Dow Jones is holding steady above the crucial level of 35,000; boosted by travel and energy stocks. On Thursday, American Airlines had its shares rise by about 7.66% while United Airlines surged by 5.23%. The gains recorded by travel companies are a breath of fresh air after the aggressive spreading of the Delta variant triggered a week-long decline. During that timeframe, travel stocks like United Airlines and American Airlines had their stocks drop by 10.09% and 11.35% respectively.
Investors are now keen on the nonfarm payrolls data scheduled for release on Friday afternoon. Throughout the week, today’s event has been a highly anticipated one as it has a direct impact on the Fed’s decision on tightening its monetary policy. The central bank has insisted that it will maintain the accommodative monetary policy until employment records further progress.
Analysts expect a nonfarm payrolls reading of 870,000. The figure is higher than June’s 850,000. Besides, the forecasted unemployment rate of 5.7% is lower than the prior month’s 5.9%. Earlier in the week, the released data for July’s ADP non-farm employment change was 330,000. This is in comparison to the expected 695,000 and the previous 680,000.
Dow Jones is trading steadily above 35,000 after hitting an intraday low of 34,786.23 in the previous session. At the time of writing, it was up by 0.78% at 35,064.24. On a two-hour chart, it is trading above the 25 and 50-day EMAs.
In the near term, it is likely to continue finding support at the psychological level of 35,000. Increased buying pressure may push the price to the week’s high at 35,193.05 or higher at 35,250. On the flip side, a move below the current support level will have the bears eyeing the level along the 50-day EMA at 34,912.48. A further decline will place the support at Wednesday’s low of 34,786.23.