This week, the US Federal Reserve, despite all of its wildly varying hawkish and dovish rhetoric in the build up to its highly anticipated rate policy decision, chose not to take the plunge and raise the base US interest rate from the current 0.5% to 0.75%. For the third time this year.

Furthermore, expectations for 2017 interest rate hikes were decreased, which some investors have interpreted as a weakening of the US economy. Yet stock markets disagreed, taking it as proof rates were set to stay lower for longer. The UK UK 100 , German Dax 30 and the US Dow Jones Industrial indices all closed posting remarkable gains.

However, was it really a surprise that global markets would rally in the aftermath of the Fed’s crucial decision?

The answer is no. And if you, like the majority of Accendo’s clients, had started your day’s trading by reading our research department’s Morning Report publication at 7:45am, you too would have been able to benefit by not asking ‘why?’ but by asking ‘how far will this go?’

While Accendo cannot offer implicit predictions for when to go long or short on a position, we can highlight the levels at which buying and selling took place historically by identifying support (historic buying) and resistance (selling) in a bid to prepare you for potential future price movements – just in case buyers and sellers return once again.

Our analysts (correctly) identified the key watch levels to look out for during Thursday’s trading in the first paragraph of their morning report, allowing our clients to make an informed decision about when to enter and exit from their positions. By using a 17–month trendline of falling highs, the analysts managed to accurately call the level at which the index rally subsequently faltered.

A single long (buy) contract position placed on the UK 100 at the Accendo analysts‘ bullish watch level of 6885 and closed out at the analysts’ targeted level of 6935 could have seen a gain of 50 points (£500 in cash terms). All this from reading a single paragraph of our research!

It is worth noting though, that these watch levels are not implicit notices to go long or short once they’re reached. Just like being awarded a penalty by the referee doesn’t guarantee you will score a goal, but will significantly increase your chance of scoring a goal. It’s a signal for you to look more carefully at your position and make a swift decision as to whether there will be a bounce or a fall back, a break higher or a break lower. We hope to provide you with the tools to make the best possible trades at crucial market turning points.

Thinking that predicting how indices will behave is not for you? Our research caters to a range of securities across multiple markets (European and US equities as well as commodities) in order for our clients to stay abreast of the most compelling investment opportunities and keep clients up-to-date with the latest headline developments that may affect your positions.

For example, our Another Level publication identifies the four key stocks our research department believe have the potential to make major market moves in the very near term. Charting and technical analysis for each stock, including market trends, directional indicators and moving averages, all aim to help you make an informed decision at the crucial time.

Never miss a beat by signing up to Accendo Market’s research and see why our analysts are quoted daily by the international financial press.

Ben Vartia, Trader, 23rd September