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S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Short-term Trading Levels

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Short-term Trading Levels

What’s inside:

  • The S&P 500 sells off from resistance, looking to support levels
  • The Nasdaq 100 takes a hit below support, Aamzon and Google reported earnings
  • U.S. GDP/Personal Consumption data due out at 12:30 GMT, could be chart altering

S&P 500

Yesterday, shortly off the open the S&P 500 turned sharply lower from the staunch resistance zone we had penciled in at 2146/50 (2147 was the day high). This quickly brought into play support by way of a trend-line off the 10/13 low, as well as a lower parallel running back to the 10/17 swing low. The market closed just beneath these nearly intersecting levels of support, which puts the area right around 2130 into focus. A clean break of 2130 clears a path to 2124 (a lower parallel also lies in this area) and then the key daily swing low at 2115.

If support levels hold, we’ll turn our attention towards a minor trend-line starting from Monday and then the 2146/48 area where lies horizontal resistance and the trend-line off the 10/10 swing high. Above key resistance, 2155 and the major trend-line off the 9/7 peak come into view.

S&P 500: Hourly

Created with Tradingview

Nasdaq 100

The Nasdaq 100 dropped below the lower parallel of the channel rising up from the 10/13 swing low, and in the process, it also took out important horizontal support dating back to the beginning of the month. This area in the 4342/48 vicinity is now viewed as a fairly substantial zone of resistance should the market rally to that point. The descending parallels off Monday’s high will become a factor as well, but how they do so will depend on where the market opens. The lower parallel is viewed as a minor form of support and a more substantial area of resistance at the upper parallel given the short-term trend is pointed lower.

Support currently comes in at the trend-line rising up from the 9/12 swing low. Amazon (AMZN) reported earnings right after yesterday’s closing bell, selling off sharply (-5% in early pre-market this morning) and also hitting the Nasdaq futures by about 25 handles in the process from the 20:00 GMT cash close to the 20:15 close in futures. Google (GOOG/GOOGL) beat on earnings, but only saw a modest pop (higher by a little more than 1% in pre-market). So, there will likely be a gap towards the 9/12 trend-line once the cash session opens, barring a jump on U.S. data. A break below the 9/12 trend-line would be meaningful, bringing into play the 10/20 swing low at 4806, then ~4790, and finally 4760 with aggressive selling pressure.

Nasdaq 100: Hourly

Created with Tradingview

At this time, the S&Ps are trading higher by 3.5 while the Nasdaq futures are up 4.5 from the 20:15 GMT futures close. At 12:30, we have GDP and Personal Consumption figures; consensus estimates are for annualized growth rates of 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively. Depending on the outcome, the market could open beyond levels outlined. We’ll adjust accordingly (i.e. an open below support will turn former support into new resistance and vice versa).

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---Written by Paul Robinson, Market Analyst

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DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

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