Nasdaq
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high on Friday, but failed to hold on to those levels after the Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) fell for the first time since April 2020 on the back of surging coronavirus cases.
Analysts had expected the US economy to add 68K jobs, which would have been a shortfall from November payrolls. However, 140K jobs were lost, which was far short of the 336K jobs added in November (an upward revision), with the unemployment rate staying static at 6.7%.
The downbeat NFP report was enough to dampen the mood of investors on the Dow Jones index. However, the downside looks limited as the markets now expect some form of additional stimulus from the Fed in response to the report, which could boost the US markets.
After touching off a new record high today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back to session lows at 30966 at the time of writing, thus forming a hanging man candle. The new high at 31261 was slightly higher than the 78.6% Fibonacci extension at 31158. The pullback move leaves this price level intact as the immediate
resistance level to clear.
On the flip side, the initial downside target rests at 30358, which could come into view if the markets experience continued selling as a fallout of the downbeat NFP report. Below this area, 30101 and 29842 remain the additional downside targets.
