<<CHICAGO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. December Standard & Poor's 500 futures ended lower in a technical selloff that was sparked after the
contract failed once again to rise through its 200-day moving average, traders and analysts said.
That average came in at 1,096.50 on Tuesday, and traders had expected December at least to test that level since it had rallied to a new
two-month high of 1,093.50 in early trade. ''I thought we were going to do it and get up to that level,'' one S&P futures trader said of the 200-day moving average. ''But it met good resistance.'' ''Dealers just figured that the monthly high would be the top for a while and wanted to take profits,'' another floor trader said.
Institutional selling turned particularly heavy at 1,090 and almost all dealers were active sellers as the contract then brushed below intraday support levels of 1,086 to 1,088, they said. They noted that one U.S. institution was an intermittent buyer of December S&Ps. This firm continued to buy the contract as it probed near the October 22 low of 1,067 in late pit trade, they said. >>
"one U.S. institution" PPT? -g- |
