The USA100 is trading a bit lower than its opening price today, sticking to its usual downward trend. On the 30-minute chart, the index has been making lower highs and lows for the last 9 price waves, even with some recent positive movement. Even though there was a small increase during the European session, it’s still lower than the previous high of $17,600. If the price drops below $17,247, it could keep going down. Currently, technical analysis is illustrating a bearish bias based on the main Moving Averages and Oscillators.

Big factors right now are tensions in the Middle East and companies’ earnings. A recent attack on Iran isn’t good news for the stock market, but things would have to get worse to really hurt it. Netflix just shared their earnings, reporting $9.37 billion in revenue, which was more than the expected $9.27 billion. Their Earnings per Share also beat estimates at $5.28 compared to $4.51. But even with good numbers, their stock dropped by 6.50% in pre-trading because they said they won’t confirm new subscriptions anymore. Other companies like Proctor and Gamble and Amex also released their earnings and both saw their stocks go down after.

Looking at the performance of individual stocks, 7 out of the top 25 most important ones are trading lower, suggesting a downward trend. Investors hope this continues in the US session. On a positive note, the US Dollar Index and US Bond Yields are both lower, which is good for the stock market.

US Unemployment Claims are still low, showing that the job market is strong. The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Mrs. Mester, recently said that they’ll only lower interest rates when consumer prices start moving towards their target of 2.0%. The Fed being strict continues to be a problem for the stock market, but if next week’s earnings reports are better than expected, it might ease up a bit.