FTSE for Friday: why the FTSE 100 must bounce now
As well as a successful software package, independent analyst Alistair Strang has another theory about current market movement.
9th October 2026 07:17
by Alistair Strang from Trends and Targets
We obviously live, sleep, eat, and dream in numbers. Most of the time, there’s utter frustration, along with the doors to conspiracy theories constantly being kicked open.
A current one has been establishing two “secondary” drop targets, one which means the fall is logical and market driven. But the other one throws a spanner in the works, one we’re being silly and calling the “manual control” target. As in, the conspiracy theory claims the fall is under manual control and not market forces. And as a result, a bounce should occur before our secondary target. This is an example of just how frustrating the market has become, constantly wondering if what we’re looking at is real.
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At present, the FTSE 100 has managed to play out a theoretical “manual control” scenario, our software now suggesting the visit on Thursday to 10,367 points should represent a bottom and the market must now bounce. But only if there’s a massive conspiracy finagling the FTSE!
It will certainly be a little interesting to see what the days ahead hold as our silly “manual control” target presented as 10,364 points, with the drop achieved being sufficiently close to justify a question mark. If we take the stance that a bounce is expected, Friday should thus provide a day of gains.
Should our theory prove correct, it is allegedly the case where above 10,456 points should trigger FTSE 100 movement to a modest 10,469 points. Our secondary, if exceeded, calculates at a slightly less modest 10,492 points. If triggered, the tightest stop is reasonable at around 10,434 points. Hopefully “they” don’t choose to do all the work in the first second of opening.
Our alternate scenario, if the market plans one of its always hilarious “gotcha” games, will hit home if the FTSE staggers below 10,364 points. This now has the potential to trigger reversal to an initial 10,315 points with our secondary, if broken, a slower visit to a bottom around 10,290 points.
At present, the FTSE feels worse than accidentally listening to Radio 1. The index needs above 10,670 to tick a box cancelling the potential of a bottom at 10,290 points.
Have a good weekend.
Source: Trends and Targets. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
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.
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