The FTSE 100 Rises on a Dovish Fed

Talking Points

• The FTSE 100 rises as the Fed sends a dovish message.
• On a break to 6221, traders may target the December 29 high of 6322.
• Today, the Bank of England concludes its rate meeting and is expected to leave key rates and asset purchases unchanged.
• Later in the day the Philadelphia Fed and U.S. Jobless Claims are on tap.

The FTSE 100 (FXCM: UK100) is slightly higher today in line with European indexes. The motivation for the latest rise is yesterday’s dovish message by the Fed. A key change was the reduction of the Fed implied rate by the end of the year, now signaling two rate hikes from four in December. This has lowered interest rates and boosted risk appetite. For more on this please read: FOMC Holds and the Dots Go Down: USD Crushed

Technicals

From a technical point of view the FTSE is trapped between the ECB rate meeting low of 6002 and the March 4 high of 6221.

On a break to the upper limit of 6221, traders may target the December 29 high of 6322, followed by the December 3 high of 6449.

In the alternative scenario prices may breach last Thursday’s low of 6002, which turns the short-term trend bearish. In this scenario the February 24 low of 5839 would come into play, followed by the January 20 low of 5598.

Data on tap

Today, the Bank of England hosts their rate meeting and it’s expected that they will leave rates unchanged at 5.1% and asset purchases at £375b. Later in the day the Philadelphia Fed and Jobless Claims are on tap.

For the estimates and more economic indicators on tap today, see our economic calendar.

Download the DailyFX Analysts' 1Q forecasts for the Dollar, Euro, Pound, Equities and Gold

FTSE 100 | FXCM: UK100

Created with Marketscope/Trading Station II; prepared by Alejandro Zambrano

--- Written by Alejandro Zambrano, Market Analyst for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Alejandro on Twitter: @AlexFX00

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