Technical Stock Market Briefing for Day & Swing Traders
| By Harry Boxer, Technical Market Analyst
Stocks Edge Higher Despite Friday Selloff
Most U.S. equity indexes finished the holiday-shortened week higher. Stock indexes were generally up through Thursday and opened higher Friday to new all-time highs Friday morning following the release of some weaker-than-expected labor market data. That fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve would lower short-term interest rates at its next meeting. Unfortunately, sentiment shifted later in the day and stocks gave back their early gains in a sell-the-news wave lower. However, each of the major indexes remained within a few tenths of a percentage point below recent record highs.
The Nasdaq Composite finished the week 1.14% higher, supported by shares of Apple and Google parent Alphabet, which both rose in the wake of an antitrust ruling that some investors viewed as less severe than expected. Nasdaq is now ahead 12% for the year.
The S&P 500 Index added 0.33% and is up 10.2% to 2025 so far.
Smaller-cap stocks, which can be more sensitive to interest rate movements than larger companies, also advanced for the week.
Overall, non-energy minerals, health services, and technology services were the strongest-performing sectors during the week, while energy minerals, utilities, and industrial services lagged.
Key Technical Levels: S&P 500
The S&P 500 tagged a new all-time high Friday morning, reaching 6532.65 before a sell-the-news wave hit the indices, pulling them back sharply. Resistance remains near that high, with support now at 6415. If price breaks below 6415, it will likely test the 6345–6360 range below.
Key Technical Levels: Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 index was higher on Friday but did not tag a new all-time high, failing to confirm the SPX and creating a mini technical non-confirmation or divergence. We’ll soon see if that’s meaningful going forward. Technical resistance for this index is at 23,970. Support sits near 23,280 and the 22,960–23,000 zone. Any move below the 22,675–22,700 area will likely signal an important trend change is underway.
In any case, at thetechtrader.com we will always “Trade What We See, Not What We Think.
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