Stock market breadth regained its strength

Investors are pushing the markets higher today, as they believe that the chances of another national lockdown in the U.S. are still slim. This is despite the fact that we have seen a sharp increase in the hospitalisation rate and the daily coronavirus numbers in the U.S.

The Asian stock market started the week on solid footing as the Japanese GDP boosted optimism. The ASX 200 index closed with a gain of 1.23%. The Korean Kospi index advanced 1.97%, while the Nikkei index surged 2.05%. The Shanghai index increased by 1.11%.

Dow Jones and S&P 500: Market Breadth

The Dow Jones' market breadth regained its momentum. 87% of the Dow Jones stocks traded above their 200-day moving average. This is a change of +4% from a day earlier.

The S&P 500 stock breadth also moved in a positive direction. 85% of the shares traded above their 200-day moving average. This is a change of +3% from a day earlier.

Dow Jones Futures Today

The Dow Jones futures are trading lower by 240 points today. In terms of economic data, investors will be looking at the Empire State Manufacturing Sales number. The forecast for the data is 13.8, while the previous reading was at 10.5.

The Dow Jones futures have started the week on a positive note as the price has started to move closer to last week's high, which is also the all-time high. It seems that the retracement may be over for the Dow as investors can see that the uptrend is strongly in place. That is because the price is trading above the 50, 100 and 200-day SMA on the daily time frame. However, it is important to keep an eye on the RSI, which has reached its overbought zone, and this means a retracement. The near term resistance is at 29,993, and the support is at 28,813.

The S&P 500 futures, which represent the broader stock market, have recovered half of its sell-off which we saw last week. The S&P is also inching closer to its all-time high, while the RSI is screaming overbought. However, traders know that bulls are in control of the price as the price is trading above the 50, 100 and 200-day simple moving averages on the daily time frame. The resistance is at an all-time high, which is at 3,667, and the support is at 3,513.

Stock Market Rally

The S&P 500 stock index closed higher on Friday; the index surged 1.36%. The real estate sector led the index higher- all 11 sectors closed higher.

The Dow index also closed in positive territory on Friday; the Dow stocks moved the index lower by 1.37%. All 30 shares closed higher.

The NASDAQ composite, a tech-savvy index, closed with a gain of 1.37%.

S&P 500 Leaders and Laggards: MGM and Cincinnati Financial

MGM stock contributed the biggest gain, soaring 9.33%. Cincinnati Financial was the largest drag; it fell by 5.07%. The S&P 500 stock index is up 11% so far this year.

Dow Jones Leaders and Laggards: Boeing and Cisco

Boeing advanced by 5.88%, while Cisco was the largest gainer, it surged 7.06%.