EUROSTOXX 50 futures traded sharply lower Thursday to extend the pullback from Tuesday’s 4037.00 high. The move lower suggests potential for a deeper retracement with sights on the 50-day EMA, at 3794.10. A break of this average would signal scope for a continuation lower. On the upside, key resistance has been defined at 4037.00 where a break is required to resume the recent uptrend. A rally in the S&P E-Minis Tuesday saw price trade above 4142.50, Dec 1 high. However, a strong reversal, resulted in a sharp move lower and price remains below Tuesday high. Thursday’s sell-off has reinforced a bearish threat and note that this also highlights the importance of a shooting star candle formation on Tuesday - a reversal signal. A continuation lower would open 3855.13, a Fibonacci retracement. Key resistance is 4180.00.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed lower by 524.58 pts or -1.87% at 27527.12 and the TOPIX ended 23.69 pts lower or -1.2% at 1950.21.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed lower by 0.79 pts or -0.02% at 3167.858 and the HANG SENG ended 82.08 pts higher or +0.42% at 19450.67.
• Across Europe, Germany's DAX trades lower by 68.65 pts or -0.49% at 13918.03, FTSE 100 lower by 31.75 pts or -0.43% at 7394.27, CAC 40 down 44.94 pts or -0.69% at 6477.83 and Euro Stoxx 50 down 21.63 pts or -0.56% at 3814.07.
• Dow Jones mini down 234 pts or -0.7% at 32978, S&P 500 mini down 33.75 pts or -0.87% at 3863.25, NASDAQ mini down 106.5 pts or -0.94% at 11240.75.