Traders Cafe with Zak Mir: Bulletin Board Heroes, Weekend Edition, Sunday 29th March 2026

Zak Mir takes a charting look at some of the most closely followed small caps on the London Stock Exchange. Today’s charts are FTSE 100, DAX, Dow, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold, Crude, Audioboom, Avacta, European Green Transition, Frontier IP, Gem Resources, Greatland, IQE, Mercantile Ports, United Oil & Gas, Wildcat, and Zenith.

The theme across assets is fairly consistent: markets are trying to hold previous technical “floors” while larger events (including Iran headlines and the knock-on risk sentiment) keep the risk of a deeper dip alive.

As always, do your own research and treat these as chart-based observations rather than hard recommendations.

FTSE 100 “rising trend channel” question

On the FTSE 100, the key visual is the rising trend channel around the 10250 area. That line in the sand can feel a bit arbitrary, but the market has already behaved in a “textbook” way: a breakdown, then a break back into the channel, and the bounce has legs for now. The 50-day and 200-day moving averages are rising, with the 50-day line around 10388. The bullish idea would be an end-of-day close through the nearby resistance on the way down, roughly 10650 to take the market back to the prior highs. That said, with the weekend peace-talk failure hovering in the background, that move looks unlikely near term.

DAX: blocked by the 15 and 200-day lines

The DAX is currently dealing with a more obvious ceiling. The market has been blocked by the 15 and 200-day lines around 24100. For bulls, the key requirement is clear: a proper end-of-day close above 24100 to open the door to an upside move towards the next gap zone, roughly 24500 (the second gap down). But risk is not one-sided. Given the Iran situation, it is also plausible to see a “fill first” move, possibly fitting the gap down to about 23400 before any upside attempt.

Dow: top of the falling trend channel, then what?

On the Dow, the market managed to reach the top of a falling trend channel, which was the objective in the earlier setup. That level is around 48300. If the Dow can deliver an end-of-day close through that level, it would suggest continued strength and a push back into higher territory. The market has already slipped back towards the 50,000s on the chart, but the weekend events make it harder to bet on an immediate breakout. The more cautious, “test” idea is a revisit to the 200-day line around 46800. The hope there is that the prior resistance becomes a new support floor, making that test the last meaningful pullback rather than the start of a bigger slide.

Bitcoin: failing at the top of the channel versus breaking through

Cryptos have been sidelined by real-world issues, and Bitcoin is stuck in that uncomfortable decision point: failure at the top of the channel versus trying to punch through it. The level to watch is around 73,000. For now, Bitcoin has failed that level. If it cannot reclaim it, the downside risk points towards the 50-day moving average at 69,100. The hope is that Bitcoin does not go below 69,100, because RSI is still in the mid-50s at about 55. Multiple failures in the mid-70s also matter here: this February-to-April pattern has a similar “feel” to the November-to-January phase.

Ethereum: weaker than Bitcoin at the channel top, but holding RSI

Ethereum’s chart looks similar to Bitcoin’s, but with an important difference: ETH has shied away from the top of the falling trend channel so far. As a result, it has not performed as well as Bitcoin, at least in the immediate “channel top” behaviour. Below the current area, the risk is a break of the uptrend line from February around 1975. That sort of break could be forecast by an RSI fall below 50. RSI is currently about 56, still above that 50 line, which keeps the near-term picture intact. However, it could be only a few days away from a more meaningful breakdown if price action keeps rejecting higher resistance.

Gold: a contrarian historical angle

Gold analysis gets a useful prompt from something read on LinkedIn: historically, when gold has fallen by 25% or more, the stock market has tended to rocket after that.

Examples cited include:

• 1973 (during the 2008 period referenced): gold down about 25% as the stock market response became explosive afterwards.
• 1978: gold also fell about 25% following the Iranian revolution.
• In those cases, the subsequent equity rallies ran “well over three figures” in total magnitude.

