By Doug Busch

A shift in market sector dynamics may be under way. Technology stocks, as measured by the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund, have been the best-performing of the 11 major groups in the S&P 500 over the past week. Tech is the only sector showing a gain during that period, albeit a fractional one. Still, this is a constructive start given how poorly the group has performed over the past three months, down more than 5%.

On Monday, the Nasdaq Composite formed a bullish engulfing candle off its upward-sloping 200-day simple moving average, signaling a potential reset for a move higher. The benchmark finished well into the upper half of its daily range, closing more than 600 points above session lows.

Software stocks have come to life, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rising in eight of the last 10 sessions and finishing at the top of the range all 10 days. Strength in the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF would certainly bolster the case for technology leadership. I highlighted a couple of those names recently, Nvidia last week and Amazon in February. Today, let's look at another member of the ETF, Alphabet, along with memory-chip maker Micron Technology.

Alphabet rose 84% over the last year but has had a slow start to 2026, currently down 2%. The stock finished lower four of the last five weeks starting the first week of February. Alphabet that week recorded a long spinning top candle whose range from top to bottom exceeded 40 handles. It looks ready to resume its uptrend.

Looking at its daily chart we see it is now 12% off its most recent 52-week high, and round number theory has come into play. Alphabet is finding some cushion at the $300 figure. It has been a bit soft not having seen consecutive up sessions over the last one month. Notice GOOGL has been a leader in the ratio chart against the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF. The stock is now retesting a prior bull flag breakout. If this week's lows hold, it will start the right side of a double bottom base that began with a bearish dark cloud cover candle on Feb. 3.

One can enter here and add to above a potential double bottom pivot of $319.62. Look for the stock to travel toward $400 by year end, a gain of 31% from current prices. Remain bullish above $295. Alphabet was trading around $307 Tuesday.

Micron has rising almost 350% (not a typo) over the past year. So far in 2026 it is up 36%, showing robust relative strength while the Nasdaq is down 2%. Last week Micron slumped 10%, recording its first back to back weekly losses since last July, demonstrating just how powerful its trend has been.

Looking at the daily chart, it has unsurprisingly behaved brilliantly against other semis, as seen on the ratio chart versus the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Over the last year it has been outdone only by rival Sandisk among large-cap stocks. Notice Micron has found plenty of support along its upward sloping 50-day simple moving average since recapturing that line last May. Accumulation is evident with high volume backing up the strength seen since last December. It also looks like the right side of a double bottom pattern is starting.

One can enter here and add to above a $436.99 pivot. Look for a move toward $540 by year end, which would represent an advance of 39% from current prices. Remain bullish above $365. Micron was trading around $405 Tuesday.

Should Micron and Alphabet maintain their momentum, tech leadership could provide the spark needed for the market's next advance.

Doug Busch is the senior technical analyst at Barron's Investor Circle . His technical view is added to stock picks, including those published exclusively for Investor Circle readers. A glossary of technical terms is updated regularly with new entries.

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March 10, 2026 10:58 ET (14:58 GMT)

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