Good morning. Well I just wasn’t patient enough with that 6675 long, it looked weak for most of the day since the order took then finally took off to a high 6725 though has since dropped back. Bit of caution needed today as its NFP Friday, though I have a feeling we will rise unto and possible on the news. If the bulls manage to break the 6725 then 6736, 6746 are attainable, though the 10 day trends, both Raff and Bianca are heading down now – tops at 6770 and 6736 respectively. ECB news yesterday was basically a No to QE now, though reassess in the New Year. The BoE unsurprisingly left interest rates and also their asset purchase unchanged. NFP is forecast at 230k versus 214k previous.
Asia Overnight from Bloomberg
Asia’s regional benchmark index was little changed ahead of a monthly U.S. jobs report. Materials shares led declines, while consumer companies advanced.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP)slipped less than 0.1 percent to 140.68 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets opened in Hong Kong and China. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. slid 4 percent in Sydney. The Asian equity gauge is flat this week, with investors looking to today’s U.S. payrolls data to confirm that the American recovery is on a strong footing.
“The release of the U.S. jobs figure is likely to dictate caution amongst traders,” said Ric Spooner, Sydney-based chief markets analyst at CMC Markets Australia. “While the U.S. economy continues to expand at a moderate pace, there has been some patchiness in recent data including consumer confidence, personal spending and durable goods orders. Against that background, markets will be looking for assurance that the momentum of jobs growth is being sustained in the U.S.”
Today’s payrolls report may show U.S. employers added more than 200,000 jobs in November for the 10th straight month, while the jobless rate held at the lowest level since July 2008.
Japan’s Topix index retreated 0.1 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index and South Korea’s Kospi index were little changed.
Futures on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms listed in Hong Kong added 0.5 percent. The gauge has climbed 3 percent this week and closed yesterday at the highest level in a year.
The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) surged 4.3 percent yesterday, extending gains to 19 percent over the past month, the most among 93 global equity indexes. The rally, which has coincided with increased use of leverage, is spurring mainland investors to open share accounts at the fastest pace in three years and sending trading values to record highs.
U.S. Futures
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed after the underlying gauge slipped 0.1 percent, falling from an all-time high.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said yesterday the region’s central bank will reassess stimulus next quarter. Draghi’s comments damped speculation the central bank was poised to start a program of sovereign-debt purchases known as quantitative easing after policy makers kept interest rates unchanged.
The ECB’s Governing Council expects to consider a package of broad-based asset purchases including sovereign debt next month, two euro-area central-bank officials familiar with the deliberations said. [ref]
FTSE Outlook
So, NFP here again with a 230k forecast, released at 13:30 so likely to be pretty choppy around then. I have a hunch that buying the dip and holding it today might be a decent play. We have the daily pivot showing support at the 6695 area where we currently are, though it does feel like things are weakening – or rather just slowing down early December for a push towards the end of the month. The bottom of the 10 day channels are at 6646 for the 10 day Bianca, 6677 for the 20 day Bianca, 6652 for the 20 day Raff and 6620 for the 10 day Raff. So some decent daily support at 6650 as 2 match up at that level. If that breaks then 6620 and possibly lower – 6580 maybe are the next areas to watch.
Resistance today is initially at yesterdays high at 6725, with 6736 top of the 10 day Bianca above that. 6746 is next after that. i realise I am throwing a lot of numbers out there today but the chop from the last 2 days has made the charts a bit messy for me, so just to sort the main levels out, resistance is 6746, support 6669 for today.