FTSE 100: The Sluggish Price Action Continues to Dominate

2016-03-21 08:26:00

Alejandro Zambrano, Market Analyst

Talking Points

The FTSE 100 is short-term bullish above 6006 and a break to this level could turn the trend bearish.
Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index and U.S. Existing Home Sales on deck today and forecasted at 0.25 and +2.9% MoM respectively (Bloomberg news poll).

The FTSE 100 has kept a sluggish upward bias over the last few weeks, a trend which may continue, as long as price trades above the March 10 low of 6006.

On a rising trend, price tends to seek out the next resistance level, which is now the December 29 high of 6321. This may be a target for bullish traders.

For the technical trend to turn bearish and bullish traders to abandon their view, price would need to break its upward momentum, something which may happen on a break to the March 10 low of 6006. If the bullish trend was to end, price could fall to the February 24 low of 5843, as it is the next major level where prices have found support beyond the March 10 low.

Given the above reasoning we note that the March 10 low of 6006 is important for both bullish and bearish traders. The bullish traders may see corrections towards the 6006 level as short-term in nature and thereby as an opportunity to add to their exposure. The bearish traders will probably wait for a clean break to the 6006 low and as such a break may prelude even lower prices in the coming days ahead.

Data on deck which may influence the FTSE 100 is the Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index and the U.S. Existing Home Sales. The former is expected to project a decline to 0.25 from 0.28 by a Bloomberg news poll, while the latter is expected to project a decline by 2.9% MoM from +0.4% in January.

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

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FTSE 100 | FXCM: UK100