Nasdaq 100 breaks support as US indexes retreat

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.65% on Monday, the weakest of three major U.S. benchmarks in an InvestingLive technical analysis by Greg Michalowski published Oct. 12 at 11:46 a.m.

The S&P was modestly lower and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.33%, according to the technical analysis article, after all three indexes closed at record levels last Tuesday before two days of losses.

The trading issue is less the size of Monday’s decline than where each index sits against its 100-hour moving average, a rolling gauge of hourly prices used by some traders to assess short-term trend and support. Michalowski said the prior week’s lows stopped at or close to that measure for each index, giving buyers a defined reference point before Monday’s pullback.

The S&P still sat above the chart level highlighted in the article. InvestingLive put its 100-hour moving average at 7,738.18 index points, compared with a Monday low of 7,802.58 and a cited level of 7,809.96. That left the benchmark above the support line in Michalowski’s framework.

The Nasdaq Composite also remained above its cited support, though by a smaller distance. The 100-hour moving average was 27,151.12 index points, compared with a Monday low of 27,240.47 and a level near 27,275 at the time referenced by InvestingLive.

The Nasdaq 100 was the outlier. Its 100-hour moving average was 30,689.21 index points, while Monday’s low reached 30,633.80, putting the technology-heavy index below the level used in the article to separate a firmer short-term setup from a weaker one.

Michalowski’s reading was conditional rather than a broader market call. In the article’s framework, a sustained move below the Nasdaq 100’s moving average would leave sellers with the near-term edge, while a recovery above 30,689.21 would undercut that bearish technical signal.

The analysis comes after Atlas360 reported on Oct. 7 that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached record highs, supported by AI-related shares and expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate pause. Atlas360 also reported earlier Monday that Nasdaq futures had fallen before bank earnings, with Treasury trading closed for Columbus Day and investors focused on bank results, inflation data and oil-driven rate risks.

For now, InvestingLive’s technical dividing line is clearest in the Nasdaq 100. The index’s position relative to 30,689.21 is the next observable level in the article’s short-term framework.

Source: technical analysis article, InvestingLive, Oct. 12