- The S&P 500 remains in a bullish trend, though overbought signals suggest a potential pause or correction.
- Key support levels to monitor on the S&P 500 futures chart are 6053 and 6000 as the index tests record highs.
- With the market's strong rally, investors should remain cautious and ready for risk management as potential pullbacks emerge.
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Risk appetite continued to remain insatiable in the first half of Thursday’s session, with Bitcoin surging through the $100K hurdle and some to reach $104K, while the German DAX index hit yet another record high, reaching north of 20,300.
In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at new highs on Wednesday. Index futures were trading flat at the time of writing as investors awaited the OPEC+ decision and the release of US jobless claims today, ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Trump Trade Continues to Dominate – But When Will It Be Fully Priced In?
Investors are continuing to pour funds into assets that have benefitted since Trump’s election victory. But soon, the market will wonder whether we have now priced in the potential impact of Trump’s win on the US economy and stock markets, and whether investors have even overreacted.
The markets are looking quite overvalued now with the major indices nearing technically overbought levels. Still. dip-buying remains the name of the game until the charts tell us otherwise. Therefore, even if the market were to weaken a little bit, this won’t necessarily be the end of the bull market until we have a proper bearish reversal signal to work with.
S&P 500 Technical Analysis and Trade Ideas
The trend bullish trend that started in August continues to remain in place for the US stock market, as you can see with the series of higher highs and higher lows printed on this S&P 500 futures chart. Traders have bought every dip they got their hands on.
While the index is now getting a little overstretched, until we see an end in the trend of higher highs and higher lows, there is little point in trying to figure out where the market may eventually top – though we can always be prepared with sound risk management such as always ensuring to have stops in place in case something happens.
Currently, the S&P 500 is residing inside what looks like a bullish channel. It is also holding comfortably above the long-term trend line, as well as the 21- and 200-day moving averages, and trading at record highs.
S&P 500 Looking a Little Overstretched
But after such a strong rally, there are a couple of warning signals that the index may be a little overstretched again, requiring some basing or consolidation, or a proper correction, before we potentially see more highs.
The daily RSI, for example, is now near the overbought threshold of 70.00, although it has been quite common for the RSI to get even more overbought before the underlying index pulls back or consolidates. The monthly RSI, meanwhile, continues to hold above 70.00 since the summer – and this will eventually have to be addressed.
What’s more, the S&P has now reached the 161.8% Fibonacci extension level at 6092, derived from the last significant downswing that took place back in mid-July and ended in early August. In strong bullish trends especially for markets trading at record highs, Fibonacci-based strategies are often used to determine targets. Thus, we could potentially see some profit taking around these levels in the days ahead.
Key Support Levels to Watch on ES
So, in the event we do see a bit of a pullback, what are the key support levels to watch then, you may ask?
Well, on the S&P 500 futures chart, the first key level of support for me is now at 6053, which marks the post-election high made on November 11, before we took it out at the end of that month. Below this, 6000 comes into focus – a psychologically important handle – followed by the support trend of the channel, around 5915 currently. Some of the slightly longer-term levels are seen around 5893 and 5805.
SPY Levels to Watch
One way to trade the S&P 500 is through the SPDR S&P 500 ETF – or more commonly known as SPY (its symbol). This exchange-traded fund is designed to track the S&P 500 index by holding a portfolio comprising all 500 companies on the index.
The corresponding level of the abovementioned 6053 support on the S&P futures chart, is at 600 on the SPY.
Disclaimer: This article is written for informational purposes only; it does not constitute a solicitation, offer, advice, counsel or recommendation to invest as such it is not intended to incentivize the purchase of assets in any way. I would like to remind you that any type of asset, is evaluated from multiple perspectives and is highly risky and therefore, any investment decision and the associated risk remains with the investor.