resistance zone

Yesterday’s price action of Nasdaq 100 has reintegrated back below the upper limit of the “Ascending Wedge” with a bearish breakdown below its daily RSI momentum indicator. Short-term momentum is still bearish as the Index has broken below the 20-day moving average which has also turned flat. 14,980 is the key short-term resistance to watch. This is a follow-up on our prior analysis “Nasdaq 100 Technical: Squeezed up ahead of CPI and FOMC” published on 13 June 2023. It rallied and hit the key 15,100/270 resistance zone as expected (click here for a recap). Interestingly, after the Nasdaq 100, the top performer among the benchmark US stock indices (recorded a year-to-date return of +36.12% as of 23 June 2023) hit the 15,270 key medium-term pivotal resistance (printed on intraday high of 15,285 on 16 June 2023), it shed a weekly loss of -1.28% for the week of 20 June 2023 which was its worst weekly loss in around three months.   At the risk of forming a medium-term blow-off top   Fig 1: US Nas 100 medium-term trend as of 27 Jun 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The recent price actions of the US Nas 100 (a proxy for the Nasdaq 100 futures) has reintegrated back below the upper limit of the bearish “Ascending Wedge” configuration yesterday, 26 June, and had a daily below it which indicates that the prior break above this upper limit on 12 June is considered as a failure bullish breakout (see daily chart). In addition, the daily RSI oscillator has broken below its key corresponding ascending trendline support at the 58 level which suggests that medium-term momentum may have turned bearish that in turn reinforces the potential medium-term blow-off view. The key medium-term support to watch will be at 13,660 (lower limit of the “Ascending Wedge”, 50-day moving average, former swing high area of 15 August 2022 & close to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the up move from 28 December 2022 low to 16 June 2023).     Short-term momentum remains bearish   Fig 2: US Nas 100 short-term minor trend as of 27 Jun 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Price actions of the Index have broken below the 20-day moving average that has started to turn flat (see 1-hour chart). The hourly RSI oscillator has continued to inch downwards towards the oversold level of below 30 but no bullish divergence signal yet. Watch the 14,980 key short-term pivotal resistance and a break below 14,580 support exposes the next support at 14,255/220. On the flip side, a clearance above 14,980 negates the bullish tone to see a retest on the 15,260/270 key medium-term resistance.      

NAS100 Daily   It is currently trading within a zone that has been notable as resistance since the start of last year, with the price failing in February and March of 2022 and again in June and July this year. A move above this zone could be a very bullish signal and a sign that the tide has turned for the tech space. Above here, 16,000 and 16,500-16,700 will be interesting as well, having been significant when it peaked back in 2021. But with so much enthusiasm around AI, if interest rate risks and economic fears do subside, there may be a question of whether those levels could be tested earlier than some even recently assumed. Of course, these things don’t always move so smoothly and there’s been plenty of setbacks in recent years. A break of the blue trend line could suggest the market has become overbought or such as setback has occurred. But right now, enthusiasm only appears to be building and the stochastic may be saying something similar, having produced some higher highs recently. The MACD still looks less convincing.    

EUR/USD excessively overbought? The euro-dollar ascent was mostly a one-way move for most of July.  After inflation eased to the slowest pace in more than two years, the dollar tumbled.  With the Fed entering their blackout period before the July 26th FOMC meeting, the lack of hawkish pushback has allowed the dollar to remain vulnerable to further pain just ahead of the 1.1300 handle.  Bullish momentum has cleared multiple hurdles but the 1.1350 level should prove to be rather strong. While the end of the Fed’s tightening cycle appears to be in place, expectations are shifting that the ECB might not be that far from pausing their rate hiking cycle.  Today’s comment from ECB’s Knot, a well-known hawk, suggested that they could be ready to pause in September and that it might hinge on the inflation data going forward. All eyes will be on the Wednesday’s second reading of euro-area inflation. The EUR/USD daily chart displays a potential bearish butterfly pattern. Point D is targeted with the 1.414 1.414% Fibonacci expansion level of the X to A move and the B to C leg.  If dollar strength emerges here, downside could target the 1.1050 level. If invalidated, bullish momentum could surge above the 1.1300 region, potentially targeting the 1.1450 resistance zone.     USD/JPY dead-cat-bounce or sustainable rally? The plunge for dollar-yen accelerated after last week’s cooler-than-expected inflation report shifted Fed rate hike expectations. The macro backdrop has mostly seen investors calling for pain for the Japanese yen since 2021.  Hedge funds ramped up bearish yen bets(according to the COT report for the week through July 11th), taking their net short positions to the largest level since last May. Now the focus also includes the BOJ, which includes some disappointment with keeping the BOJ keeping Yield Curve Control intact. Yen volatility could remain excessive if the Fed signals more tightening might need to be done after the July 26th FOMC meeting and if BOJ doesn’t tweak their policy. Over the next couple of weeks, it seems that the yen rally will either cool towards 141.50 (a temporary recovery) or we will see it surge below 136.00 (the downtrend remains in place).        

