Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, representing the top 50 stocks in the European Monetary Union, continues its advance. Rising Twiggs Money Flow signals strong long-term buying pressure.
Footsie breakout
The FTSE 100 broke through resistance at 7400, signaling a fresh advance. Another Twiggs Money Flow trough above zero confirms long-term buying pressure.
Footsie bounce
The FTSE 100 rallied off support at 7100. Breakout above 7400 would signal a fresh advance. Declining Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term selling pressure; the long-term signal, however, remains bullish.
Europe strengthens
Germany’s DAX broke through resistance from its 2015 high, signaling a fresh advance with a long-term target of 15000.
France’s CAC-40 index displays a similar bullish breakout, above resistance at 5000/5200 to offer a target of 6000.
Echoes of the Past: Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Civilian Targeting
Everyone should read this as a reminder of the brutality that states may employ for political ends, whether Ethiopia (1935), Chechnya (1995), Iraq (1998) or Syria (2017). Chemical weapons such as sarin or mustard gas leave horrific injuries, but any deliberate targeting of civilians — such as bombing of hospitals and residential neighborhoods — should IMO be treated as a war crime.
Luke O’Brien is a U.S. Army officer assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground and is currently a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Graduate Fellow at National Defense University:
…..Perhaps the most notorious example of this from recent memory, however, was the Iraqi chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in March 1988, as part of the Anfal Campaign at the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This attack struck the small Kurdish village with both conventional and chemical bombs, including sarin, just as Assad’s forces would nearly 30 years later. The first attacks used normal high-explosive bombs, which both drove civilians into basement shelters as well as broke open the villages windows and doors. These initials attacks were then followed up with chemical munitions, which quickly filled the basement shelters and killed their occupants.
Such brutality was intentional. The attacks were intended to break the back of the Kurdish peshmerga militia by depopulating its support. Commenting on the matter at the time, Iraqi Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majid bragged that he would “kill [all the Kurds] with chemical weapons.” The chemical bombardment of Halabja had its desired effect, with a stream of surviving civilians abandoning the town and fleeing to nearby Iran. This use of chemical weapons, moreover, had another added benefit: driving away civilians and insurgents who had become numb to the effects of conventional weapons…..
Read more at: Echoes of the Past: Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Civilian Targeting
Euro Stoxx signal fresh advance
Spurred by a favorable result in the first round of French elections, Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 broke resistance at 3500 and is likely to test the 2015 high of 3800. Rising troughs on Twiggs Money Flow indicate strong buying pressure.
Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 represents 50 of the largest, mainly industrial, stocks in the Euro monetary area.
Footsie stalls as Pound strengthens
Pound Sterling is strengthening against the US Dollar as well as the Euro (mentioned last week). Recovery of the Pound above 1.27 (GBPUSD) completes a triple bottom, suggesting that a base is forming. Crossover of 13-week Momentum above zero indicates a primary up-trend.
Breakout above 1.20 against the Euro (GBPEUR) would strengthen the signal.
The FTSE 100 continues to test support at 7100. Declining Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term selling pressure. A rising Pound is likely to result in a Footsie test of primary support at 6700.
European stocks unfazed by upcoming election
Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, reflecting the top 50 stocks in the Euro monetary area, appears unfazed by the upcoming French elections. The index has undergone a shallow retracement over the last 3 weeks, while rising Twiggs Money Flow indicates long-term buying pressure.
Polls have proved notoriously unreliable in the last year and I will not venture to comment on the election outcome. But breakout above 3500 is likely if Le Pen fails in her bid and would signal another advance.
Cable drags Footsie lower
Pound Sterling strengthened this week on news of an early election. Despite Brexit fears the Cable, as it is commonly referred to by traders, has been strengthening for several months. Crossover of 13-week Momentum above zero suggests a primary up-trend. Breakout above 1.20 against the Euro would confirm the signal.
The FTSE 100 retreated from resistance at 7400. Rising troughs on Twiggs Money Flow indicate long-term buying pressure but reversal below 7100 would warn of a correction.
* Target: 7400 + ( 7400 – 6700 ) = 8100
European advance continues
Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, reflecting the top 50 stocks in the Euro monetary area, is consolidating in a narrow band below 3500. Rising Twiggs Money Flow indicates strong buying pressure. Breakout above 3500 is likely and would signal another advance.
The FTSE 100 is consolidating in a narrow range below 7400. Rising troughs on Twiggs Money Flow indicate strong buying pressure. Breakout above 7400 is likely and would offer a long-term target of 8000*.
* Target: 7400 + ( 7400 – 6700 ) = 8100