Thursday's Market Minute: Strange, And Stranger Still

Equities already were sailing in uncharted waters as the world adapts to the new realities of COVID-19, and the extraordinary situation of Crude Oil slipping into negative territory sent markets even further into the unknown. S&P 500 futures have climbed more than 27% since the Mar. 23 lows, but bulls may be taking a breather as the contract has been consolidating in a range between 2700 and 2880 since Apr. 9.

The /ES has been unable to push above resistance at both the 50-day SMA (~2795) and the 64-day EMA (~2827) recently, so watch for a close above these levels. Tech has seen the biggest bounce of the four major indices so far, with Nasdaq-100 futures up about 29% since the lows. The 8966 level at which the /NQ’s advance halted and the recent lows near 8340 could give further clues about trend direction. The confluence of the 200-day SMA (which is on the verge of a death cross with the 50-SMA) and a large volume node at the 8200 level suggests an important price level for continuation of the bull trend.