Stock prices went sideways on Friday despite the initial negative reaction to jobs data. Will they get back to highs?

The S&P 500 index lost 0.12% on Friday after opening much lower on the better-than-expected monthly Nonfarm Payrolls release. The market extended its short-term consolidation, as it remained above the 4,000 level. On Wednesday the S&P 500 rallied over 3% after Jerome Powell’s dovish speech. Basically, all asset classes rallied including gold, silver, and oil.

This morning the S&P 500 will likely open 0.5% lower. So it may see more short-term uncertainty. Investors will be waiting for the important ISM Services PMI release at 10:00 a.m. The index continues to trade above its two-month-long upward trend line, as we can see on the daily chart:

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Futures Contract Remains Close to Local High

Let’s take a look at the hourly chart of the S&P 500 futures contract. It continues to trade along the recent local highs and above the support level of around 4,050. There have been no confirmed negative signals so far.

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Conclusion

The S&P 500 index keeps fluctuating since Wednesday’s 3% rally. On Friday the market opened lower following better-than-expected jobs data release, but it closed virtually flat. Today we may see more short-term uncertainty. It still looks like a consolidation within an uptrend.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Stock prices remained close to their local highs on Friday, as the S&P 500 extended a short-term consolidation.
• We may see some more uncertainty this morning, as investors await economic data.

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