Recent bullish breakout from “Descending Wedge” has led to a 10% rally to reach a medium-term resistance zone of US$83.80/84.90. Technical elements are now advocating a potential corrective pull-back with supports coming in at US$79.80 and US$77.20. Today’s surprise three interest rate cuts by China’s central bank, PBoC has triggered a risk-off behaviour in cross-assets (FX, stock indices, commodities) via a negative reflexivity feedback loop.   This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “WTI Oil Technical: Potential bullish reversal Descending Wedge in play” published on 21 July 2023. Click here for a recap. The price actions of West Texas Oil (a proxy of WTI crude oil futures) have indeed shaped the bullish breakout from its “Descending Wedge” configuration on 24 July and rallied by +10% to print an intraday high of US$84.92 per barrel on last Thursday, 10 August which coincided with a medium-term resistance zone of US$83.80/84.90 (see daily chart). Today, West Texas Oil has shed almost -1% intraday at this time of the writing to print an intraday low of $81.60 that recorded an accumulated loss of -3.7% in the past two sessions since Thursday, 10 August high of US$84.92. The current weakness of oil has been in line with a broad-based risk-off behaviour seen in cross-assets today (FX, major stock indices & industrial metals commodities) attributed to the contagion fear in China’s financial system after a major trust fund failed to make timely payments to holders of its wealth management products that are backed by unsold properties of indebted property developers. Today’s unexpected interest rate cut by China’s central bank, PBoC on its 1-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) interest rate by 15 basis points (bps), more than the previous 10 bps cut implemented in June to bring it down to 2.50%, its lowest level since late 2009. The 1-year MLF rate is a benchmark interest rate in China where PBoC provides a credit line to major commercial banks which in turn acts as a guide for another two benchmark interest rates that commercial banks charged to customers: the 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates. Interestingly, PBoC enacted two more interest rate cuts today on the overnight standing lending facility (SLF) which was cut by 10 bps to 2.65% while the 7-day and 1-month SLF rates were cut by 10 bps each to 2.80% and 3.15% respectively. Three interest rate cuts in a single day are considered a “rare” event in China given that the current guidance from China’s top policymakers is in favour of targeted stimulus policies to address the current economic growth slowdown rather than enacting “opening the liquidity floodgate” measures. Hence, today’s surprise move on China’s more accommodative monetary policy stance is perceived as a heightened red alert on its financial system where trust firms’ default risks have risen that may trigger a systemic contagion which in turn created the negative reflexivity feedback loop seen today.     Daily RSI oscillator conditions suggest an imminent short-term pull-back   Fig 1:  West Texas Oil medium-term trend as of 15 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The daily RSI oscillator flashed a bearish divergence condition at its overbought region on 9 August 2023 which suggests that the medium-term upside momentum of West Texas Oil is overstretched, and its price actions face the risk of a corrective pull-back to retrace certain portions of the current 26% rally of its medium-term uptrend phase from 28 June 2023 low of US$66.95. A bearish breakdown below minor ascending channel support   Fig 2:  West Texas Oil minor short-term trend as of 15 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Today’s price actions of West Texas Oil have staged a bearish breakdown below its minor ascending channel support from the 28 June 2023 low. Watch the US$83.80 key short-term pivotal resistance to maintain the short-term bearish tone to see the next support coming in at US$79.80 and a break below it exposes US$77.20 next (also the key 200-day moving average). On the flip side, a clearance above US$83.80 invalidates the corrective pull-back scenario for a retest of the 10 August 2023 swing high area of US$84.90 and a clearance above it sees the next resistance coming in at US$87.00 (psychology level & Fibonacci extension).  

