FTSE for Friday: a sign of happier days ahead

Independent analyst Alistair Strang has spotted a good reason to be positive about market direction. Here's what he thinks could happen in coming days and weeks. 

21st March 2025 07:15

by Alistair Strang from Trends and Targets

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Sometimes, we make ourselves victims of our own rules. The FTSE 100 is currently providing a case in point where it’s a market we’ve been miserably pronouncing that something is going to go horribly wrong.

In this particular cycle of stupid, we managed to miss a FTSE movement on Tuesday which made a visit to the 8,400-point level virtually impossible, according to our rule book. And so, sitting down on Thursday night with the expectation of producing a gloom laden article, spotting the FTSE 100 being spiked to 8,700 on Tuesday morning at the open rung a distant bell.

The FTSE 100 managed to close above our critical 8,700 level three times this week with an 8,705, an 8,706, and finally an 8,701. While  the numbers may not prove particularly inspiring, they did provide confirmation the market also thought our 8,700 was significant and had chosen to let the index exceed it.

From our perspective, our inclination is to take this as a sign of happier days ahead. So, what’s next?

It seems above 8,743 points should now provoke acceleration to an initial 8,790 points with our secondary, if bettered, at around 8,890 points, matching the previous all time high at the start of March.

Visually, we believe in the potential of our initial 8,790 but feel less confident about our secondary, certainly on the immediate movement cycle. This is a bit unfortunate as the tightest “safe” stop loss works out at 8,660 points, rather wide for an immediate gain/risk scenario.

Of course, we can cheerfully still throw a near-term reduction scenario into the mix. It’s now the case where below 8,662 calculates with the potential of reversal to an initial 8,610 with our secondary, if broken, working out at 8,680 and a very possible bounce.

Have a good weekend.

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Source: Trends and Targets. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Alistair Strang has led high-profile and "top secret" software projects since the late 1970s and won the original John Logie Baird Award for inventors and innovators. After the financial crash, he wanted to know "how it worked" with a view to mimicking existing trading formulas and predicting what was coming next. His results speak for themselves as he continually refines the methodology.

Alistair Strang is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of Interactive Investor. All correspondence is with Alistair Strang, who for these purposes is deemed a third-party supplier. Buying, selling and investing in shares is not without risk. Market and company movement will affect your performance and you may get back less than you invest. Neither Alistair Strang or Interactive Investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea. 

These articles are provided for information purposes only.  Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties.  The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

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