Wall Street ends modestly higher, DJIA marks a spinning top

• DJIA, climbed around 70 points, or 0.3%, to end near 26,798.
• S&P 500 adds  3 points, or 0.1%, to end near 2,979.
• Nasdaq was losing around 14 points to close near 8,103, off 0.2%

Stocks on Wall Street ended in the green once again on Friday, with modest gains across the Dow and S&P, with the Nasdaq bucking the trend,  following a weaker-than-expected Nonfarm Payrolls data on the headlines although buoyed by positive remarks over the economic outlook by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, climbed around 70 points, or 0.3%, to end near 26,798, while the S&P 500 added just 3 points, or 0.1%, to end near 2,979. The Nasdaq was losing around 14 points to close near 8,103, off 0.2%. For the week, the Dow climbed 1.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each added about 1.8%.  

Nonfarm Payrolls/Powell

The August data fell short of expectations at 130,000, below the 158,000 expected although the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Powell’s remarks in Zurich was similar to that of his speech in Jackson Hole, repeating the statement that the Fed will ‘act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,’ which indicates that he is leaning toward a September rate cut.

“In our view the feedback loop between trade policy and monetary policy is likely to lead to another insurance cut, probably in October. Meanwhile, the inverted yield curve points to a recession in 2020 that will force the Fed to cut rates all the way to zero before the end of 2020,”

analysts at Rabobank argued.  

DJIA levels

The index got and held above the 26500s earlier in the week and has held again on Friday with eyes on the  26900s. On a continued recovery, bulls can run to 27200 in the near term with eyes on the mid-July highs of 27398s. However, the index has printed a tight spinning top which is a sign that the market could flip over, or, at least, stall and consolidate.  On the flip side, the 200-DMA is located at 25630. Deeper, the 21-monthly moving average is located at the May and Jun lows in the 24700s as a double-bottom target.