The cause pointed out by Microsoft was that there was a flawed update of CrowdStrike program that took down its systems. That has resulted in massive IT failures and outages across the globe, hindering services and businesses all around. CrowdStrike did also earlier say that they had deployed a fix to the issue while confirming that it was not a cyberattack.

In a day and age where we rely so much on programming and machine functions to go about our day, it’s a good reminder of the simpler times when a lot of the tasks were done manually. And those days were not too long ago. It’s amazing how far technology has come in the last 10-15 years. But also scary on how we have grown to be so reliant on it as well now.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

The Nasdaq has been on the backfoot recently as the goldilocks data led to a
strong rotation into small caps stocks. Yesterday, there was general weakness
across all the indices although it wasn’t triggered by any catalyst. The
fundamentals haven’t changed, on the contrary, they strengthened the case for a
soft landing. The bearish momentum seems to be waning going into the weekend, so the technicals might
be helpful for the dip-buyers to time a possible bounce.

Nasdaq
Technical Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can
see that the Nasdaq is now near the trendline around the 19700 level. This is
where can expect the dip-buyers to step back in with a defined risk below the
trendline to position for a rally into a new all-time high. The sellers, on the
other hand, will want to see the price breaking lower to increase the bearish
bets into the next major trendline around the 19000 level.

Nasdaq Technical
Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can
see that we have a good resistance zone now around the 20300 level
where we can find the confluence of the downward trendline and the
50% Fibonacci
retracement level.

If we get a bounce from the
19700 support zone, we can expect the sellers to step in around the downward
trendline to position for a break below the 19700 support with a better risk to
reward setup. The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see the price
breaking above the downward trendline and the 20300 resistance to increase the
bullish bets into new highs.

Nasdaq Technical
Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can
see that we have another minor downward trendline defining the current bearish
momentum. The sellers will likely keep on leaning on it to push towards the
break below the 19700 support.

The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see
the price breaking above the trendline and the most recent lower high at 19980
to gain even more confidence and increase the bullish bets into the 20300
resistance. The red lines define the average daily range for today.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.

The Russell 2000 has been on an incredible run ever since the last US
CPI report as the index had its best 5 days streak in 24
years. The goldilocks data was the catalyst for a strong rotation from big
cap stocks into the small cap stocks, and the momentum was probably exacerbated
by hedge funds facing short squeezes on their small cap hedges as yields came
down.

More recently, we finally started to see a pullback which wasn’t triggered
by any negative catalyst, so it might be an opportunity to buy the dip as the
fundamentals strengthened the case for a soft landing.

Russell 2000
Technical Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can
see that the Russell 2000 rejected a resistance
level at 2290 and started to pull back. The first support zone is around the 2170
level where we can find the confluence
of the previous swing high and the 38.2% Fibonacci
retracement level.

This is where we can expect
the buyers to step in with a defined risk below the support to position for a rally
into new highs. The sellers, on the other hand, will want to see the price
breaking lower to increase the bearish bets into the next support around the major
trendline.

Russell 2000 Technical Analysis – 4 hour
Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can
see the US CPI marked on the chart as the catalyst that triggered the huge run
into the 2290 level. There’s not much else to glean from this timeframe as the
buyers will likely be waiting around the 2170 level, while the sellers will look
for a break lower to increase the bearish bets.

Russell 2000 Technical
Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can
see that the price is getting closer to the support zone. If the price bounces
before reaching the support, we can expect the buyers to pile in on a break
above the most recent lower high at 2226. The red lines define the average daily range for today.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.