USD/JPY is expected to trade in a higher range. The pair remains trading on the upside within a rising channel since October 4, and stands firmly above its support level at 103.30. At the same time, the ascending 50-period moving average is playing a support role as well, and the downside potential should be limited by this level. On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended little changed as investors awaited the September jobs report, which is seen as the key to determine whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the year end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 12 points to 18,268, the S&P 500 edged up 1 point to 2,160, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 9 points (-0.2%) to 5,306.
Shares of Twitter, which has put itself up for sale through auction, dived 20.1% to $19.87 as technology news website Recode reported that Disney and Alphabet's Google would not bid for the company. On the other hand, Wal-Mart shed 3.2% to $69.36 after the company projected flat earnings for fiscal 2018. Whole Foods Market rallied 4.9% to $29.33 on takeover speculation.
On the economic data front, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims amounted to 249,000 in the week ended October 1, lower than 256,000 expected and 254,000 in the prior week. In fact, the amount of claims was the smallest since November 1973, showing a sign of economic strength.
U.S. non-farm payrolls, to be released tonight, are expected to increase 172,000 in September (vs. +151,000 in August) with the jobless rate remaining unchanged at 4.9%.
To sum up, as long as 103.30 is not broken, look for a further rise toward 104.30 and even to 104.85 as possible.
Trading Recommendation: The pair is trading above its pivot point. It is likely to trade in a wider range as long as it remains above its pivot point. Therefore, long positions are recommended with the first target at 104.30 and the second one at 104.85. In the alternative scenario, short positions are recommended with the first target at 102.65 if the price moves below its pivot points. A break of this target is likely to push the pair further downwards, and one may expect the second target at 102.00. The pivot point lies at 103.30.
Resistance levels: 104.30, 104.85, 105.25
Support levels: 102.65, 102.00, 101.60
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com