S&P 500 Hits Record High as Major Indexes Rise in Afternoon Trading

Micron Price Levels to Watch Ahead of Earnings Report

47 minutes ago

Micron (MU) shares were about 1% higher in afternoon trading Tuesday, gaining ground for the fourth straight session, ahead of the chipmaker’s eagerly anticipated fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, due after Wednesday’s closing bell.

Analysts expect the company to swing to a profit and nearly double its revenue from a year earlier as it continues to benefit from surging demand for high bandwidth artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to power data centers, smartphones, and PCs.

The stock has formed two distinct troughs between August and September, potentially marking a double bottom in the chipmaker’s shares.

Investors should monitor important lower price levels on Micron’s chart around $87 and $79, while watching key higher price levels near $109 and $128.

Read the full technical analysis piece here. 

–Timothy Smith

Visa Drops After Reports DOJ is Preparing Antitrust Suit

2 hr 48 min ago

Visa (V) shares dropped in early trading following reports that the payment processing giant is likely to be sued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as soon as Tuesday over allegedly monopolistic behavior to protect its dominant position in the debit card market.

The DOJ is preparing to accuse Visa of using tactics like exclusive agreements to prevent competitors from growing large enough to challenge its dominant position, Bloomberg reported Monday night. In a subsequent report, The New York Times said the DOJ is also planning to allege that Visa penalizes customers for using a different payment processing service.

A potential suit would follow years of investigative work from regulators after an antitrust lawsuit led Visa and competing payment processor Plaid to abandon merger talks in January 2021.

 The DOJ said at the time that the planned $5.3 billion merger was an example of Visa’s monopolistic behavior, as it looked to acquire a potential rival before it was large enough to effectively challenge it.

Visa shares were down nearly 4%, leading Dow decliners Tuesday morning.

–Aaron McDade

Tesla Price Levels to Watch as Rally Continues

4 hr 47 min ago

Tesla shares were up in premarket trading after surging 5% on Monday as several analysts highlighted possible catalysts for the stock, including the potential for better-than-expected third-quarter vehicle deliveries and the EV maker’s upcoming robotaxi event.

The stock, which is back in the green for the year, has trended higher after finding support from a prior multi-month downtrend line and the neckline of an inverse head and shoulders pattern, though volumes remain below longer-term averages.

Investors should watch key support levels on Tesla’s chart around $225 and $205, while eyeing pivotal resistance levels near $265 and $300.

Tesla shares were up 1.8% at $254.45 in recent premarket trading.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Major Index Futures Slightly Higher

5 hr 26 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were also up 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2%.