S&P Futures Nikkei -10 Hang Seng +169
7:30am Futures FTSE +18 Techmark +4 DAX +16 Dow +17 S&P +1.8 Nasdaq +2.5
News Headlines: US stocks rose on renewed strength in the tech sector, but the market may be jittery Tuesday after Sun Microsystems' earnings warning after-hours. Man Group Hedge fund manager said it would see net fee income in the six months to the end of September 2003 up 50 percent thanks to a big rise in funds under management. They were up over $5.0 billion to above $30 billion, the firm said in a trading statement. However the firm said net performance fee income would be slightly lower than in 2002. Manchester United reported a 22 percent rise in annual profits boosted by its many sponsorship deals and the hosting of the European Champions League final. The club subject of persistant takeover speculation, reported profits for the year of 39.3 million pounds compared to forecasts of around 43 million pounds 3i Group Britain's biggest private equity firm said that it made investments at a lower level than last year. The company's cash inflow from investments sales was 409 million pounds in the five months ended Aug 31 ahead of its first-half results The market for mergers and acquisitions and new issues of shares is subdued, the company Is this a warning ???? Clinton Cards said like-for-like sales rose 3.9 percent in the seven weeks to September 21 as it posted a big rise in first-half profit. Profit rose 24 percent to 2.2 million pounds in the six months to August 3, on turnover up 9.4 percent to 168.1 million pounds. The interim dividend was raised 11.8 percent to 1.8 pence. Laura Ashley reported five percent growth in first half like-for-like sales in its home market and said its group sales had grown 1.3 percent in the eight weeks ended September 20.The group recorded a pre-tax loss of one million pounds for the 26 weeks ended July 26   United Kingdom Calendar (F)inals (I)nterim    United States  (GMT)   Europe & World (GMT) Tue 30th Sep Manchester United (F) PBT 26m exp, Benchmark Group (F), Clinton Cards (I), Forbidden Technologies (I), James Halstead (F), Laura Ashley (I), London Security (I), Maclellan Group (I), Misys (AGM), OxGold (F),  Proteome Sciences (I), Sportech (I), Sibir Energy (I) 07.00 September Nationwide House Price Survey 09.30 2nd Quarter GDP q/q 0.3% exp. 09.30 2nd Quarter Current Account -2.8bn exp. 15.00 September Consumer Confidence 81.2 exp. 15.00 September Chicago PMI 57.0 exp. 11.00 September Economic Confidence 98.4 exp. 11.00 September Flash CPI y/y 2.0% exp. 11.00 September Consumer Confidence 17.0 exp. Good Trading!      david@FTSEDOW.com     www.FTSEDOW.com Pivot Calculator

Updated 9/29 for Tuesday's market.
Key DOW Levels for 9/30
UP Above 9,400
DN Below 9,300

Upmove
Dow breaks consolidation to upside, trends slowly higher.

From prior commentary, "...The consolidation is "rectangular", so an upside break from the consolidation is also possible and could be just as powerful as a downside break. Also, an upside break from the consolidation will cause a break of the upper trend line that has formed across the highs of the current downmove..."
The Dow v-bottomed early in the session and pushed higher to get an upside break through the top of the tight consolidation, which paved the way for a 67 point gain for the day.

Looking at the 15 Minute Chart shows that the Dow also got the break through the upper trend line and has now formed a tight consolidation at the highs of the session, which points to further upside movement to come.

An upside break from the consolidation at 9,400 will likely extend today's upmove into tomorrow's trading. Likewise, a downside break below major support at 9,300 will result in another push lower within the current downtrend. These two fulcrums, at 9,300 and 9,400 are both fairly strong.

Short Term Dow

Short term, the Dow has formed a downward-sloping consolidation at the highs of the 5 Minute Chart. This is typically a bullish consolidation that results in an upside break. Watch 9,390 up, and 9,345 down.

Medium Term Dow

In the medium term, we covered Shorts today at 9,375, giving us a 135 point gain for the prior trade. We then entered the market Long at 9,375, but stopped out with a 10 point loss. We will watch 9,400 up, and 9,300 down for tomorrow's market; using 10 point stops.

NASDAQ & S&P

The NASDAQ and S&P each mirrored the Dow today, as each index pushed higher off the day's lows to end the day in positive territory. Watch the tight consolidations that have formed at the highs for tomorrow's trading. *

Summary

The Dow got the upside break through the top of the consolidation and the upper trend line today, which sparked a modest move higher. We will now watch the tight consolidation that has formed at the highs of the session for a break tomorrow. Watch 9,400 up, and 9,300 down.

Morning all

Morning all,

Running late as usual! Last day of the month - so will we see some large movements today - or will everyone (like me) just sit tight?