Australia 200 – Almost on Cue, Returns Back Under 5500 

Australia 200 for Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The question of whether or not the Australia 200 Index be able to maintain its break through the key resistance level at 5500 was answered yesterday as it almost on cue, returned to its more familiar surroundings. There has not been a doubt on whether it will return to the 5500 level or not as it has moved back and forth between 5400 and 5500 for the last few months. It has reversed over the last few days bringing it back down below the 5500 level. In the early stages of last week it fell sharply back towards 5400 again and relied heavily on support around that level. Several weeks ago the Australian 200 Index fell and broke back down through the key 5500 level towards a four week low around 5400 before consolidating and resting on support there. These two levels have firmly established themselves as significant and any substantial break to either side will most likely be a significant move and be closely monitored. It is quite likely many are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the break before committing as they continue to watch the index move between these two levels.

Back at the end of May, it moved back and forth between the two key levels of 5500 and 5550 before the recent fall. Over the last couple of months the Australia 200 Index has formed an amazing attraction to the key 5500 level as it spent a considerable amount of time trading around it. A couple of weeks ago, the index fell away heavily back down to support around 5400 before returning to the key 5500 level just as quickly, as if gravity had pulled it back. Throughout the last couple of months it has been placing ongoing pressure on the resistance level at 5500 and a few weeks ago it was finally able to move through to a three week high before easing back again to this key level. Several weeks ago it slowly but surely eased away from its multi-year high achieved near 5560 however the following week it fell reasonably sharply and started looking towards the 5400 level which is near where it currently sits. In doing so it returned to back under the key 5500 level which has provided some reasonable resistance over the last few months.

For the bulk of the last few months, the Australia 200 Index has traded roughly between 5300 and 5500 therefore its return to back under 5500 was not surprising. The index has done well over the last couple of months to move steadily higher from support around 5300 up to beyond 5500, forming higher peaks and higher troughs along the way. The support level at 5300 may also be called upon should the index fall lower and will also likely play a role in providing some buffer from any decline. Since February, most of the trading activity has occured between 5400 and 5500 therefore the former level may also be called upon to prop up prices. The index has done very well over the last couple of years moving from below 4000 to its present trading levels around 5500.

Australian firms have shrugged off the sharp slide in consumer sentiment since the federal budget, with business confidence increasing in the past month. The closely-watched National Australia Bank monthly business survey shows sentiment improved in June despite fears the budget will see consumers reluctant to open their wallets. Consumer sentiment dived to its lowest level in three years in the wake of the May budget but businesses have remained relatively upbeat. The NAB survey shows business sentiment lifted one point to an index level of eight; a reading above zero indicates optimists outnumber pessimists. Meanwhile, Business conditions moved into positive territory during June, lifting three points to an index level of two during the month, according to the survey. The rise in sentiment coincided with a sharp lift in job advertisements, with ANZ’s job ads survey on Monday showing a 4.3 per cent increase in ads during June.

(Daily chart below)

Australia 200 July 9 at 00:50 GMT 5488 H: 5488 L: 5488

Australia 200 Technical

During the hours of the Asian trading session on Wednesday, the Australia 200 Index will be looking to see if it rally again and move back up again through the key 5500 level after pushing through this key level only recently. For most of this year the Australia 200 Index has moved well from the lower support level at 5000 up to the multi-year highs above 5500 in the last month or so.

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 5400, 5300 and 5000.

• Above: 5550.

Economic Releases

• 00:30 AU Westpac Consumer Confidence (Jul)
• 00:50 JP M2 Money Supply (Jun)
• 12:15 CA Housing starts (Jun)
• 18:00 US Fed releases minutes from prior (Jun 17-18) FOMC meeting

*All release times are GMT

 

Source: marketpulse

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