- The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined during its recent trading on intraday levels, to record losses for the second day in a row, by -0.18%.
- It lost about -58.06 new points, and close at the end of trading away from the lowest levels of the session at the level of 32,798.41, after incurring sharp losses.
- During trading on Tuesday, it increased by -1.72%.
The market seems to need to digest continued comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Fed chairman hinted that the Fed may eventually have to push interest rates higher than previously expected and for longer, along with strong economic data that reinforces that narrative.
Stocks took strong losses on Tuesday after Powell made hawkish remarks as part of his routine congressional testimony. After that drop stocks rebounded for most of Wednesday's session as investors expressed hesitation about the markets' next move.
On the second day of his congressional testimony on Wednesday, Powell reiterated his message of higher and possibly faster rate hikes. However, he suggested that the next rate hike decision hinges on the data to be released before the March Fed meeting.
Data released on Wednesday did little to calm concerns about rising rates, as it showed that private payrolls in the US increased more than expected in February.
Another report showed that US employment fell less than expected in January, and the previous month's data was revised higher. It points to persistently strong labor market conditions fueling fears that this would keep the Fed on track to raise interest rates for a longer period.
Dow Jones Technical Analysis
Technically, the index relied during its recent trading on the important support level of 32,582, which gained some positive momentum due to the stability of this support. It bounced back from it slightly to reduce some of the losses of the session, considering the continued negative pressure for its trading below the simple moving average for the previous 50-day period. Under the dominance of the bearish trend over the medium term, and is trading along a trend line, as shown in the attached chart for a (daily) period. In addition to that, we notice the start of a negative intersection with the relative strength indicators.
Therefore, our expectations indicate a further decline for the index during its upcoming trading, especially if it breaks the support at 32,582, to then target the first support level at 31,727.
