USD/CHF advances to fresh 6-week highs near 0.99

• ADP employment figures and non-manufacturing PMI beat expectations.
• Upbeat data from the U.S. help the US Dollar Index stay above 95.50.
• DJIA hits a new  record high in early trade.

The USD/CHF pair extended its march higher in the second half of the day and came within a couple of pips of the 0.99 mark to renew its highest level since late August. As of writing, the pair was up 0.55% on the day at 0.9892.

According to the monthly report released by the ADP, private sector employment increased 230,000 from August to September and beat the market expectation of 185K by a wide margin. Other data showed that the business activity in the non-manufacturing sector continued to expand at a strong pace in September with both the Markit and ISM PMI figures surpassing the analysts’ estimates. Ahead of the speeches by FOMC members Brainard and Mester and Chairman Powell, the US Dollar Index is adding 0.15% on the day at 95.63.

Commenting on the PMI readings, “The service sector continues to drive the U.S. economy to new heights. Record levels of business optimism combined with the very strong ADP report, point to a further acceleration in the already robust job market in Friday’s payroll report,” FXStreet Senior Analyst Joseph Trevisani said.

Meanwhile, major equity indexes in the United States started the day higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a new all-time high to reflect an improved market sentiment, which diminishes the demand for safe havens such as the CHF. At the moment, the DJIA and the S&P 500 were adding 0.48% and 0.35%, respectively.

Technical levels to consider

With a decisive break above 0.9900 (psychological level), the pair could target 0.9965 (Aug. 20 high) and 1.000 (psychological level/parity). On the downside, supports are located at 0.9855 (100-DMA), 0.9760 (200-DMA) and 0.9700 (20-DMA).