Technology bulls and bears fought Friday to a draw as traders remained unimpressed by the latest batch of stronger-than-expected earnings reports from big technology companies, states Jon Markman, editor of Strategic Advantage.
The Nasdaq 100 index closed at 15,982, a loss of 0.1%. Bulls managed a 0.9% advance on the week, though—their fourth consecutive gain. This is a strange juncture for bulls. They are pressing up against major resistance at 15,932, the July high. Clearly, bears need to dig in and fight at that level. Failure would mean a concession to 16,765, the record high set in November 2022. The bears are holding, so far.
This is a bit of a surprise given the strength of this quarter's corporate financial statements. Executives at Nvidia (NVDA) reported last week that third-quarter revenue jumped to a record $18.1 billion, up 34% from the second quarter, and a massive 206% from a year ago. Revenue from its data center business surged by 279% year-over-year. Earnings during Q3 jumped to $3.71 per share, up 12 times the level from the level reported a year ago.
Jensen Huang, chief executive at Nvidia, is now comparing the opportunity ahead as electric, literally. Huang says Nvidia processors, software, and networking gear are the “electricity that will power the next generation of artificial intelligence factories. Despite this, Nvidia shares fell last week by nearly 2%.
Investors should not bet against Huang over the longer term, yet the price action last week suggests the stock may be beginning a period of consolidation. Knocking the shine off Nvidia shares would be a big near-term victory for bears. It would allow them to advance the narrative that stocks are currently priced for perfection.
There is support for the benchmark down at 15,510, then 15,040. These levels represent the 20-day and 50-day moving averages. Expect bulls to aggressively buy any decline to those markers.
