The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rebounded from its weekly lows to turn green on Thursday. The benchmark US Index closed the day at 4,105 points with 0.36% gains. Due to the negative price action on Tuesday and Wednesday, the index is still 0.68% down from the weekly highs.
On Thursday, US stocks mostly showed a positive price action. Tech stocks also rallied and closed and closed in green. The NASDAQ 100 Index gained 95.40 points during the trading session and closed with 0.74% gains. Our analysis shows that S&P 500 Index needs to break above the 4,200 level to gain a bullish outlook.
SPX Rises Amid Weakened Labor Market
This week’s initial jobless claims came above expectations once again. On Thrusday, the data for the week ending on April 1 was published by the US Department of Labor (DOL). The data showed that the initial jobless claims during the week remained 228,000 against the expected figure of 200,000.
Even though the data came above the market expectations, there was still a decline from the week before which had 246,000 jobless claims. The S&P 500 index intitally dropped after the report but recovered immediately to close in green. However, on Friday, S&P 500 futures were trading 0.15% lower till the start of their London session.
S&P 500 Index Needs To Break Above 4,200
The daily S&P 500 chart reveals key levels of support and resistance. It is evident from the following chart that the next major resistance lies close to 4,200 points. This level also caused a pullback in Febraury 2023. The index is also retesting the trendline after a breakdown. This trendline may also act as another resistance.
The S&P 500 Index forecast will depend a lot on the upcoming CPI report on April 12. This report will reveal the inflation figures of March 2023 which in turn will be affecting the next rate hike decision by the US Federal Reserve. If the Fed paused the rate hike in its next FOMC meeting, SPX can gain strength above 4,000 points.
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