The point is not that gold must fall again, but that the relationship is interesting enough to monitor. On the chart, the top of the falling trend channel is near 4900, very close to the 50-day moving average at 4903. Gold has already bounced, but the question remains: if the “25% down then equities rip” pattern repeats, what happens next? Another angle mentioned is the typical mechanism after major gold falls: it often coincides with money-printing or similar policy responses. Whether that happens again is unknown, but the chart level is clear enough: 4900 to 4903 is where the next argument will be made.

WTI Crude: holding the floor, range still in play

For crude oil (WTI), the key framing is the prior range idea. Before the end of the peace talks, the view was that if the market fell below roughly 95 to 105-110, then the new range would become 85 to 95. Weekend levels were around 95, which suggests the floor is still being held. It did push down to about 90 near the close, but the immediate hope is that the market is still respecting the channel floor. The near-term range plan is still 95 to 105, potentially stretching while RSI remains above 50. If RSI loses 50, the “range holds” thesis becomes far harder to defend.

Stocks: UK small caps and AIM-style chart setups

After the macro assets, the focus moves to individual shares. The common threads here are breakout behaviour, RSI support, moving average direction, and those classic “gap + trap + reversal” patterns that traders love because they often force positioning changes.

Audioboom: the breakout after the wedge

Audioboom: is personal for one reason: it was described as a long-term holding, including an original purchase made on the idea that Apple would take it over. That angle has not happened yet, and negative commentary about the company historically gets pushback from holders.

Technically, though, the chart improved sharply. A great day on Friday followed a breakout:

• It broke out of a wedge on Wednesday around 480p.
• Since then, it has “rocketed”.

Whether there is takeover froth or not, the shares have traded in line with revenues rather than exhibiting major speculative expansion. That was framed as a “fair value” area roughly between 600p and “almost like fair value” behaviour over the last year. Into Friday’s rally, RSI showed bullish divergence: even with lower share price lows, RSI maintained support structure, and the moving averages are improving, with the 200-day line rising and possibly the 50-day line beginning to rise, hinting at a potential golden cross.

Targets:

• 650p initially
• A major barrier around 800p (and beyond it, if strength persists)
• “Greatest glory”, whether with M&A or not, suggested towards 900p (top of the triangle from October)

One caution mentioned: the share may still have “weak hands” trapped in it, people who bought high and are trying to exit.

Avacta: bear trap island reversal after a gap down, then a gap up

Avacta: is framed as everyone’s favourite “where is it going?” setup. The RSI window has an uptrend line, and the company delivered a good update during the week.

The standout pattern was gap behaviour:

• Gap down at the end of last month
• Gap up this month

This was interpreted as a bear trap island reversal. The implication is positioning: some traders likely got caught short, and the reversal nature can fuel upside momentum. Key level: while price is above the latest gap around 66p, the expectation is for moves towards 90p by the end of next month. A more cautious view waits for the 75p resistance to break first. Support context is good: both 50-day and 200-day lines are rising in parallel.

European Green Transition story: rising off resistance, upgraded targets

Another stock tied to European Green Transition was described as having been a disappointment for a long time, but the chart has started to “come to life”. A recent move reclaimed resistance around 8p.

Targets were upgraded:

• First target: 11p
• Upgraded target: 16p by the end of next month

The condition is staying above the resistance area on the way down around 9p. RSI’s uptrend line under the RSI window was also flagged as supportive.

Frontier IP: breaking the falling wedge and pressing towards higher moving averages

Frontier IP: got a notable positive move on Friday. The RSI window has an uptrend line, and price action did two important things:

• It broke out of a falling wedge
• It broke through the 50-day moving average around 12p

Price even reached the vicinity of the 200-day line. Above that sits a higher resistance reference around 16.8p near the top of a broadening triangle.

Best case target by the end of next month: 28p.

Ideally, the stock holds above the recently broken resistance around 13p to 12p.

