EQUITIES: Bear Threat in Eurostoxx 50 Futures Remains Present

A bear threat in Eurostoxx 50 futures remains present. The contract traded sharply lower on Oct 15 and has recently pierced support around the 50-day EMA, at 4947.57. A clear break of this average would undermine a recent bullish theme and highlight a stronger reversal. This would open 4884.06, a Fibonacci retracement. Key resistance and the bull trigger is unchanged at 5106.00, the Sep 30 high. Clearance of this level resumes the uptrend. S&P E-Minis trend conditions are unchanged and signals remain bullish. Fresh cycle highs confirm a resumption of the primary uptrend and maintain the bullish price sequence of higher highs and higher lows. Note that moving average studies are in a bull-mode setup, highlighting a dominant uptrend. Sights are on 5961.00, a Fibonacci projection. Initial support to watch is 5824.43, the 20-day EMA.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed lower by 542.64 pts or -1.39% at 38411.96 and the TOPIX ended 28.44 pts lower or -1.06% at 2651.47.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed higher by 17.757 pts or +0.54% at 3285.867 and the HANG SENG ended 20.49 pts higher or +0.1% at 20498.95.
• Across Europe, Germany's DAX trades higher by 61.77 pts or +0.32% at 19526.94, FTSE 100 lower by 38.56 pts or -0.46% at 8279.1, CAC 40 down 18.86 pts or -0.25% at 7516.6 and Euro Stoxx 50 up 7.14 pts or +0.14% at 4948.48.
• Dow Jones mini down 133 pts or -0.31% at 43046, S&P 500 mini down 18.75 pts or -0.32% at 5877.5, NASDAQ mini down 76 pts or -0.37% at 20444.25.