Nasdaq 100 (NQ) Analysis, Key-Zones, Setup for Mon (Nov 02)E-mini Nasdaq-100 FuturesCME_MINI:NQ1!MyAlgoIndexBias: The December Nasdaq-100 contract settled at 28,534.00 on Friday, down 1,028.00 or 3.48 percent, after trading between 29,180.00 and 28,232.75. The 947.25 point range printed a lower high and a lower low against Thursday, the decline was the largest since 06/05/26 and the settle the lowest since 07/30/26. The Nasdaq-100 cash index closed at 28,384.85, down 3.46 percent, against a 1.82 percent decline for the S&P 500 cash index, and the semiconductor index fell 7.20 percent. The news feed carried an item, unconfirmed, that Intel shares fell 29 percent, their worst day in at least four decades, and market commentary tied the decline to Thursday's Intel and Amazon results and to a press report on an artificial-intelligence developer's credit rating. The volatility index closed at 19.42 and the ten-year yield index eased to 4.93 percent, so the decline came without a rise in yields. The composite multi-indicator read moved to 56 percent sell from 16 percent sell, negative direction leads on the 9-day and 14-day directional systems, and the settle sits beneath every settlement average except the 200-day, which it holds by 81.00 points. The index closed far beneath the modeled gamma-flip level at NDX 29,327 and above the dealer-positioning support base at NDX 28,000, with fund positioning negative, which in this review's interpretation means dealer hedging is more likely to extend moves than to damp them. In this review's interpretation the bias stays lower beneath the Pivot Point at 28,648.92, with a rebound toward 28,767.40 the more likely first move given how stretched the 9-day relative strength reading of 29.99 has become. US daylight saving time ends at 2:00 AM ET on Sunday, November 1, 2026, per the verified forward calendar, two days of headline exposure separate Friday's settle from the Sunday reopen at 6:00 PM ET, and the cash open at 9:30 AM ET on Monday is the first directional test, with Apple results due on Monday, November 2, 2026, per the verified forward calendar, which lists them for the date only. Resistance: - 29,328.37 two standard deviations resistance - 29,180.00 Friday's session high - 29,149.15 dealer-positioning key level, futures conversion (NDX 29,000) - 29,095.71 one standard deviation resistance - 29,065.08 Pivot R1 - 28,934.15 dealer-positioning combination level, futures conversion (NDX 28,785) - 28,767.40 raw stochastic projection - 28,648.92 Pivot Point Support: - 28,534.00 Friday's settle - 28,488.88 61.8 percent retracement from the 52-week low - 28,232.75 Friday's session low - 28,196.83 published target price - 28,149.15 dealer-positioning support base, futures conversion (NDX 28,000) - 28,117.83 Pivot S1 - 27,972.29 one standard deviation support - 27,739.63 two standard deviations support Primary Setup: SHORT the December contract from the 28,740 to 28,780 band around the 28,767.40 raw stochastic projection. Stop 28,900, above the entry band and beneath the 28,934.15 combination-level conversion. Targets at 28,620 first, beneath the Pivot Point at 28,648.92, 28,480 second, beneath the 61.8 percent retracement at 28,488.88, and 28,340 third, above Friday's 28,232.75 low. Risk to reward is roughly 1:1 to the first objective, 1:2 to the second and 1:3 to the third from the entry midpoint. The 14-day average true range is 618.58 points against a 140 point stop distance. A settle above Pivot R1 at 29,065.08 negates the thesis; two consecutive 30-minute closes above 28,780 remove the edge before the stop is reached. The setup needs a rebound to engage, and a weekend headline can carry the reopen through the stop in one move. A cash-session recovery in semiconductors is the main risk to a short, which makes this an analyst judgment that rebounds are sold. Index conversions use this run's measured 149.15 point basis. The 28,534.00 settle closed the largest decline since 06/05/26 beneath every settlement average except the 200-day. In this review's interpretation Monday is a test of whether a rebound stalls beneath the Pivot Point at 28,648.92 and the 28,767.40 projection, or the decline extends toward the 28,149.15 conversion of the NDX 28,000 base.