Prevailing uptrend in the STOXX Europe 50 Index set for stern test at 4,317.51

• Price action is gradually approaching a key resistance hurdle at 4,317.51
• The lower Bollinger Band® is currently at 4,153 while the higher band is at 4,365.72

The sentiment that generated 201.82 points in cumulative gains over the past 6 days was further evident for the STOXX Europe 50 Index. Yesterday's session pointed in the same direction — after closing at 4,298.36 the day before, the STOXX Europe 50 Index maintained a strong bullish bias that helped the index close higher at 4,309.45 yesterday. However, market bears ensured the the STOXX Europe 50 Index topped out at 4,313.74 and that by the end of the session, the market had marked out a distinct 4,294 to 4,313.74 range.

The STOXX Europe 50 Index reached a significant high of 4,317.54 around 3 days ago but has lost 0.44% since then.

Support/Resistance levels obtained from chart analysis indicate that EuroSTOXX could be slowing down soon as it approaches resistance at 4,317.51. Of course, crossing it might suggest further gains are ahead. Trend and momentum analysis indicates that the STOXX Europe 50 Index made an initial breakout above its 3 day Simple Moving Average at 4,309, a potential indicator of a newly emerging bullish phase. Analysis based on the asset volatility indicates that the STOXX Europe 50 Index's upper Bollinger Band® is at 4,365.72, this is a slight indication of a slowdown.

Overall, while the STOXX Europe 50 Index has been on an uptrend, technical indicators suggest that it has no obvious direction for the immediate future.

Fundamental indicators – data for Germany Industrial Production released yesterday at 06:00 UTC is better than expected with 2%, but worse than previous figure of 3.7%.

The STOXX Europe 50 Index shows positive signs, other assets are also on par: FTSE goes up 1.03% yesterday and closed at 7,663. KOSPI Composite Index ascends 1.27% yesterday and closed at 2,459.23. Nasdaq climbs 0.76% yesterday and closed at 12,000.

Upcoming fundamentals: Euro Zone CFTC EUR speculative net positions will be released today at 20:30 UTC.