US equity indices move to record territory during opening trade

On the last trading day of the week, major US equity indices opened higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the broader S&P 500 reaching fresh record levels, amid holiday-shortened thin market liquidity conditions. Investors might remain on the sideline and trading action is expected to remain thin on the back of shortened trading session as Black Friday shopping kicks-off. 

During opening hour of trading, DJIA climbed 39 points to 19,121, while S&P 500 advanced 3 points to 2,208. Both the indices are now headed for weekly gains of around 1%. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite struggled to gain bullish traction and was flat-lined around 5,380.

In currency markets, the overall US Dollar Index witnessed a mild retracement from multi-year highs as investors took some profits off the table. In the commodity space, WTI crude oil slipped nearly 1.5% to $47.50/barrel ahead of next week’s OPEC meeting, while gold was seen consolidating its recent slide to the lowest level since Feb.

Technical outlook

Carol Harmer, Founder at charmertradingacademy.com, notes, "If the S&P therefore does make a break higher above 2209 then we will see this continue to strengthen and we would be looking at 2225 as a viable short term targeted area...."

She further adds, "If we fail to make a break this week we are going to see quitter a good retracement back towards the 2175 area...This is key...If lost a deeper correction would be evident with the 2160/55 support then evident...."

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