Earnings season is in full swing as we wrap up April, and this week brings some heavy-hitters to the table. Of course, as we will typically say around earnings seasons, reports can offer a peak behind the curtain as to how different companies within your portfolio are doing, and are one of the more common events where fundamentals and technicals can come together. On the technical front, following point and figure charts can help identify important landmarks towards the upside/downside to watch around earnings calls. In other words, knowing where buyers and sellers have run out of stream in the recent past can help you identify whether earnings-driven price movement is truly meaningful or perhaps just a symptom of normal market reaction to strong or weak results. This week, several household names are on the docket to report. On the Magnificent Seven front, Wednesday ushers in the likes of GOOGL (GOOG), META, AMZN & MSFT, followed by AAPL on Thursday. Other large names to report this week include Eli Lilly (LLY), Mastercard (MA), Caterpillar (CAT), Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). Of course, the large tech names will be a main driver of market movement, but those of you with outsized exposure to energy names will be watching the start of May for XOM or CVX. All that to say, we will spend today’s report covering a handful of technical pictures worth watching this week and the specific points of support and resistance worth monitoring.

Alphabet earns the highest technical attribute rating of the bunch. While you can certainly make the argument that it is extended on its default chart, the perfect 5/5’er has been a stalwart of strength over the last year or so while some other areas (namely Microsoft, but more on that later) have struggled. Breaking to further highs with action on 4/27, there is no current overhead resistance for the name at current levels. In terms of support levels, the next technical level of support isn’t found until the 2026 lows sitting around $276… but a more realistic downside target for the name on poor results would be found around a range of old resistance would be from about $312-$328.

Moving quickly from good to bad, Microsoft has been a point of relative weakness so far in 2026, dropping over 15% so far this year as software focused areas took it on the chin. While the last few weeks have seen the name return to a PnF buy signal on its default chart, it is far from a buy at current levels. The 2/5’er sits a ways away from all time highs marked to close out 2025, with the next level of technical resistance coming in just above the top of the trading band at $480. Towards the downside, if Microsoft can’t convince markets it is AI-proof, a journey back towards 2026 lows around the $360-$368 point wouldn’t be out of the question. All in all, even on positive results, wait for price to tell you that the technical picture has improved before stepping in. In fact, assuming the TA score doesn’t shift on a mildly positive reaction, it might be a somewhat attractive opportunity to trim exposure further.

Before wrapping up with a comment on XOM some high level talking points on AAPL & META. AAPL is a high TA score stock fighting to get back to even for the year. It is currently sitting towards the middle of a range with clear levels of support and resistance at $248 and $280, respectively. META has quite an interesting picture. It does remain a poor attribute stock at the time of this writing, but having reversed back up to put in a localized level of support well off 2026 lows, the recent action is certainly intriguing.  Support is littered between current levels and the middle of the trading band at $624, while overhead resistance is $688 and $744. XOM is up well over 20% so far this year… but recent action has been a touch discouraging as the 5/5’er has posted now a pair of sell signals off 2025 highs. While the longer-term technical picture is still constructive, energy focused names have remained largely dependent on the current developments in the Middle East. Relevant support is found at $142 and resistance sits between $158 and $166.

Remember, earnings can be a useful time to talk to clients and discuss how you are remaining diligent within their portfolios. Remember, set alerts to be notified automatically of important movement or changes in relative strength.

The last few years have been exceptionally strong for markets, and following recent action, the S&P 500 has officially doubled from its October 2022 bottom. Given such sharp gains over the last several years, some investors are questioning the long-term sustainability of this bull market, with overvaluation and a potential AI bubble clouding gains. In light of this impressive run and the risks involved, do historical trends from previous bull markets suggest this one could be coming to a close?

A bull market is typically defined as a period of sustained market gains marked by a 20% increase from recent lows. Meanwhile, a bull market ends when the market declines by 20% or more from recent highs, signaling the start of a bear market. Looking at the S&P 500 (SPX) dating back to 1949, there have been 12 distinct bull markets, including the current one. Because bull markets are defined by sustained 20% gains, the market remained in a bear market from March 2000 to October 2002 despite several short‑lived rallies of more than 20%. Of the eleven other bull markets, they have lasted an average of 5.5 years, gaining 191.5% on average during that span. For context, the current bull market is roughly 3.5 years old, with the S&P 500 up just over 100%. If this cycle were to align with historical averages, it could still have approximately two years remaining and rise just under 50% from current levels, which would compound total gains to the historical average of 190%.

It is important to note that the range of bull market outcomes is extremely wide, as illustrated by the performance of all 12 bull markets seen below. The shortest bull markets last around two years and can gain as little as 50%. Conversely, they can also last over a decade, with the S&P 500 gaining nearly 600% from 1988 to 2000.  While the current bull market could very well end soon, history has shown that it’s possible that could run for many more years. 

Additionally, looking at previous bull markets that saw the S&P 500 double could give us further context for the outlook of our current market. Seven of the eleven previous bull markets saw the S&P 500 double, taking an average of 3.9 years to do so, closely matching the 3.5 years it took this cycle. On average, the bull markets lasted another three years after initially doubling, during which they gained a further 80% from then until their end. That said, three of the seven ended less than six months after doubling, so there’s certainly no guarantee the market will continue rising for years.

Throughout almost the entirety of this bull market, investors have had something to fret about. 2023 was the most widely anticipated recession in history, yet no weakness manifested. Concerns in 2024 included the U.S. presidential election, higher for longer interest rates, and the potential for a hard landing. The last year has been dominated by tariff woes and geopolitical conflict. Meanwhile, fears about valuations and an AI bubble have plagued investors that entire time. Despite these risks, our current bull market has continued to push higher. Fighting against the market gains is historically one of the least profitable bets to make, as bull markets often last far longer than investors expect. While it’s possible we’re nearing the end of this bull market, domestic equities continue to be a point of strength, and further upside remains the path of least resistance for the time being.

Daily Option Ideas for April 27, 2026