Nasdaq 100 Trades Higher After Shrugging Off Jobless Claims Numbers

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Written By: Eno Eteng (MSTA)
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    Summary:
  • Nasdaq 100 is climbing as traders take cues from the Fed's action and pay no heed to the downbeat initial jobless claims data.

The Nasdaq 100 is pushing higher after shrugging off the downbeat initial jobless claims numbers. The Nasdaq 100 is trading 1.13% higher at 8284.1, shrugging off an initial jobless claims figure of 6606K. At 6606K, the figure was worse than expected, but lower than the revised previous figure of 6867K. The number suggests that the number of persons applying for unemployment benefits for the first time may have peaked, providing a spot of optimism that traders are capitalizing on.

Moreover, the markets are also taking a cue from further stimulus action from the Fed this afternoon. The Fed announced that it would provide additional loans of up to $2.3tn to boost the US economy during the coronavirus pandemic. A separate lending programme for “Main Street” would also allow the Fed to buy up loans of up to $600bn. Loans would be backed up by the Treasury.

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Technical Outlook for Nasdaq 100

Today’s price move takes the Nasdaq 100 further away from the 8160.2 resistance level. With yesterday’s price candle closing above this resistance, a possible breakout would only need today’s daily candle to close above the resistance for confirmation. This would open the door for the Nasdaq 100 to advance towards the next resistance target at 8442.5. An advance to 8691.0 marks the completion of the butterfly variant of the “W” harmonic pattern, as this level represents the 127.2% Fibonacci extension from the XA wave on the pattern. Further advance beyond this point invalidates the reversal.

If the pattern forms and price starts to reverse from the 8691.0 price level, this provides an opportunity to retest all price levels that have undergone role reversal from resistance to support, starting at 8442.5, 8160.2 and 8015.5. If price fails to break the current resistance at 8160.2 (i.e. candle closes below this level), we could see some of the price levels below this area being retested, in which case 8150.5, 7834.6 and 7508.9 could become relevant.

Written By: Eno Eteng (MSTA)

Eno is a certified financial technician and member of the UK Society of Technical Analysts. He loves to trade and write about stocks, Forex, and CFDs. Since 2009, he has consulted several financial companies as a trader and strategy developer. His work can be seen on several forex blogs and trading educational websites.

Published by
Written By: Eno Eteng (MSTA)