by Chris Curran
April 2, 2004
Stock index futures opened Thursday's session all dressed up, and looking for some place to go. The ES quickly closed the small opening gap and got a further boost after the higher-than-expected ISM Index at 10:00. The ES showed good relative strength against all TICK pullbacks to make new highs on each bounce, but finally ran out of steam at daily R2 and MA resistance.
The June SP 500 futures closed Thursday's session with a gain of +4.25 points, and finished in the upper half of its daily range. Volume in the ES was estimated at 640,000 contracts, behind Wednesday's pace, but still at the daily average. Looking at the daily chart, the ES closed right at its 50-day MA and 62% retracement of the March down move.
June bonds (ZB) breached the daily uptrend line, but managed a late move to settle on it. The U.S. Dollar broke its 50-day MA support, but managed to hold the 50% retracement of its Feb-Mar up move. The Banking Index (BKX) continues to show good relative strength, but stalled at the 101.30 resistance area to form a possible 2nd right shoulder.
The Semiconductor Index (SOX) managed to break its down channel, but stalled at 50-day MA resistance. The VIX is trying to find a base on top of daily MA support.
Friday morning gives us the highly anticipated March jobs data at 8:30 ET. Estimates are calling for an increase in Non-Farm Payrolls by 102,000, up to 123,000. The way the market has moved up in anticipation of a good report, I'll be looking for selling on the news, aside from anything but a pure blowout number. |