EUR/USD   Higher Timeframes Bearish players slowly and cautiously broke through the daily cloud last week, reinforced by the weekly medium-term trend (1.0898), and closed the week below the encountered supports. Consolidation in the bearish zone relative to the cloud and continued decline opens new perspectives and opportunities. The nearest supports now are 1.0835–05 (monthly short-term trend + final level of the weekly cross). Further attention will be directed to the support of the monthly medium-term trend (1.0725) and the achievement of the daily target for breaking the Ichimoku cloud. A change of mood and a return to the market of bullish players will bring back the relevance of the attraction and influence of the weekly medium-term trend (1.0898), and above, the market will face resistance from the lower border of the daily cloud and the daily short-term trend (1.0954). There is a fairly wide resistance zone from levels of different timeframes above (1.0986 – 1.1001 – 1.1055 – 1.1112).     H4 – H1 As of writing, the main advantage on the lower timeframes belongs to the bearish players. However, the pair is in the correction zone, using the central pivot point (1.0871) as the current support. The next resistance is the weekly long-term trend (1.0896). This level is key and is responsible for the current balance of power. Consolidation above and a reversal of the moving average can transfer the main advantage to the bullish side. The next targets for the intraday rise will be the resistance levels of the classic pivot points (1.0920 – 1.0945). If the correction stops and the pair updates the low of the correction (1.0846), the downward trend will be restored. Targets for the continuation of the decline will be the supports of the classic pivot points (1.0822 – 1.0798). GBP/USD   Higher Timeframes Last week, the pair once again tested the weekly support (1.2629) for strength and again marked the slowdown and rebound. The daily cloud continued to support the bullish players. As a result, the pair consolidated above the daily short-term trend (1.2715) in the daily cloud. The unpassed and left-behind levels (1.2629 – 1.2597) still retain their value and continue to serve as the nearest important supports for this area. Just as the resistance zone 1.2816 – 1.2865 – 1.2893 – 1.2940 (levels of the daily Ichimoku cross + weekly short-term trend + lower border of the monthly cloud) has not changed its position and significance. H4 – H1 On the lower timeframes, there is uncertainty. The key levels today have joined forces around 1.2721–28 (central pivot point + weekly long-term trend). A prolonged stay above the key levels has allowed the bullish players to retain some advantage, thus forming a bullish target for breaking the H4 cloud (1.2798 – 1.2818). In the development of directional movement, the classic pivot points will come into play. The bullish players will benefit from resistances (1.2767 – 1.2805 – 1.2844), while the bearish players will need supports (1.2690 – 1.2651 – 1.2613).     ***   The technical analysis of the situation uses: Higher timeframes - Ichimoku Kinko Hyo (9.26.52) + Fibo Kijun levels Lower timeframes - H1 - Pivot Points (classic) + Moving Average 120 (weekly long-term trend      

The CHF is the second-best performing major currency against the USD based on a one-month rolling basis. The recent four weeks of up move of USD/CHF has flashed out bullish exhaustion conditions that advocate the potential continuation of its medium-term impulsive down move. 0.8800/8830 is the key resistance zone to watch on the USD/CHF. In the past four weeks, the Swiss Franc (CHF) is the second best-performing major currency against the USD where the CHF just depreciated by -1.40% with the GBP that has come in the first place (-0.67% against the USD) based on a one-month rolling calculation as of 22 August 2023 at this time of the writing.         Fig 1:  Rolling 1-month performance of USD against major currencies as of 22 August 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) In the lens of technical analysis, the rally of +269 pips that was seen on the USD/CHF from its 27 July 2023 low of 0.8553 to the recent 21 August 2023 high of 0.8828 is likely to be a corrective rebound within a medium-term downtrend that is still intact since its 8 March 2023 due to the emergence of several bullish exhaustion elements.     Daily bearish candlestick emerged right at descending channel resistance     Fig 2:  USD/CHF medium-term trend as of 22 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Yesterday’s price action of USD/CHF has staged a bearish reaction right at the upper boundary of the medium-term descending channel that coincides with the downward-sloping 50-day moving average with both acting as a confluence of resistance at 0.8830.     Started to evolve into a minor downtrend     Fig 3:  USD/CHF minor short-term trend as of 22 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Since its 21 August 2023 high of 0.8828, the price actions of USD/CHF have started to oscillate into a minor downtrend in a series of “lower highs and lower lows”. Watch the 0.8800 key short-term pivotal resistance a break below 0.8755 near-term support (also the 20-day moving average) exposing the next support at 0.8700 (minor swing lows of 4/10 August 2023) in the first step. On the flip side, a clearance above 0.8800 negates the bearish tone to set sight again on the 0.8830 medium-term resistance.      

