With some companies laying off staff due to the pandemic, it becomes hard for recruitment agencies to find new contracts. Major human resources agencies like Randstad NV (AMS: RAND) are suffering because of the imposed lockdowns in various countries. During the February-March stock market decline, RAND took a strong hit as well. Once the lockdown measures were relaxed across the globe, the Dutch multinational HR agency was able to recover some of the losses, especially with the requirement of summer seasonal jobs. Now the company is making a bet on the temporary workforce, which might be required for the period running up to Christmas. However, some retailers are already projecting a decline in sales, which means that the employability may not be the same as the one in 2019.
Looking at the technical picture of RAND, we can see that after the April-August recovery, the stock started feeling the heat again, due to a possibility of another lockdown, especially in major developed economies. Last week, the share price took a dive, ending up breaking the medium-term upside support line taken from the low of March 23rd. Also, the stock fell below some of its key support levels, like the 43.20, which suggests that there might be more downside to come, at least in the near term.
A further move south could bring RAND to the 40.28 hurdle, marked by the lowest point of August, which may halt the slide for a bit. The stock might even rebound somewhat, however if it struggles to get back above the 43.20 zone, marked by the lows of August 21st and September 1st, that could keep new buyers from entering for a while. If so, the result might be another slide, which could this time bring the share price below the previously discussed 40.28 obstacle and target the 37.20 level, marked by the lowest point of June.
The RSI and the MACD are both pointing slightly lower. In addition to that the RSI is below 50 and the MACD is below zero and its trigger line. Both oscillators show slowly increasing downside speed of the price, which could support the above-mentioned idea.
Alternatively, if the share price climbs back above the aforementioned upside line and then rises above September’s high, near the 47.00 mark, that may attract more buyers into the game, as such a move would confirm a forthcoming higher high. That’s when RAND could get a boost towards the 49.00 obstacle, a break of which might clear the path to the 51.58 level. That level is marked near the low of February 3rd and the high of February 25th.
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