E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Testing Major Support at 15567.25 – 15284.00

March E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are trading at their lowest level since December 20 as yields jumped despite a disappointing headline number in today’s December non-farm payrolls report.

Technology stocks lost ground for a fourth session this week as investors rotated out of the sector. With rates rising rapidly, investors dumped riskier stocks trading on high valuations based on estimates of profit growth far off in the future.

At 21:07 GMT, March E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are at 15598.75, down 160.25 or -1.02%. The Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF (QQQ) settled at $379.82, down $4.20 or -1.09%.

Fed fund futures are now implying a 90% chance of a 25-basis point tightening at the March Fed meeting, and at least three interest rate hikes by the end of the year.

The data comes after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting signaled the central bank may have to raise interest rates sooner than expected amid a “very tight” job market and unabated inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs in December than expected. The nonfarm payrolls report showed an increase of 199,000 in December, though economists had expected growth of 422,000, according to Dow Jones. Additionally, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, well below the 4.1% expected, and average hourly earnings increased by 0.6%, above expectations.

Daily Swing Chart Technical Analysis

The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A late session trade through the intraday low at 15510.00 will reaffirm the downtrend.

The index is currently testing a major long-term retracement zone at 15567.25 to 15284.00. This area stopped the selling on December 20 at 15492.00. This area is also controlling the near-term direction of the index. If it fails to hold as support we could be facing another week of aggressive selling.

The announcement by the Fed in its minutes released on Wednesday that it was planning to begin reducing its balance sheet is a game changer. This hawkish tone is prompting investors to swap technology-heavy growth shares with more cyclical parts of the market that tend to do better in a high interest-rate environment.