The ftse 100 closed higher once again on Friday, ending the trading week wth a wide spread up candle, which just failed to breach the 5600 index level, and closing at 5598.48. The risk on appetite from investors has continued in early trading this morning, helped with merger and acquisition activity in both the UK and Europe, continuing to extend the bullish rally further as a result.
From a technical perspective the outlook for the index remains firmly bullish, with Friday’s candle confirming the hammer signal of Thursday, which tested support from the 20 day moving average, and having failed to breach this key indicator, duly delivered the strong move higher on Friday. As such we can now expect this momentum to continue during the week, and a break and hold above the high of Tuesday last week at 5635.72, will add further validation to the current trend. The longer term outlook remains firmly bullish, and in the next few weeks we can expect to see a test of the high of 5833.73 of April 2010, which will then provide the necessary platform for a run towards 6000 for the ftse100 index by the end of the year. For ftse betting today, look for trades to the upside with a breach of 5635 further extending any intra day gains.