 👉 https://x.com/doc_mcgraw
💻 TRADINGVIEW LEVEL STRING (Updated)
$SPX: gamma puke, 6180, support, 6200, stall, 6225, bounce, 6250, lower magnet, 6260, support band, 6270, pivot zone, 6280, resistance, 6285, MM wall, 6300, shelf, 6310, breakout test, 6315, magnet pin, 6325, resistance, 6330, upper pin, 6350
🧨 FINAL WORD
This isn’t just CPI Day.
It’s the first domino in a chain reaction week.
→ Dealer flow shifts
→ Sector leadership rotates
→ Gamma bands break
Trade it smart. Trade it tight. Trade it like it matters — because it does.
“In CPI we trust. In earnings we adjust. In SOQ we reposition.”
– DocTraderMcGraw / Options Gelt™