Shares of auto manufacturer General Motors (GM) moved to break out of their trading range on Wednesday as the company announced an expansion to their EV charging capabilities.
The company announced that as of today, GM electric vehicles will have access to Tesla Superchargers across the country. Access to the broader charging network is being made possible with the use of a GM approved charging adapter at a cost of $225.
The addition of Tesla’s Supercharging network brings the available number of stations for GM EV vehicles to more than 231,000, a number that is expected to grow as GM expands its charging station network.
Shares of GM have been trading in a wide range with highs at $50 for the last four months. Today’s rally brought the stock within 1% of breaking above that psychological resistance.
From a technical perspective, GM’s 20-day moving average just crossed above its 50-day trendline. This is a sign of strengthening momentum that is likely to carry shares higher over the next 4-6 weeks.
Shares of GM have been one of the stronger auto manufacturers over the last year with the stock trading 36% higher year-to-date.
A break above $50 is likely to begin another intermediate-term rally, propelling the stock towards its next target of $60.
Shares of GM remain in a long-term bull market trend with a target of $60.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) were one of the few large cap technology stocks that closed higher on Wednesday with the stock trading 1.8% higher for the day.
Shares of the iPhone manufacturer has seen selling pressure of late as initial demand for the newest iPhone appears to be weaker than expected.
This morning’s news that Taiwan Semiconductor plans to manufacture chips for Apple at their new Arizona factory helped move the stock higher for the day, but there are still hurdles in Apple’s way.
Like many of the Nasdaq 100 stocks, Apple’s stock is facing potential resistance from its 20- and 50-day moving averages. Those key trendlines hover immediately above today’s closing price.
In addition, those trendlines are in short-term bearish trends, indicating that a failure to break above them quickly will likely result in additional selling pressure.
Investors should maintain a vigil watch of the $214 price which marks recent lows for the stock.
A break below that $214 will accelerate the downside momentum for Apple stock with a short-term target of $200.
As for the long-term outlook, Apple shares maintain a bullish outlook with a target of $300.
The semiconductor sector took a hit on Wednesday as not a single stock in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) finished in positive territory. Shares of the VanEck Semiconductor ETF closed 1.14% lower for the day.
The poor performance of the semiconductor sector was led by shares of Intel (INTC) as the stock closed the day at its lows. Losses for Intel amounted to 3.26%.
That performance was followed by technology favorite NVIDIA (NVDA), closing 1.92% lower for the day.
NVIDIA shares have been facing staunch resistance from their 20- and 50-day moving averages. Both of those key trendlines are offering resistance at $117. Both trendlines are also in short-term bearish trends.
The semiconductor sector has been on fragile trading ground as investors have been assessing the possibility that the AI trend has run its course for now.
Today’s interest rate decision from the Fed also added to selling pressure of the Chip stocks as investors are migrating to other areas of the market from technology, namely small cap and other interest rate sensitive stocks.
The SMH shares now face a critical short-term test as they closed just $1.06 above the $230 price level. This level has served as a “line in the sand” since late July as traders have stepped in to increase selling when the SMH has closed below that price.
While the semiconductor sector remains in a long-term trend, the short-term price action suggests that investors should brace for more selling through the already choppy September.
