US Stock Futures Gain as Traders Seek to Recover Losses

In the US, stock futures showed gains on Friday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq contracts rising by 0.3%, while the Dow Jones climbed 40 points. This uptick aimed to recover losses from the previous two sessions amidst concerns among traders that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates for an extended period. These concerns arose following hawkish FOMC minutes and robust business activity reflected in the flash S&P Global PMIs, which also indicated rising price pressures. Notably, Nvidia's momentum persisted, with its shares gaining about 1% in premarket trading after a 9% surge on Thursday. Other technology stocks such as Micron Technology (1.1%), Microchip Technology (1.8%), and Advanced Micro Devices (0.8%) also saw gains. Among the mega caps, Microsoft (0.2%), Apple (0.6%), Amazon (0.4%), Meta (0.6%), and Alphabet (0.4%) were all in positive territory. Meanwhile, in economic news, new orders for manufactured durable goods in the US unexpectedly rose by 0.7% month-over-month in April 2024, marking the third consecutive monthly increase. This growth was mainly driven by robust demand for transport equipment, computers, electronic products, fabricated metal products, machinery, and electrical equipment. Additionally, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending plans, rebounded by 0.3% in April following a slight decline in March.

Although the Nasdaq aced significant selling pressure yesterday, it rebounded from the major support level around the 18650-18630 range. If there's further downward movement in the index, this level will continue to serve as a prominent support. In the event of a break below this level, the subsequent levels to watch would be 18430 and 18100, respectively. However, if the buying momentum persists and the upward movement continues, the initial resistance to monitor would be at 18785. Sustaining above this level would lead to monitoring of resistance levels at 18900 and 19000, respectively.

Resistance 3	Resistance 2	Resistance 1	Support 1	Support 2	Support 3
19,000	18,900	18,785	18,630	18,430	18,100