The major feature of today's trading will be the release of Intel (INTC) earnings after the close. Mr. Market might grind higher all afternoon in anticipation of a good report from INTC. Judging by the intermediate- and near-term pattern, additional upside should be forthcoming in the coming hours.

Purely from a technical perspective, if INTC heads for the top of its 2009 bullish channel, then we should expect it to make a run for 22.00, which could be triggered by tonight’s earnings report. At this juncture, only a negative reaction to earnings that breaks near-term support at 20.15 will begin to compromise my higher target expectations, while a break of 19.00-18.90 will inflict serious damage to the bullish uptrend.

Mike Paulenoff is a 26-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com.