Friday’s ETF Chart To Watch: MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC)

Stocks managed to hold their ground yesterday even after Wednesday’s extraordinary rally, although profit-taking pressures did creep in throughout the day as news from the Fed minutes spooked some. The bull train on Wall Street lost a bit of steam on Thursday after policymakers from the Federal Reserve commented that the ongoing monthly bond-repurchase program would likely end sometime this year. On the labor market front, the outlook remains mixed after the ADP employment report beat expectations, while weekly jobless claims came in higher-than-expected [Download How To Pick The Right ETF Every Time].

In addition to the domestic employment report coming out later today, investors will also bring their attention to Canada’s latest jobs data before the opening bell. As such, our spotlight will shift to the iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC, B), which could see an uptick in trading activity as markets react to the latest labor market developments. Analysts are expecting Canada’s unemployment rate to come in at 7.3% versus the previous reading of 7.2% [see our Free ETF Country Exposure Tool]. 

EWC started off the year with a bang alongside major equity indexes, however, profit-taking pressures the following day hit this ETF particularly hard and erased a bulk of the gains accumulated during the first trading day of 2013. Nonetheless  EWC appears poised to continue its uptrend (blue line) judging by its rising level of support since bottoming out in mid-November of 2012. Despite the attractive technical set-up for further upside in the near-term, EWC could soon face profit-taking pressures as it looks to summit $29 a share (red line), a resistance level that remains unconquerable since 2011 [see The 5 Most Important Chart Patterns For ETF Traders].

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We advise conservative investors to hold off from jumping in long until this ETF establishes definitive support above the $29 mark for five or more consecutive days, depending on individual risk tolerance [see 5 Important ETF Lessons In Pictures].

If Canada’s labor market shows signs of improvement, EWC could have the wind at its back on the day; in terms of upside, the next major resistance level for this ETF lies around the $29 level. On the other hand, if investors are unhappy with the latest employment report, profit-taking pressures could intensify; in terms of downside, the next support level for EWC comes in at around $28 a share. As always, investors of all experience levels are advised to use stop-loss orders and practice disciplined profit-taking techniques.

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.

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