- Summary:
- The S&P 500 index is trading lower this Thursday, as traders fail to respond to the upbeat initial jobless claims data that has hit 1-year lows.
The S&P 500 index is on the back foot this Thursday, as energy stocks declined on the day.
Traders are holding off making definitive bets on the index as the jobs report for April is expected on Friday. As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.3% on the day.
The Energy Index down 0.78%, making it the worst-performing of the 11 indices listed on the S&P 500 index. This is based on struggling crude oil prices, which could not hold on to gains made early Wednesday on the enormous oil inventories drawdown.
Not even the upbeat Initial Jobless Claims report could convince traders to take bullish bets. The report showed a decline in the jobless claims to 498,000 in the week ended May 1. This figure bettered the market expectation of 540,000 but did not trigger any response ahead of Friday’s Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data.,
Technical Levels to Note
Thursday’s price decline has met support at the 4150.4 support level. Price is currently showing progressively lower lows, which indicates the possibility of a further decline. If this decline eventually plays out and the price takes out the 4150.4 support, then 4113.2 (23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the C-D wave) becomes the next downside target. Below this level, 4062.8 and 4022.1 are additional targets to the south, as are 3950.1 and 3910.5.
On the flip side, bulls need to see price recovery above 4200 for new highs at 4225, 4250, and 4301.0 to become available as new targets. This move would need to find momentum off a bounce from a support level. If 4150.4 is the support level of choice, then the price would need to break beyond 4176.6 and 4200 to become a reality.
S&P 500 Index; Daily Chart
