Technicals | Sep 06 2010
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck
Technical market analysts at Barclays Capital remain sceptical whether the sudden bout of optimism that has dominated risk asset prices last week represents more than just that; a sudden bout of optimism.
Looking across various markets that all represent global investor risk, the analysts report crude oil futures have behaved in a manner that suggests US$70.40/bbl remains the next target and, beyond this psychological price level, major support at US$67.85/68.38 should next come into focus.
Similarly, copper's run is now deemed to fail as the red metal is believed to have over-stretched market sentiment to the upside. Investors should look to lock in profits, say the chartists.
As far as equities are concerned, the analysts report that as long as the S&P500 in the US remains below 1131 the bias is still to the downside.
The index closed at 1104 on Friday. Today is Labor Day holiday in the US and thus equity markets in the US will not open. The analysts at Barclays will be watching closely when the markets re-open on Tuesday to see whether there are any conclusions that can be drawn from the return of US investors from their holiday break.