Skip to content

CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Nasdaq outperforms but fails to shift its technical overview

Retail trader buy bias moves further away from extreme long territory but needs far more significant price gains to unwind.

Source: Bloomberg

Sign up for IG's Daily and Weekly Market Report to receive this information and more, in an elaborate and comprehensive report recounting the forex majors, commodities and indices before the European open.

Minutes from the FOMC's (Federal Open Market Committee) latest meeting showed most policymakers are in favour of a 50 basis point increase which would 'likely be appropriate' for the next couple of meetings, and generally avoid any further hawkish surprises to financial market participants.

In central bank speak, the Federal Reserve’s Brainard said that inflation is the central bank's 'most pressing challenge' and will take 'strong actions that will bring inflation back down'.

US economic data showed durables growth slow month-on-month to 0.4% overall with its core 0.3%. Over in the housing sector, according to MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association), mortgage applications contracted again, this time by a smaller -1.2%. We've got more items with pending home sales and preliminary GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on offer tonight, and where tomorrow's pricing data can't be ignored.

Over in the bond market, yields changed little in yesterday's session, and in turn caused real yields to end about the same on the further end of the curve with the seven-year on the verge of crossing back into negative territory. As for the stock market, most US sectors finished in the green with a few defensives like utilities, consumer staples and health care little changed, with big gains for consumer discretionary. Both tech and communication clocked in decent increases.

The net result for this tech-heavy index was an outperforming finish that bested both the Dow 30 and S&P 500 in percentage terms. Far more will be needed to undo its bear trend technical overview in both daily and weekly time frames, with futures pointing lower, undoing some of yesterday’s gains.

Component performance showed Zoom well on top, followed by DocuSign and Intuit with gains by heavyweights like Apple and Tesla a plus. Losses were relatively limited on the other end save for DexCom. In after-hours, component Nvidia's share price was in for retreat off its recent highs even after it bested on earnings and revenue. It cited a 'challenging macro environment' and predicted revenue for this quarter to be below analyst expectations. Autodesk, Baidu, Costco, Dollar Tree, Marvell Technology, Workday, and Zscaler are the components expected to release their figures today with Pinduoduo tomorrow.

Nasdaq technical overview, strategies, and levels

Source: IG

IG client* and CoT** sentiment for Nasdaq

Retail trader bias remains in heavy buy territory though following yesterday’s price gains has dropped from 77% to 74%. It’s usually 78% and above that signifies sentiment is at the extremes. A drop to 74% on yesterday’s price gains means far more upside follow-through will be needed to unwind plenty of those longs in profit and incentivize them to close out.

Source: IG

Nasdaq chart with retail and institutional sentiment

Source: IG

*The percentage of IG client accounts with positions in this market that are currently long or short. Calculated to the nearest 1%, as of today morning 8am for the outer circle. Inner circle is from the previous trading day.
**CoT sentiment taken from the CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report, outer circle is latest report released on Friday with the positions as of last Tuesday, inner circle from the report prior.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

Start trading forex today

Find opportunity on the world’s most-traded – and most-volatile – financial market

  • Trade spreads from just 0.6 points on EUR/USD
  • Analyse with clear, fast charts
  • Speculate wherever you are with our intuitive mobile apps

See an FX opportunity?

Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re onto something.

  • Log in to your demo
  • Try a risk-free trade
  • See whether your hunch pays off

See an FX opportunity?

Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.

  • Get spreads from just 0.6 points on popular pairs
  • Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
  • See and react to breaking news in-platform

See an FX opportunity?

Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take your position.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Friday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.

For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.