U.S. Indices Attempt To Recover Post-FED

FED-day came as a shock to the U.S. indices, with popular sentiment souring as the session progressed. Today’s opening bell brought more of the same, as equities players once again showed skepticism toward current stock market valuations. The DJIA, S&P 500 SPX, and NASDAQ all opened moderately in the red before returning to near-flat levels.

The pre-Wall Street hours featured several secondary employment metrics, a preview of Friday’s U.S. NonFarm Payrolls report. Here is a quick look at the data:

Event                                                             Actual         Projected           Previous

Challenger Job Cuts (April)                          40.023K           NA                  60.587K

Continuing Jobless Claims (April 26)          1.671M          1.659M            1.654M

Initial Jobless Claims (April 26)                     230K               215K                 230K

Aside from the improvement in Challenger Job Cuts (April), this set of numbers shows slumping employment levels. Friday’s NFP report is expected to come in at 185K, down from 196K in March. If today’s stats are any indication, then U.S. NFP may disappoint expectations.

A Post-FED Correction In The S&P 500?

Wednesday’s early-session strength in the S&P 500 proved to be short-lived, as bearish sentiment crushed valuations toward the closing bell. However, the U.S. indices have been resilient all year long. Accordingly, the June E-mini S&P 500 is attempting to regain some of the FED-session losses.

Here are the levels to watch for the remainder of the trading day:

• Resistance(1): Psyche Level, 2950.00
• Support(1): Bollinger MP, 2900.00
• Support(2): Daily SMA, 2896.00

Overview: Earlier in the session, the June E-mini S&Ps posted a two-tick failed auction beneath Wednesday’s low. This is a short-term bullish signal and it suggests that buyers were waiting to bid this market in concert with the long-term trend. At this point (10:00 AM EST), it is best to respect the topside potential of today’s S&P 500 market. An intraday bullish bias is appropriate until the current session low of 2915.50 is taken out.