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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Levels to watch: FTSE, DAX and Dow

There seems no stopping the FTSE 100, which has hit all-time highs for a second successive day.

New York Stock Exchange trader
Source: Bloomberg

FTSE 100 posting record after record

The FTSE has seen another record high in the early part of the session, after a small retracement overnight that took the price back to 7450 and the previous peak.

Dips towards the 50-hour simple moving average (SMA) at 7440 continue to be sufficient for fresh buying momentum to appear. As long as the index holds above 7385 it looks like more gains will be on the way.

FTSE chart

DAX a little wobbly

Yesterday saw the DAX spike towards 12,850, the all-time high from earlier in May, but it failed to hold the ground gained. It then dropped back towards the 50-hour SMA (currently 12,778), before bouncing.

We still need to see a daily close above 12,850 to confirm that the bulls are still in charge, while the bears need to get the price below support at 12,660. Longer-term, however, only a drop below 11,890 really suggests a meaningful change in direction.

DAX chart

Dow waiting for a breakout

Support at 20,846 continues to hold, while yesterday’s session witnessed the Dow Jones moving back to the 21,023 level that has contained upward progress from 25 April. Since then the index has essentially traded between 20,846 and 21,023, with no sign of a breakout yet.

A move above 21,023 targets the 21,171 all-time high from March, while below 20,846 the index may drop back to the 100-day SMA at 20,491, or 20,392, the low from mid-April.

Dow Jones chart

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