U.S. stocks are up at the open.

As the opening bell rings on major U.S. stock exchanges, major stock indices are trading higher. That said, the NASDAQ index rose over 200 points in pre-market trading and is currently up just 136 points. That said, with this week’s declines, any gains are acceptable at this point.

A snapshot of the current market shows:

• The Dow Jones index rose 447 points, or 1.12%, to 40,384 points. Over the week, the index is now up 0.26%.
• The S&P index is trading at 46.80 points or 0.86% at 5445.94. Over the week, the index is down -1.07%.
• The NASDAQ index is trading down 143 points or 0.82% at 17323. For the week, the NASDAQ index is down -2.30%.

The Russell 2000 Index (up 3.24% this week) is trading up 38.52 points, or 1.73%, at 2,261.42. For the week, the index is up 3.435%. Last week, the index was up 1.67% and the week before that, it was up 5.996%.

Looking at the NASDAQ from a technical perspective, breaking above 17,353 and a swing zone at 17,494 – 17,544 is needed to give buyers some confidence and give sellers a reason to pause on the downside.

Let’s look at US yields:

• 2-year yield 4.387%, -5.6 basis points
• 5-year yield 4.085%, -6.0 basis points
• 10-year yield 4.205%, -5.0 basis points
• 30-year yield 4.460%, -3.9 basis points

Looking at other markets:

• Crude oil is trading down $0.81 at $77.44. For the week, crude oil is down -1.35%
• Gold is trading up $14 or 0.59% at $2,379.30. Gold price is down -0.89%
• Silver is down four cents, or -0.16%, at $27.79. The price is down -4.81% this week.
• Bitcoin is trading at $67,454 ahead of the weekend conference where former President Trump will deliver the keynote address. Last week, Bitcoin closed the week at $68,158. So the price is still lower on the week, but it is well off its low of $63,424

USDJPY has been hinted at as the reason for the stock decline (which is debatable). USDJPY has hit technical resistance between 154.53 and 154.88 and has found willing sellers. Price is now moving lower again, testing the 38.2% retracement of the upward move from the December 2023 low at 153.65. The pair has found supportive buyers on the look.

Stock traders, who trade USDJPY, are holding this level and bouncing, which could help stocks. Conversely, a break below 153.65, followed by further selling in USDJPY, could hurt stocks (especially USDJPY).