September futures roll breaks the daily series; S&P short near its stop

Morning review at 06:34 UTC. The US cash session opens seven hours from now, so by method this slot opens no new ideas: it checks what is already open and prepares the afternoon watchlist. One verified data problem first. The index futures changed contract at Friday's September expiry. The 18/09 daily close was 7657.35, a +0.09% basis over cash; this morning the quote is 7746.75, a +1.26% basis. Comparing those two closes shows a 1.17% rally that never happened. The intraday series is already entirely on the December contract, basis stable between 0.87% and 0.98% across three days. Anchored to Friday's cash close of 7650.50, the estimated cash now is 7671.5, only 0.19 ATR above the 20-day average at 7658.89: noise, not trend. Discarded US 30 (2.10 ATR below its average, late entry) and US Tech 100 (inside the band at +1.00 ATR, but its risk factor is already taken). VIX 14.81, falling. Fifteen instruments screened, none passed, five reviews without a new idea. The US 500 short sits 0.10 ATR from its stop and stays open: the cash market is shut and the stop has not printed.