US, European Equity Futures Ease Off Friday Cycle Highs

Eurostoxx 50 futures traded higher again Friday and the contract remains just below its recent highs. Price has cleared resistance at 4363.00, the Apr 21 high and a bull trigger. The break confirms a resumption of the bull cycle from Mar 20 and a continuation of the medium-term uptrend. This opens 4409.50, the Nov 18 2021 high on the continuation chart and a key resistance. Firm support is at 4257.80, the 50-day EMA. S&P E-minis traded higher last week and the contract breached key short-term resistance and the bull trigger at 4206.25, the May 1 high. Clearance of this level confirms an extension of the bull trend from Mar 13. This opens 4244.00, the Feb 2 high and the next important resistance. Key support is at 4062.25, the May 4 low. A move through this level would highlight a bearish threat.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed higher by 278.47 pts or +0.9% at 31086.82 and the TOPIX ended 14.21 pts higher or +0.66% at 2175.9.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed higher by 12.927 pts or +0.39% at 3296.469 and the HANG SENG ended 227.6 pts higher or +1.17% at 19678.17.
• Across Europe, Germany's DAX trades lower by 19.77 pts or -0.12% at 16255.06, FTSE 100 higher by 23.23 pts or +0.3% at 7780.14, CAC 40 down 4.86 pts or -0.06% at 7487.1 and Euro Stoxx 50 down 2.96 pts or -0.07% at 4392.34.
• Dow Jones mini up 4 pts or +0.01% at 33499, S&P 500 mini up 0.5 pts or +0.01% at 4205, NASDAQ mini up 7 pts or +0.05% at 13865.