US STOCKS: Awaiting FOMC, Drags From WTI Slide and Semiconductor Outlook
* The S&P 500 e-mini has kept to narrow ranges today whilst modestly extending yesterday's ECI-induced slide despite some pullback in Treasury yields. * At 5047.00 (-0.4%), ESM4 is seen in a bearish cycle with support at 5022.25 (Apr 25 low) after which lies the bear trigger at 4963.50 (Apr 19 low). * In the event of a dovish surprise from the FOMC, resistance is seen at 5132.17 (20-day EMA). * By sector, utilities lead gains across a variety of names (+1.1%), followed by communication services (+1.0%). Losses are concentrated in energy (-1.6%), with WTI falling below $80/bbl after inventory data, and IT (-1.3%) owing to heavy declines in NVidia (-5.3%) attributed to concerns for the broader semiconductor outlook after AMD's presentation (AMD -9.6%). * The Nasdaq 100 underperforms (-0.7%) whilst the Russell 2000 (-0.1%) and Dow Jones (+0.2%) outperform.
