Good morning. Well, that rise was the one that just kept running for most of the day and taking the profit at 6850 was the right thing to do. The short order took at 6749 but was stopped out quite swiftly, fortunately by trailing the stop on the long it didn’t really matter. Today is the last trading day before 4 days off as you know, so I am treating today a bit like a Friday. I don’t think many will want to hold too large a position going into the Easter weekend so we might see a rise and dip day as more profits are banked from the longs held from 6700.
US & Asia Overnight from Bloomberg
Asian stocks rose for the first time in six days, with industrial shares leading gains, as investors await the monthly U.S. jobs report for clues on monetary policy and before many markets around the world close for holidays.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4 percent to 146.53 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The measure fell the past five days, led by declines among health-care and materials companies, after valuations on the regional gauge climbed to the highest level in five years.
A U.S. government report to be released on Friday is forecast to show hiring rose by 245,000 in March. The Federal Reserve has said its first interest-rate increase since 2006 will depend on data showing economic strength and a return to its inflation target.
“You’ve got payrolls tomorrow and you’ve still got the backdrop of Fed rate hikes that I think will come later, rather than sooner,” Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners Ltd., which manages about $7.2 billion, said by phone from Wellington. “We’re still overweight equities but a little bit less so. It will be tougher and more volatile from here and you have to be nimble.”
Japan’s Topix index gained 0.6 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.4 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.4 percent, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 0.4 percent.
Easter Holidays
Markets including Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and most of Europe are closed Friday and Monday for Easter Holidays. The U.S., India, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia are also shut tomorrow.
Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index gained 0.4 percent in the most recent trading. The Shanghai Composite rose to the highest level since March 2008 on Wednesday after government data showed manufacturing unexpectedly expanded. The gauge surged a world-beating 85 percent in the past 12 months, amid speculation of further monetary easing to counter the economic slowdown.
E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.1 percent after the underlying gauge yesterday slipped 0.4 percent. U.S. manufacturing expanded in March at the slowest pace since May 2013, while data from the ADP Research Institute showed companies added fewer workers last month than economists forecast. [Ref]
FTSE Outlook
I have gone for a dip down to the pivot at 6782 to start things off as the 10min chart is looking bearish as I write this. If the pivot holds (and it might well do as the 30minute chart has upward momentum) we could then see a rise towards the top of that 30minute channel again, if it breaks out then the next resistance level to watch is 6860; with 6878 above this – this latter area looks good for a short as we have the 25ema there not he daily, and also the top of the 10 day Bianca at 6882. I don’t think we will be quite as bullish over all as yesterday. That said, if 6882 break then 6910 and 6950 are the next resistance levels likely to be in play. Support wise, as mentioned the pivot at 6782 is followed by the bottom of the 50 day Bianca at 6763, then the bottom of the 20 day at 6710, and the 10 day at 6701. If the pivot does break then yesterdays rise was a big April Fools joke and we are back on for a decline to wards 6600. Looking at the 30min EMAs, they are level pegging at the moment without a clear direction, but shorts or longs using the 25ema as the entry would be god today.