FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEW The Nasdaq has been trading in a tight range this week as traders await the crucial US CPI report due on Friday. If you recall, the Nasdaq rallied strongly last Thursday after some dovish Fed’s Waller comments indicated that he would be willing to keep interest rate unchanged at the September meeting barring a hot CPI. On Friday, the price spiked lower after the US NFPsurprised to the upside showing job growth in August almost tripling the consensus estimate of 56Ka strong. The losses didn’t last long, though, as most of the NFP-driven moves got faded thereafter. This happened because the market focus was not on the NFP report, but on the CPI. The market pays attention to the data that the central bank is focused on, and the Federal Reserve is currently focused on inflation. That’s why we’ve been seeing a rangebound price action this week as the focus turned to US CPI data. Unless, we get some surprising breakthrough in US-Iran relations, the price action will likely remain choppy or a bit negative as traders at some point might start hedging into the CPI release. A soft or in-line CPI will likely give the Nasdaq a boost as Fed’s Waller mentioned that he won’t consider a rate hike unless we get a hot CPI. Conversely, an upside surprise in core monthly inflation data could trigger another selloff as traders will position for a rate hike. NASDAQ TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – DAILY TIMEFRAMEOn the daily chart, we can see the Nasdaq found support around the 28,950 level. If the price pulls back into the support again, we can expect the buyers to step in with a defined risk below the support to position for a rally into the all-time highs. The sellers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking lower to pile in for a drop into the July low around the 27,200 level.NASDAQ TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – 4 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 4 hour chart, we have a clear range between the 28,950 support and the 29,800 resistance. The market participants will likely continue to play the range by buying at support and selling at resistance until we get a breakout on either side.NASDAQ TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – 1 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 1 hour chart, we have a minor support around the 29,470 level which defines the tighter range that formed in the last week. The sellers will look for short opportunities around the resistance and on the break of the support, while the buyers will continue to step in around the support or wait for a break above the resistance. The red lines define average daily range for today. UPCOMING CATALYSTSTomorrow, we get the US PPI report and the US Jobless Claims figures. On Friday, we conclude the week with the US CPI report. This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.