- Summary:
- The Nasdaq 100 futures are trading higher after upbeat ADP Employment Change numbers indicate an improvement in private-sector labour conditions.
The Nasdaq 100 index edged higher this afternoon after the ADP Employment Change data came out better-than-expected. Private sector employment change figures released by Automatic Data Processing Inc. showed job losses of 2760K in May 2020, versus the 9000K job losses projected by economists and market analysts. This figure was also a vast improvement over the previous number of -19557K (an upward revision).
On the back of this report which indicates that private-sector job losses have begun to slow down, the Nasdaq 100 edged higher by 0.26% to claim the 9673.6 price level. The gains on the Nasdaq 100 follow those of European exchanges, which are all surging today. Reports indicate that a German-led EU coalition is close to agreeing on a stimulus package that will create an economic recovery fund of €750 billion for struggling member countries to draw from to rejig their economies.
Semiconductor stocks are leading the surge on the Nasdaq 100, with NXP Semiconductors, Micron Technology and MicroChip Technology all posting gains of 2.28% 1.15% and 1.04% respectively. Nvidia is barely up 0.22%, while Facebook and Microsoft are up 0.25% and 1.14% respectively.
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Technical Outlook for Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 was able to shake off a losing start yesterday to end up 0.57% to the good. This close took the Nasdaq 100 above the critical 9626.4 resistance level. Today’s candle needs to close above this price level as well to provide the time filter confirmation of the breakout above 9626.4. If this is achieved, then the Nasdaq 100 has room to continue its ascent within the ascending channel, targeting the channel’s upper border at a price level which could either match the Feb 19 all-time highs or even surpass it.
Failure to attain the closing penetration above 9626.4 could lead to a retest of the support targets below this area: 9452.0, 9264.4 and 9167.4 are all candidates, with 9092.3 and 8945.7 only becoming relevant on the breakdown of the channel’s lower border.