As this rally has often done, just as you expect a reversal to start, bulls come in (hard) to bid up the market. The S&P had the clearest switch as it moved from a 'bull trap' to a 'bear trap'. If it can post a break of 2,597 it will have little to stop it; in such a scenario watch for a fresh MACD 'buy' which would confirm recent losses as a pullback 'buy' opportunity. Stops on a loss of 2,557.

The Russell 2000 was again under pressure as it shed another 0.5%. The Russell 2000 now trades below its 50-day MA despite recovering some of today's intraday losses. It looks like controlled selling with an artificial prop to prevent a rout. The 200-day MA is the next port of call but a 1% loss of more will bring sellers in fast. Technicals are weak but not oversold.

Another day where bulls had to dig deep to make back early losses but there was little more beyond that. The Russell 2000 remains the index most feeling the pressure. It's trading below the 50-day MA but hasn't experienced the kind of day where longs will feel pressured to sell. Some traders may take an aggressive long with stops below 1,463 with the index hugging support of the (failing) 'bull flag' - although it doesn't look a particularly attractive trade. Technicals are all net negative and relative performance is very poor (for Small Caps).

The index-to-watch for Monday was the Russell 2000 and while it didn't really excite it did suffer a net bearish turn in technicals. On the positive front, it held on to its 50-day MA for a third day in a row. There may still be enough for bulls to reverse the bearish technicals but there is little room for maneuver.