Gem Resources: bear trap bounce, broadening triangle base, but wait for the right line

Gem Resources was described as having potential turnaround characteristics. While “turnaround” is a punchy label, the chart has improving structure:

• 200-day line rising
• Reclaimed old September support around 0.27p

The expectation is a bear trap style move and a broadening triangle base, aiming at least towards around 0.45p over the next month or so. Best case was mentioned as 0.80p, but the speaker was unsure what would fully justify strength at that magnitude. A more disciplined trigger was given: watch for the 50-day and the key resistance line (from October) to break properly at around 0.30p (as read on the chart level mentioned).

Greatland Gold: bear trap island reversal and 90 mph energy

Greatland Gold was labelled an “amazing turnaround”. The gold price has turned, but this share has turned even more.

The pattern described was:

• Bear trap island reversal
• Gaps higher

That combination was summarised as the shares running at 90 mph in a 70 mph zone.

Key level: above the latest gap around 738p. The upside target was framed as:

• Top of the rising trend channel: around 850p by the end of next month
• Potentially even reaching that level by the end of this month depending on momentum

IQE: RSI above 50 since January, targets rising again

IQE continued to grind higher and kept beating prior expectations. Earlier targets were discussed as 11p, then 15p, with a later view of 35p as the top target. That has been exceeded, and a new reference was given:

A resistance projection for 2023 up to 50p.

One of the most striking technical comments: RSI has been above 50 continuously since the first week of January, with multiple RSI-50-plus rebounds. That is the kind of consistency that makes trend traders interested even when price is volatile.

Mercantile Ports: overshot earlier target, legal news in the background

Mercantile Ports was covered at the end of the week and it apparently exceeded expectations. The earlier view was around 1.2p and the market “blew the doors off” that.

The next reference target was the top of a broadening triangle around 2.4p as a best case by the end of this month.

Fundamental noise also matters: legal dispute news was mentioned as part of why the current trading pattern may be more interesting than usual.

United Oil & Gas: gap through 0.22p, upside even if oil isn’t perfect

United Oil & Gas was described as long-impatient, with a chart showing a breakout above old resistance.

The key move:

• Gap through resistance at about 0.22p
• Upside targets: 0.32p

There is a “remember this” macro-history element: the board previously awarded themselves options and incentives based on share price multiples months earlier, which naturally makes long-term holders and skeptics watch every move with extra suspicion. Even accounting for oil price conditions, the shares were framed as looking good relative to where they sit on the chart. Support was noted at 0.22p with 0.32p targeted by next month.

Wildcat Petroleum: oversold turnaround attempt, Aquis and gold processing angle

Wildcat Petroleum looked like it may be turning around after a period of very bearish positioning. The speaker referenced an oversold level around 3p out of 100, described as the same as the last time it became very oversold.

The chart then broke resistance from October around 0.38p. The minimum target suggested was the 200-day line at 0.68p.

There was also a narrative catalyst angle: the company is going to Aquis and is getting into gold processing, with management excitement acting as a potential support for risk appetite.

Zenith Energy: holding above the July gap, stepping towards 11p then 15p

Zenith Energy finished with a decent week but did pull back slightly. The critical requirement is holding the floor of the gap from July around 9p.

Targets:

• Initial: 11p
• Best case: 15p next month

As always, the structural level matters most when sentiment is jumpy.

Bottom line for the week ahead

Across indices, crypto, commodities, and the set of individual AIM-style charts, the story is about levels and behaviour at those levels:

• Indices are trying to hold rising moving averages and channel floors, but weekend geopolitical risk keeps the “dip could deepen” idea alive.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum are at decision points: reclaiming overhead resistance would improve the trend picture, while losses of moving averages and RSI 50 would quickly worsen it.
• Gold is being watched through a contrarian historical lens built around past deep gold drawdowns and subsequent equity strength.
• Crude oil is holding the possible 95 floor, with RSI above 50 keeping the range argument alive.
• Stocks show the usual mix of breakout confirmation (moving above wedges, gaps, and moving averages) and the warning that trapped “weak hands” can either fuel rallies or cap them until the next clean level breaks.

More updates are typically promised for the next session as these levels start either to hold or to fail. That is where the real information lies: in whether the market respects the lines, or whether it decides to erase them.

Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:

The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.