EQUITIES: E-Mini S&P Extends This Week's Rally

Eurostoxx 50 futures traded sharply higher Thursday, extending the recovery that started Aug 5. The contract has traded through the 20-day EMA and attention is on resistance at the 50-day EMA, at 4866.79. A clear break of this average would undermine the recent bearish theme and highlight a stronger reversal. This would open 4951.00, the Jul 31 high. For bears, a reversal lower would refocus attention on the bear trigger at 4494.00, the Aug 5 low. S&P E-Minis traded higher yesterday and the contract maintains a firmer tone. The rally this week has resulted in a break of the 50-day EMA. This highlights a stronger reversal and signals the end of the corrective cycle between Jul 16 - Aug 5. Sights are on 5600.75, Aug 1 high. A break would set the scene for an extension towards key resistance and the bull trigger at 5721.25, the Jul 16 high. Initial support lies at 5367.50, the Aug 13 low.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed higher by 1336.03 pts or +3.64% at 38062.67 and the TOPIX ended 77.85 pts higher or +2.99% at 2678.6.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed higher by 2.072 pts or +0.07% at 2879.43 and the HANG SENG ended 321.02 pts higher or +1.88% at 17430.16.
• Across Europe, Germany's DAX trades higher by 92.17 pts or +0.51% at 18275.02, FTSE 100 lower by 14.69 pts or -0.18% at 8332.12, CAC 40 up 14.46 pts or +0.19% at 7437.83 and Euro Stoxx 50 up 24.24 pts or +0.5% at 4832.01.
• Dow Jones mini up 42 pts or +0.1% at 40729, S&P 500 mini up 3.75 pts or +0.07% at 5572, NASDAQ mini up 28 pts or +0.14% at 19614.75.