USD Rally Weighing on Apple

Apple Holding on At SupportShares in Apple are trading a little higher ahead of the open today, offering bulls some hope that the correction from YTD highs might be coming to an end. The stock has fallen more than 10% from the July highs as a pull back in risk appetite and a fresh rally in USD have weighed on sentiment. Tech stocks have been the most vulnerable to the strength we’ve seen in USD as traders move to price back in a higher likelihood of a further Fed hike this year.Strong Earnings ReleaseIndeed, the drop in Apple shares comes despite the company reporting solid performance over Q2. Apple posted EPS of $1.26 vs $1.19 expected on revenues of $81.797 billion vs $81.795 billion expected. Net income and net profit for the quarter were both seen rising, despite revenues being a touch lower year-on-year. Looking ahead, Apple CFO Luca Maestri warned that the group expected weaker revenues over the current quarter, despite the firm not offering any official guidance since 2020.USD In FocusGiven the current backdrop, Apple’s performance over the prior quarter seemingly wasn’t enough to inspire a fresh round of buying. Instead, focus looks to be on the US Dollar currently with broader risk themes driving the price action in Apple for now. As such, any strengthening of the ‘one more hike’ narrative, should weigh on Apple near-term. On the other hand, if inflation continues to fall and rate hike expectations weaken, this should help lift Apple. Notably, the Tickmill Market Sentiment tool, which analysing daily news sentiment, has given a 70% bullish reading this week.Technical ViewsAppleThe reversal lower in Apple shares has seen price breaking down through the rising trend line and through the 182 level support. Price is now sitting on support at the 176.14 level. With momentum studies bearish, risks are tilted lower here with a break of current support opening the way for a test of 167.45 next.