Here's the trigger for FTSE 100 upside

FTSE for Friday (FTSE:UKX)

The USA's turkey festival surprised us by coming a week early! Apparently, the last Thursday of November is not a fixed rule for gobbler massacres. Our complaint, the markets in Europe opted to enjoy a duvet day, rather than experience the buoyant day we expected.

The funny thing about this US Festival comes from how, something historically just one of these weird American "things", became accepted (and still slightly puzzled about) through Europe.

It's easy to suspect international communication via social media is liable to provoke future excuses being found for a similar "family and friends sit down meal" without the intrusion and pressure of gifts. Not the worst idea in the world.

Perhaps the turkey(!) fake bacon we had with lunch allows us to forgive what proved a completely boring day on the markets.

Even Japan, usually capable of wandering off and doing its own thing, appeared to settle down to await the US opening for trade again.

Fairly key for the FTSE should be trades above just 7,432 points on Friday, ideally not with a movement at 8:00 am.

We're looking at this near-term trigger proving capable of driving the index toward 7,466 points.

Secondary, if bettered, calculates at 7,496 points, though common sense points out a history of limp days on the FTSE tends to make hope for an 82-point day perhaps misplaced.

In addition, there's the small issue of the immediate blue downtrend, currently lurking at 7,445 points and liable to cause a stutter in upward travels.

To focus on the miserable side of life, the index needs to break 7,360 (red) to bring 7,330 points, perhaps even 7,308 points.

Have a good weekend.

Alistair Strang has led high-profile and "top secret" software projects since the late 1970s and won the original John Logie Baird Award for inventors and innovators. After the financial crash, he wanted to know "how it worked" with a view to mimicking existing trading formulas and predicting what was coming next. His results speak for themselves as he continually refines the methodology.

Alistair Strang is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of Interactive Investor. All correspondence is with Alistair Strang, who for these purposes is deemed a third-party supplier. Buying, selling and investing in shares is not without risk. Market and company movement will affect your performance and you may get back less than you invest. Neither Alistair Strang, Shareprice, or Interactive Investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea. 

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