FTSE 100 Trades Sideways Ahead of Today’s ECB Meeting

Price is trading sideways between the February 29 low of 6034 and last week’s high of 6221 and a break to this range is probably needed for momentum to pick up.

On a break to the upper barrier of 6221, the FTSE 100 may reach the next resistance level inline, which is the December 29 high of 6322. On its way up to this high, the FTSE will meet its 200-day-average now at 6285. A break to the moving average and the December 29 high of 6322 may bring the longer-term bearish trend into question.

The alternative scenario is for the FTSE 100 to break to the lower barrier of 6034. On a break to this low, the short-term trend may turn bearish and traders may aim for the next low in line, namely the February 24 low of 5839.

ECB Rate Meeting On Deck

A Bloomberg poll shows that economists are expecting the ECB to reduce its deposit rate by 10bps, to add 15 billion more in monthly asset purchases and to potentially introduce a tiered deposit rate. The latter is crucial for banks that are currently under pressure given the current low interest rate climate.

The ability of the ECB to lower the Euro and boost stock markets may hinge on this.

For a complete list of today’s macro-economic reports please see our calendar.

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FTSE 100 | FXCM: UK100

Created with Marketscope/Trading Station II; prepared by Alejandro Zambrano

--- Written by Alejandro Zambrano, Market Analyst for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Alejandro on Twitter: @AlexFX00

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By: Alejandro Zambrano, Market Analyst