Sandy Jadaja, Chief Technical Analyst for spread betting and CFD trading provider City Index, takes a look at the week ahead for the FTSE 100, May Crude Oil, and the Dow Jones.

Greater London, England -- (SBWire) -- 04/29/2011 -- Last week’s price action coupled with reversal patterns places the stock indices in a weak position for this week. Both the FTSE 100 and Dow Jones faced a wall of resistance giving the bears a chance to take these markets lower. The real question is if the current levels are going to be a short term barrier or instead turn into an intermediate term resistance area putting further pressure on the bulls to take these markets higher. Oil prices fell sharply but still remain above a key support level. If the May contract maintains its bullish stance then higher prices are still possible.

FTSE 100 stalling at 6050 resistance
The UKS FTSE 100 index lost -1% whilst struggling to break above the key level of 6050-6117. This resistance band has been holding the index back for several weeks now. Although technically the FTSE has now reached the 20 day Moving Average momentum studies are also trading sideways. Both indications suggest a pullback towards the 5850 level may be likely if the index does not clear above 6050 this week. The 6000 level is the main divider line and this week ahead should provide a clue to the intermediate trend once the market has decided which side to play with.

Dow Jones continues consolidations
Although the Dow Jones has trades sideways for the last two weeks it is the momentum indicator which may provide a clue for the near term direction. We notice that the indicator is under the recent high and the index is trading below the 12333 level. The current pattern may be sporting a “Double Top” if the index fails to clear 12333 very soon. Downside objectives are coming in at 12090 if weakness continues to drag the Dow Jones Lower. Unless a clean breakout above 12333 takes place then this index may prove to be much weaker than expected.

Crude Oil pulls back at the key $115 level
Still trading above $97 Nymex Crude Oil pulled back with a loss of -2.78% and creating a Pivot Low at $105.31 – If this low is violated this week then oil prices mat create an ABCD pattern t the $101 level. However the intermediate term charts still suggest that Oil price could continue to trade towards the upside and a bullish advantage would be to stay above the 20 day Moving Average whilst maintaining a rising momentum indicator. A failure at $115 could see oil start a consolidation between $115 - $101 for the month of April.

To learn more about spread betting and CFD trading with City Index, visit: http://www.cityindex.co.uk/

Spread betting and CFD trading are leveraged products which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks.

About City Index
Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, CFDs and, in the UK, spread betting.

We constantly look to improve the performance of our platforms and expand the range of services we provide. The result is that our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer service and support. For more information, visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/.