DJIA, S&P closed at records as Fed's meeting looms
- US equities gained momentum by the end of the day, amid diminishing risk aversion.
- US Federal Reserve due to pull the trigger for the third time this year, maintain a hawkish stance.
Following a dull start to the day, US indexes picked up at the end of the day, with the Dow Jones and the S&P posting record closes at 24,386.10 and 2,659.99 respectively. The Nasdaq Composite was the best performer, up 0.51% on the day to end at 6,875.08 amid a continued recovery in the tech sector, but remained below its previous record close. There was no clear catalyst behind the late advance, beyond persistent optimism ahead of Fed's monetary policy meeting later this week, expected to maintain a hawkish stance toward future rate hikes and in fact pull, the trigger and raise its main benchmark for the third time this year.
In fact, a failed terror attack in the heart of Manhattan at the beginning of the session spurred some moderate risk aversion, but given the limited damage, the market quickly run through the news. Furthermore, the DYX changed course and managed to close the day with gains, not far below the 94.00 threshold.
Dow's technical stance
The main indexes have been extremely overbought for months, but that doesn't seem to affect bulls determination. The short-term picture for the Dow, is still bullish as in the 4 hours chart, technical indicators lack directional strength but hold well-above their mid-lines, while moving averages continue advancing below the current level. The immediate resistance is 24,387, the high set on December 5th, with gains above the level favoring a continued advance toward fresh all-time highs. Beyond the level, 24,435 and 24,470 are the next intraday resistances, while the immediate support comes at 24,319 followed by 24,269.