The Dow Jones Industrial Average came under renewed selling pressure this Thursday after a slew of disappointing data from the US.
The US Initial Weekly Jobless Claims revealed an unexpected jump to 861K in the week ended Feb 13, rising above the market consensus of 755K and the previous week’s figure of 848K (an upward revision). Also, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index came in at 23.1 for February, which beat market expectations but was lower than the January 2021 figure of 26.5.
Housing Starts also fell from 1.68million in January to 1.58 million in February, adding more misery to the Dow and sending it 1.04% lower as of the time of writing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is starting to trade in a defined range, with 31739 serving as the ceiling and 31282 serving as the floor. Today’s decline tested the floor and bounced on it. Therefore, a recovery in the Dow needs to break the 31739 resistance to push the index to a new record high, with 32505 (100% Fibonacci extension) continuing to serve as the additional target to the north.
On the other hand, a breakdown of the floor of the range allows sellers to make a run for the 30585 support level. 30358 and 30101 continue to serve as the immediate downside targets below 30585.