On 19th July, a global outage occurred. Numerous computers running Windows worldwide experienced "blue screens of death" (BSOD), affecting companies in different sectors, including airlines, hospitals, media, banks, and others.

The outage was caused by a CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor update, a component of the Windows system that essentially works to protect computers from cyber threats. CrowdStrike quickly acknowledged the issue, stating that it was not a cyberattack but an update error, and suggested a solution.

According to CNBC, the large-scale outage did not significantly impact the operation of most financial markets. Representatives of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq stated on Friday that they were operating despite the issues with the CrowdStrike update. The only noticeable unpleasant consequence for most was the inability to calculate the Russell stock indices, including the popular Russell 2000. However, the confusion was resolved later on Friday.

At the same time, the large-scale outage affected stock prices, including Microsoft. In pre-market trading on Friday, MSFT's price dropped below $430, but during the main session, the price managed to rise above it. As technical analysis of the MSFT chart shows, the $430 level is important – as it acted as resistance in March-May 2024. Therefore, its role as support might be justified by analysts.

Additionally, the MSFT share price is near the lower boundary of the upward channel (shown in blue), which may provide additional support. However, no one can guarantee that the mentioned support levels will lead to a subsequent bullish impulse.

On 19th July, we wrote about bearish signs on META stock charts. These are bearish aggression signs, which are concerning:

→ the price's inability to reach the upper boundary of the blue channel in early July;

→ a wide bearish gap when breaking through the median on 17th July.

Wall Street analysts remain positive for now. According to TipRanks, the average forecast for MSFT is $504.12 (+15.33% from the current price) over the next 12 months.

Microsoft's Q2 earnings report, scheduled for release on 30 July, has the potential to significantly alter the balance of sentiments.

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