Bearish elements have emerged at a key inflection/resistance level of 15,415. The leader of the AI boom, Nvidia has shaped a bullish exhaustion where its initial price actions’ exuberance dissipated ex-post Q2 earnings result release. 15,135 key short-term resistance to watch on the Nasdaq 100 to maintain bearish bias.   This is a follow-up analysis of our prior reports, “Nasdaq 100 Technical: Minor countertrend rebound” and “D-day for the US stock market as Nvidia earnings loom” published on 15 August 2023 and 23 August 2023 respectively. Click here and here for a recap. The price actions of the US Nas 100 Index (a proxy for the Nasdaq 100 futures) have indeed shaped the expected minor countertrend rebound sequence from the 18 August 2023 low of 14,553 and rallied by +5.6% to print an intraday high of 15,375 during yesterday’s 24 August European opening hour. The upward spurt seen on Thursday, 24 August at the start of the Asian session has been primarily attributed to a strong upmove of +6% seen in the share price of Nvidia in the after-US hours trading session of Wednesday, 23 August right after the release of its stellar fiscal Q2 earnings result. Interestingly, the exuberance of Nvidia that has triggered an initial positive feedback loop into the benchmark US stock indices dissipated as the US session got underway yesterday. In addition, several key bearish technical elements emerged which suggests that the potential impulsive down moves of the short to medium-term bearish trend of the US Nas 100 Index has resumed.   Daily bearish Marubozu candlestick formed right a key inflection/resistance zone   Fig 1: US Nas 100 medium-term trend as of 25 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart)     Fig 2: Medium-term trend of Nvidia & SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF as of 24 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) As seen in Figure 1, several bearish elements have been detected on the daily chart of the US Nas 100 Index. Firstly, its price actions have formed a firm bearish tone candlestick pattern called “Marubozu”, a long-body candle where its opening price and closing price were almost the same as its intraday high and intraday low respectively.   Secondly, the emergence of such a key bearish reversal candlestick pattern is being formed right at a key inflection zone where the 50-day moving average and the former swing low of 24 July 2023 confluence at a 15,415 resistance level adds credence to a potential future bearish movement in price actions of the Index. Thirdly, the current conditions of the daily RSI oscillator suggest that medium-term downside momentum remains intact. The price actions of Nvidia as seen in Fig 2 have also depicted similar bearish elements where it ended yesterday’s 24 August US session with a daily bearish “Marubozu” and reintegrated below a key resistance of 474.10 with a high-volume reading. The US Nas 100 slipped back below the 20-day moving average Fig 3: US Nas 100 minor short-term trend as of 25 Aug 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The hourly chart of the US Nas 100 has indicated the potential continuation of the impulsive down move of its short-term downtrend phase as the minor countertrend rebound from the 18 August 2023 low is likely to be over. Watch the 15,135 key short-term pivotal resistance (also the 20-day moving average) to maintain the bearish tone and a break below 14,580 exposes the next support at 14,300/250 (Fibonacci extension cluster & and a graphical support, refer to the daily chart in Fig 1). On the other hand, a clearance above 15,135 negates the bearish tone to see a retest on the 15,415/460 medium-term resistance.    

Short-term RSI momentum indicator has flashed out bullish exhaustion condition after 6 consecutive weekly positive closes. At the risk of minor corrective decline sequence below 16,910 key short-term resistance. Intermediate supports rest at 16,590 and 16,440. This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “Germany 30 Technical: New intraday record high, short-term bullish trend intact” published on 6 December 2023. Click here for a recap. The Germany 30 Index (a proxy for the DAX futures) has managed to soar towards the 16,780/850 resistance zone as highlighted in our last analysis and printed a fresh all-time high of 16,829 yesterday, 12 December. Overall, the major uptrend phase from the October 2022 low of 11,795 remains intact with its major resistance zone at 17,780/18,170 (see Fig 1). Fig 1: Germany 30 long-term secular trend as of 12 Dec 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) At risk of minor corrective decline after 6 consecutive weekly positive closes Fig 2: Germany 30 minor short-term trend as of 12 Dec 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) In the shorter term, its medium-term uptrend phase in place since the 27 October 2023 low of 14,586 has reached overstretched conditions as it has recorded six consecutive weekly positive closes. In addition, current price actions have almost reached the upper boundary of the medium-term ascending channel with a bearish divergence condition being flashed out by its hourly RSI momentum indicator at its overbought region yesterday, 11 December. These observations suggest an increasing risk of an impending minor corrective decline sequence with 16,910 as a key short-term pivotal resistance and break down below 16,735 near-term support sees the next intermediate supports coming in at 16,590 and 16,440. However, a clearance above 16,910 negates the bearish tone to expose the next intermediate resistance at 17,100.