Wall Street Trying to Continue Longest Winning Streak in 2 Years

Overview

The major U.S. stock index futures contracts are edging higher on Thursday as investors try to continue the benchmark S&P 500 Index’s longest winning streak since November 2021.

Today’s pre-market strength follows yesterday’s subdued but higher performance. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 Index settled just 0.1% higher, however, it continued its longest winning streak since 2021 at eight days.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite did even better, continuing its nine day winning streak with a 0.08% gain. The Dow, however, disappointed by breaking its winning streak with a 0.1% loss.

At 11:14 GMT, blue chip Dow futures are trading 34260.00, up 87.00 or +0.25%. Benchmark S&P 500 Index futures are at 4407.50, up 8.25 or +0.19% and tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 futures are trading 15389.15, up 2.75 or +0.02%.

Early Movers and Shakers

Disney is up 3% after reporting better-than-expected profit. However, Lyft is lower by nearly 2% after bookings came in worse than anticipated and the rideshare platform said it would continue to struggle on the measure in the current quarter.

Still Some Concerns in the Air

Despite the S&P and Nasdaq’s stellar performances there are still some analysts who question their rallies. Robert Haworth at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, for example, says that despite the S&P 500’s winning streak, the broad-based index still has narrow leadership. He further adds that even though investors are still uncertain about Fed policy and the direction of interest rates, the Nasdaq is outperforming.

Looking Ahead…

Investors will watch Thursday for morning data on jobless claims. Traders will also continue to monitor remarks from a slate of Federal Reserve officials – including chair Jerome Powell – expected throughout the course of the day.

Technical Analysis

E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are trading higher on Thursday as investors continue to add to the breakout over the 50-day moving average at 4370.65. This level should be considered short-term support followed by normal support at 4336.00.

The next target is resistance at 4424.50. This level stopped the market on October 17 and October 12. Watch for a technical bounce on the first test of this level. However, overcoming it with conviction could launch another acceleration to the upside with 4494.00 the next near-term target.