<ul>
<li><p>US equity index futures red; Russell 2000 down &gt;1%</p></li>
<li><p>Initial jobless claims  213k vs 215k estimate</p></li>
<li><p>Euro STOXX 600 index off ~0.3%</p></li>
<li><p>Dollar ~flat, crude up ~7%; gold edges up, bitcoin slips</p></li>
<li><p>US 10-Year Treasury yield edges up to ~4.22%      Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at</p></li>
</ul>
<h3>NASDAQ BREADTH MEASURE TAKES ON WATER - CAN BULLS BAIL IT OUT?</h3>
<p>The Nasdaq Composite  (.IXIC)  rose marginally on Wednesday. Of note, the tech-laden index’s last record close was on October 29, 2025, or 90 trading days ago. With Wednesday’s gain, the Composite ended at 22,716.135, putting it down 5.2% from its 23,958.473 record close, and down 5.4% from its 24,019.993 October 29, 2025, record intraday high.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, one measure of the Nasdaq’s internal strength, the Nasdaq New High/New Low (NH/NL) Index, continues to sink. A sharp thrust higher in this measure may signal that bulls are back at the helm.</p>
<p>The NH/NL index put in a peak at 83.4% on September 23 of last year. It then diverged into the Composite’s late-October record highs.</p>
<p>After plunging to a November 24 low of 29.7%, which was just two trading days after the IXIC’s November 20 trough, this measure then put in a secondary high at 76.4% on January 16.</p>
<p>However, it’s been pretty much taking on water ever since.</p>
<p>The NH/NL index ended Wednesday at 37.9%, which has it nearing its November 2025 and January 2026 troughs in the 29.7% to 35% area.</p>
<p>Bulls will now want to see the NH/NL index put in a V-bottom and reclaim its descending 10-day moving average (DMA), which ended Wednesday at just over 45%. In the event the NH/NL index breaks its November trough, the Nasdaq Composite may find itself in even rougher seas.</p>
<p>The April 2025 NH/NL index low was sub-10%.</p>
<p>(Terence Gabriel)</p>
<h3>EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:</h3>
<h3>MIZUHO’S FIVE MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENTS THAT WOULD SEND OIL AND RATES LOWER</h3>
<h3>HOW UBS SAYS TO HEDGE AN OIL SHOCK WITHIN EUROPEAN EQUITIES</h3>
<h3>EUROPE’S STOXX 600 FALLS, BANKS SLUMP OUTWEIGHS EARNINGS WINNERS  IRAN WIDENS WAR ON SHIPPING, TRUMP TALKS STRAIT CLICK HERE EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES POINT LOWER, EARNINGS PROVIDE CUSHION CLICK HERE</h3>
<p>NasdaqNewHighNewLowIndex03122026</p>
<p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/zjpqmejojpx/NasdaqNewHighNewLowIndex03122026.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="883" height="695" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/zjpqmejojpx/NasdaqNewHighNewLowIndex03122026.png"/></p>
<p>(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)</p>

LIVE MARKETS-Nasdaq breadth measure takes on water - Can bulls bail it out?