Microsoft, Apple and Oracle Face Rising Rate Pressure

Microsoft (MSFT) Technical Analysis

Microsoft looks like it’s going to open up the session on the back foot, as a gap lower is more likely than not at this point. Perhaps forming a little bit of a double top for technicians to pay attention to, but ultimately this is a market that’s still very much in an uptrend, and this pullback could end up being a buying opportunity. We’ll just have to wait and see. But ultimately, this is a market that has seen a couple of major gaps to the upside on volume recently, and therefore isn’t necessarily something that I personally would feel comfortable shorting, but I do feel much more comfortable buying dips.

Apple (AAPL) Technical Analysis

The market for Apple looks like it is going to open up pretty flat at the beginning of the session. It was an interesting day on Monday. Initially, Apple sold off, but it got back about half those losses by the end of the day to show real resiliency. The market is sitting just above the crucial 50-day EMA, an indicator that a lot of people will be watching.

If we can turn around and break above the highs of the last couple of days, I think that would be a very bullish sign and could have traders thinking about filling the gap from the earnings call a couple of weeks ago. Apple is in a longer-term uptrend; that hasn’t changed. I still like the idea of owning Apple. I just recognize that in the macroeconomic environment that we find ourselves in, pretty much anything is going to be difficult at this point to hang on to.

Oracle (ORCL) Technical Analysis

Oracle looks like it’s going to be a little bit sluggish at the open as we continue to trade right around the 50-day EMA, an indicator that a lot of people pay close attention to. We do have a little bit of a barrier sitting just south of the $160 level, so I’m watching that as well. If we can break above there, it’d be a sign of strength.

Right now, it looks like a market that’s just simply trying to grind sideways and capture its footing so that perhaps we can turn things around and continue to the upside. A move below the $135 level would be a breach of support, and that’s something that I would watch from a negative standpoint.

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