Todayââ,¬â"¢s up-gap and spike to 35.64 hurdled momentarily the major January-November resistance line at 35.50.  Right now, neither my near- nor intermediate-term work argue that the uptrend should stop in its tracks.  Other than a stall for an hour or three, I expect the SMH to continue higher.  Letââ,¬â"¢s keep in mind that AMAT earnings come out today after the close, and that particular chart pattern has huge upside potential, which could be triggered in reaction to AMATââ,¬â"¢s results.  Such a scenario would be bullish for the SMH, if for no other reason than AMAT equals 14% of the index.  My optimal next upside target window is 36-38.

Mike Paulenoff is a 26-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com, a real-time diary of his technical chart analysis and trading alerts on all major markets. For more of Mike Paulenoff, sign up for a free 15-Day trial to his MPTrader Diary by clicking here.