- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly during its recent trading on intraday levels, to achieve almost negligible gains in its last session by 0.02%.
- It gained about 5.14 points only, and settled at the end of trading at the level of 32,661.85, after it fell during Tuesday’s trading by a percentage of -0.71%.
- At the end of a month the index lost 4.2%, the largest percentage loss since September.
Concerns about the Federal Reserve and its rate hikes are still weighing on stock markets, this time reinforced by another round of economic data showing that the economy is still strong despite a series of rate hikes and hawkish comments from central bank officials.
Looking at recent comments from policymakers Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostick called for interest rates to rise above 5%, and as part of an online article added that the rate should be held in that area for longer "until 2024".
Elsewhere, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari expressed concern over incoming economic data and said he was open to a 25bp or 50bp rate hike at the Fed's March meeting.
As for today's headline economic data, the ISM gauge of manufacturing activity rose to 47.7 for the month of February. This was the first increase in six months, although the number remained in contraction territory.
Dow Jones Technical Analysis
Technically, the index found some support following the stability of the important support level at 32,582, this level that we had referred to in our previous reports. It gave it some positive momentum that helped it achieve those slight gains.
At the same time, it is also trying to drain some of its clear selling saturation with the relative strength indicators, especially with the start of a positive crossover in them. This was in light of the dominance of the bearish trend in the medium term and its trading along a slope line, as shown in the attached chart for a period of time (daily), with the continuation of Negative pressure for its trading below the simple moving average for the previous 50-day period.
Therefore, our expectations suggest that the index will return to decline during its upcoming trading, especially if it breaks the aforementioned support at 32,582, to then target the first support level at 31,727.00.
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