Another NFP Friday looms ahead

The next round of monthly US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) is slated for this Friday, and median market forecasts currently expect the print to come in at 200K for February, compared to January’s 11-month peak of 353K. MoM Average Hourly Earnings in February are also expected to ease to 0.3% from the previous month’s 0.6%. 

Before Friday’s labor figures, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell makes his second appearance before the Congressional House Financial Services Committee on Thursday. Nothing new is expected, but markets will be keeping an eye out for any further qualifications on the Fed’s stance heading into NFP Friday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average technical outlook

The upside is increasingly limited on the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s daily candlesticks, with the index struggling to claw back into recent technical highs, and the near-term trend is threatening to fall back into the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 38,230.00 for the first time since November.

Despite near-term technical struggles, the DJIA remains firmly buried in bull country, with the major equity index trading well above the 200-day SMA at 35,472.97. If bidders can overcome technical congestion at the 38,800.00 handle, the way will be clear for another push into all-time highs above 39,200.00