FTSE 100 and some mysterious moves

Created 16/11/2017 at 22:29

FTSE for Friday (FTSE:UKX)

There are times when we wish it was permissible to shrug our shoulders and admit we just don't know what's happening. The FTSE 100 has spent the last week making some truly mysterious moves, which "should" have seen the index bounce from around 7,308 points, a number it studiously avoids.

The obvious "however" has been the markets reluctance to actually go up. We saw FTSE Futures hit a trigger point just before the market opened on Thursday morning which provoked an immediate upward surge - until FTSE Futures realised the FTSE itself wasn't following, hence the collapse which started before 9am.

In some ways, it was a relief to see the Futures market being frustrated as it confirmed we were not the only people treating 7,389 points as a trigger level (nerd stuff).

The situation remains that if the FTSE itself manages to trade above 7,389 once the market opens on Friday morning, we're looking for growth to an initial 7,417 points with secondary, if bettered, at a more useful 7,443 points.

Our worry remains tho', if the FTSE is determined to remain within a depressing downward curve, any rise is liable to fizzle out half way to target. This results in the truly useless situation where we dare not relax until at least 14 of the first batch of points are used.

Confused? It truly drives us to distraction as we rush around moving goalposts against world indices in repeated attempts to gauge whether the underlying strength is upwards or downwards. Or, in the case of the FTSE, just a bit sideways!

The alternate scenario remains of below 7,368 pointing at 7,308 as a bounce point eventually.

Should the FTSE (the real 8am until 4:30pm market) actually better 7,443 points, there's a good chance of further strong upward travel.

Alistair Strang has led high-profile and "top secret" software projects since the late 1970s and won the original John Logie Baird Award for inventors and innovators. After the financial crash, he wanted to know "how it worked" with a view to mimicking existing trading formulas and predicting what was coming next. His results speak for themselves as he continually refines the methodology.

Alistair Strang is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of Interactive Investor. All correspondence is with Alistair Strang, who for these purposes is deemed a third-party supplier. Buying, selling and investing in shares is not without risk. Market and company movement will affect your performance and you may get back less than you invest. Neither Alistair Strang, Shareprice, or Interactive Investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea. 

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.