Dow Industrials: Setting up for another run at the wall?
- U.S. equity index futures green: Russell 2000 up ~1%
- Initial jobless claims 226k vs 221k estimate
- Q2 unit labor costs prelim > estimate; productivity > estimate
- Euro STOXX 600 index up ~1%
- Dollar ~flat; gold, crude up; bitcoin gains ~1%
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield edges up to ~4.23%
DOW INDUSTRIALS: SETTING UP FOR ANOTHER RUN AT THE WALL?
On Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite 
IXIC faded just slightly in late trade, and just missed scoring its 17th record closing high so far this year. The tech-laden index ended down just 0.04% from its July 28 record finish.
The S&P 500 index 
SPX ended Wednesday down 0.7% from its July 28 record close. The benchmark index has 15 record closing highs under its belt so far in 2025.
The Dow, however, with zero record closing highs so far this year, has remained noticeably absent from the new highs party.
The blue-chip average ended Wednesday at 44,193.12, which put it down 1.82% from its 45,014.04 December 4 record closing high, and down 1.95% from its 45,073.63 December 4 record intraday high.
However, with e-mini Dow futures (YMcv1) rallying around 200 points, or about 0.5%, in premarket trade on Thursday, bulls are hoping the DJI will soon make another attempt to open the door to new highs.
That said, traders note stiff interim hurdles including the resistance line from the December intraday high. This line, which now resides around 45,000, has essentially capped strength over the past month or so. The July 23 close was at 45,010.29 and the July 23 intraday high was at 45,016.71. The January 31 intraday high was at 45,054.36.
On a breakout to new highs, the Dow would have potential to target a resistance line from its 2007 high, which proved to be a barrier in late November-early December of last year, and now resides around 47,000 on a weekly basis.
The Dow has initial support at its rising 50-day moving average (DMA), which should be around 43,625 on Thursday. This closely watched intermediate-term moving average essentially contained last week's slide.
The August 1 low was at 43,340.68 and the rising 200-DMA should be around 42,900 on Thursday.
(Terence Gabriel)
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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
"EARNINGS RULE": WHY MARKETS ARE BRUSHING OFF TRADE TENSIONS CLICK HERE
INSURERS AT NEW PEAK, RUSSIAN PLAYS UP, DEFENCE DOWN CLICK HERE
BEFORE THE BELL: TARIFFS, CHIPS AND EARNINGS CLICK HERE
SPLIT BANK OF ENGLAND SET TO CUT RATES CLICK HERE
