• Rate cut not coming yet from PBOC
• FTSE 100 nearing some key levels

It’s been a disappointing start to the week in Europe but I’m not sure investors will be too downbeat as a result given the strong gains recorded over the last five sessions.

The Chinese data didn’t help kick things off in a more positive manner, with GDP figures for the second quarter falling well short of expectations as retail sales also decelerated sharply, recording their lowest increase since late last year.

Of course, the data remains noisy due to varying base effects but the overall theme is clear, domestic demand is underwhelming and external demand isn’t inspiring either. Stimulus is likely going to be needed in the second half of the year backed up by some monetary support but we may have to wait a little longer for that to be announced.

The MLF was left unchanged today at 2.65% which means the same will probably be true of the one and five-year LPRs later in the week. A cut could have helped offset some of the data disappointment although, in the absence of targeted fiscal measures, it may have ultimately been akin to pushing on a piece of string so waiting probably makes more sense.

Is a significant breakout coming?

The small declines in the FTSE at the start of the week come on the back of Friday’s reversal which produced a shooting star candlestick around the two lows from last month. Whether that is a bearish signal, a confirmation of sorts, or simply a sign of some profit-taking isn’t yet clear. But it clearly hasn’t built on that negative momentum today.

If it does turn higher again then the area around 7,550 could be interesting from the perspective of it being roughly the high from earlier this month and the area of the 200/233-day simple moving average band. It’s worth noting that these MA bands haven’t been great as areas of support and resistance over the last year or so, which is normal when the price is ultimately trending sideways, but if we do eventually see it trend higher or lower, it may react to them more.

Below, the rising trend line – from March 2020 lows – could be interesting as the price appeared to respond to it last week. A break below here may be significant, especially if followed by a move below 7,200. Ultimately, a lot of this could depend on the economic data, the most notable of which this week comes Wednesday in the form of the UK CPI data.