Nasdaq futures power higher as Twitter leads the way

Nasdaq futures closed Monday just over 2% higher at 15,164.
NASDAQ 100 leads all other indices with S&P and Dow Jones futures also higher.
The main tech index futures are trading slightly lower on Tuesday.

Ivan Brian FXStreet

Nasdaq futures powered ahead on Monday led by the massive gain in Twitter (TWTR) stock as Tesla king Elon Musk unveiled a 9.2% stake in Twitter. This put most of the tech sector on the offensive and Nasdaq futures led the way. However, closer inspection reveals this was not a broad-based rally with less than half of the S&P 500 closing in the green.

The gains across the board were mega-cap led, as TWTR dragged TSLA with it and then Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Facebook Meta (FB) all performed strongly. The more modest performance of Nasdaq futures this morning indicates that a more measured approach may be on the cards.

Nasdaq futures news

The latest geopolitical and macro developments would not normally be associated with a price appreciation for Nasdaq futures. The reporting of Russian atrocities has led to greater calls for more sanctions against Russia and oil spiked as a result. Crude barrels are currently at $104. Short-term and long-term yields both rose on Monday with the 2-year remaining just above the 10-year yield, so the yield curve flattening continues.

Either way, Nasdaq futures have a negative correlation with higher yields, especially in the more growth-orientated stocks. News out from Reuters suggests more action from the United States with reports that the US is not allowing custodian banks to process Russian debt coupon payments. This edges Russia closer to a sovereign default.

Nasdaq futures forecast

The daily chart below for Nasdaq futures shows the current strong rally has begun to run out of steam. Resistance is at 15259 and just above 15537. The double top at 16662 led to a retracement and the formation of a double bottom at 15537. This eventually broke and resulted in sharp losses to year lows for the Nasdaq futures contract. The failure to even retest this level at 15537 is bearish in our view. Nasdaq futures have repeatedly stalled at 15259 and the 200-day moving average at the level only adds to resistance.

This looks to use as the current rally is over and only breaking 15,537 will change our view. There is though a lot of volume at current levels down to 14,700. This may see some choppy trading but the outlook remains bearish. The market breadth was weak on Monday with only mega tech rallying and we also enter corporate buyback blackouts as results season approaches.

Nasdaq futures chart, daily

Author

Ivan Brian

FXStreet

Ivan Brian started his career with AIB Bank in corporate finance and then worked for seven years at Baxter. He started as a macro analyst before becoming Head of Research and then CFO.

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