FTSE 100 Support 6838 6834 6807 6796 6785
FTSE 100 Resistance 6860 6863 6883 6899

Good morning. Fairly flat day yesterday with a couple of tests of the recent 6885 high, but mostly hovering around the 6850 area while we await news from the Fed later this week. There is a fairly small dividend today of 2.2 which is unlikely to get the divi hunters too excited. Though there hasn’t been as much divi chasing towards the close recently as there used to be.

US & Asia Overnight from Bloomberg

Asian stocks climbed, led by shares in Tokyo, on speculation the Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise interest rates amid mixed data in the world’s largest economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent to 139.34 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan’s Topix index increased 0.7 percent as the yen traded at 100.34 against the U.S. dollar. The S&P 500 Index closed near a record high as reports showing a surge in American new home sales and a slowdown in manufacturing brought into question the hawkish tone of recent comments from Fed officials. There’s a 28 percent chance of a rate hike in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on Fed fund futures.

“While recent U.S. data has been mixed, the base case for the Fed is probably to increase rates in the absence of any compelling reason not to,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets, said by phone. “The Fed is aware that there’s a substantial risk that if economic conditions deteriorate, they have very little room to move. Given this, the central bank wants to normalize rates as soon as they can.”Asian stocks have fluctuated this month as investors scrutinize economic data and comments from Fed officials to assess the prospects for higher U.S. rates. Investors are waiting for Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech later this week at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.1 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.1 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong have yet to start trading.

Futures on the China A50 Index were little changed in most recent trading, while those on the Hang Seng Index added 0.2 percent. Chinese stocks declined in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index sliding 0.2 percent, dragged down by energy producers after oil prices tumbled on global oversupply concerns. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the U.S. equity benchmark index rose 0.2 percent on Tuesday. American equities showed signs of breaking out of a torpor, with Monsanto Co. leading a rally in raw-material shares as it’s said to be closer to a merger with Bayer AG. Chipmakers boosted the technology group, and Best Buy Co. surged 20 percent after surprising earnings.

Oil fell as industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles expanded, adding to a global glut of supply. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped as much as 1.3 percent in early Asian trading after climbing 1.5 percent on Tuesday. [Bloomberg]

FTSE 100 Outlook and Prediction

We might well have another fairly lacklustre day today while we await Yellen’s speech following the Jackson Hole meeting tomorrow. Most traders are looking for clues from the Fed for interest rates and general feeling about the future, as US data recently have been fairly mixed. That said, we have the 2hour chart showing support at 6838 so might well see a bit of a bounce here if tested – its also the S1 level for today.

Resistance wise the 30min chart looks fairly bearish to start with, with resistance at the pivot at 6860, and the coral at 6863. So, we might fluctuate between those levels today, though slightly wider resistance is at 6899 for the 10 day Bianca and support at 6796.