- Stock Benchmarks rebound after a terrible start to February
- Widespread rebound across all sectors, with Tech seeing a particular bounce (despite Amazon, Google and Meta struggling)
- Exploring Technical Levels for the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500
The green freight is back, pulling global equities sharply higher.
A more fragile risk appetite following last week’s new Fed Chair announcement cascaded into a brutal, cross-asset selloff yesterday leaving Participants scratching their heads.
First, lingering geopolitical anxiety (US-Iran) weighed heavily on sentiment.
On top of that, recent mid-tier US labor data challenged the resilience narrative that showed throughout most releases since December.
JOLTS, jobless claims, the Challenger layoffs report, and Tuesday’s ADP misses all pointed toward a labor market that is weakening rather than holding up, lowering expectations ahead of Wednesday’s NFP release.
Challenger Job Cuts – January 2026 report – Source: Challenger, Grey and Christmas
Overnight, however, anxiety eased.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+4.20%) led a powerful rebound ahead of Sunday’s snap elections, while dovish repricing for both the Fed and the Bank of England — alongside ongoing US-Iran discussions that have so far avoided escalation — helped fuel today’s risk rally.
Even cryptocurrencies, which have been under heavy pressure, rebounded sharply after reaching key support zones. Bitcoin quickly flashed from $60,000 to $69,000!
Whether the bounce holds remains the big question. One thing is clear: digital assets remain fragile and firmly back at the top of the volatility leaderboard.
Daily performance across Global Index Futures – Courtesy of Finviz
Tech and software names are also catching a breather after months of drought, as investors had punished heavy AI-related CapEx amid fears of creative destruction.
Services once sold at a premium are increasingly achievable with a few Claude or Gemini tools. While that reality still poses a threat to high-P/E companies, the sector is enjoying temporary relief.
Nvidia is leading mega-cap performance alongside AMD — a dynamic not seen since October 2025 — while other Mag-7 names such as Google, Amazon, and Meta continue to struggle despite record earnings.
Markets are growing less complacent about massive AI infrastructure spending as doubts around near-term profitability creep in.
Current picture for the Stock Market (11:54 A.M. ET) – Source: TradingView – February 6, 2026
Traders are bracing for a volatile week ahead, but with noticeably less anxiety. Dovish expectations for NFP could further cement the odds of a March Fed cut, currently priced at just 15%.
After diving into Weekly charts for Nasdaq and the Dow (I invite you to check them out), we move into today’s session charts and key trading levels for the major US indices: the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 ahead of the weekend.
Dow Jones 4H Chart and Trading Levels
Dow Jones (CFD) 4H Chart – February 6, 2026 – Source: TradingView
The Dow Jones is once again outperforming its peers with traditional sectors seeing even crazier relative strength with the ongoing sentiment rebound.
Now breezing through its preceding all-time highs, the Index will face a key test at the 50,000 milestone which could be reached for the first time in today's session!
An enormous feat when seeing that the DJIA was just at 36,618 during the Liberation Day drop.
Despite all the warnings and pessimistic sentiment, Equities consolidating at their highs really was a sign of strength (as indicated in our higher timeframe outlook).
Nevertheless, recent volatility remains very tricky to trade, hence this run to new highs will be essential for days to come:
- Remaining above all-time highs will be a show of strength, particularly if the Index holds there after the Non-Farm payrolls.
- The 50,000 level will act as key psychological level, breaching it to the upside is a sign of further strength incoming
- Watch for any fakeouts on Monday which could have the opposite effect
Keep a close eye on immediate action as prices reach the 49,900 to 50,000 resistance.
Dow Jones technical levels for trading:
Resistance Levels
- 49,900 to 50,000 Psychological Resistance
- 49,927 session highs and ATH (CFD) – Index at 49,909
- Potential mini-Resistance 50,150
- Potential mini-Resistance 2 50,450
Support Levels
- January ATH Resistance now Pivot From 49,500 to 49,700 (Bull above, bear below)
- Intraday Support 49,200 to 49,350
- Pivotal Support – 49,000 to 49,100 (acted as key support, watch if it breaks)
- Intraday Support 48,600 to 48,700
- Key Support around 47,500
- 45,000 psychological level (Main Support on higher timeframe)
Nasdaq 4H Chart and Trading Levels
Nasdaq (CFD) 4H Chart – February 6, 2026 – Source: TradingView
Nasdaq is leading quite a surprising rebound (+3.37% from lows) in today's action after struggling from rough outflows – It had initially been lagging the rise in the Dow Jones but is now catching up towards the mid-session.
Still, the tech-heavy index will be under scrutiny over times to come, particularly as software-tech sector outflows have amassed quite some momentum.
- Evolving within a descending channel, bulls will want to push for a break above the 25,250 Pivot Zone highs (which will break the channel).
- Rejecting from there would be sending more bearish signs for continuation lower.
Nasdaq technical levels of interest:
Resistance Levels
- Minor Support now Pivot 25,000 to 25,250
- 25,400 to 25,500 Key intraday resistance
- Pivotal Resistance 25,700 to 25,850
- 26,246 FOMC highs
- All-time high resistance zone 26,100 to 26,300
Support Levels
- February 5 lows 24,165
- 24,500 to 25,600 Key Support
- October - November Support 23,800 to 24,000
- Early 2025 ATH at 22,000 to 22,229 Support
S&P 500 4H Chart and Trading Levels
S&P 500 (CFD) 4H Chart – February 6, 2026 – Source: TradingView
The S&P 500 is also catching quite a breather after its fast paced descent to test the lows of its 6,700 to 7,000 broad range (holding there since December 2025).
Despite the huge move higher, traders will want to see a break above the 7,020 All-Time Highs to confirm a further extension and a pursued rally.
Keep an eye on the 4H 50 and 200 Moving Averages acting as imminent intraday resistance from 6,920 to 6,930.
S&P 500 technical levels of interest:
Resistance Levels
- 4H 50 and 200-period Moving Averages (6,918 and 6,930)
- Previous ATH Resistance 6,945 to 6,975
- Current ATH 7,020
- All-time High Resistance 7,000 to 7,020 (range highs)
Support Levels
- Key Pivot Zone 6,880 to 6,900
- Mini-Support 6,830 to 6,850
- 6,800 Psychological Support
- Overnight lows 6,735 (range lows)
- 6,400 Major psychological support
Safe Trades and keep a close eye on the US-Iran discussions!
Follow Elior on Twitter/X for Additional Market News, interactions and Insights @EliorManier
Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only.
If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use.
Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets.
© 2026 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
