Markets had started Friday above the marked consolidations I had drawn on the charts but subsequently ended the week still inside these trading ranges. As a two-day pattern, Friday's close finished as a bearish engulfing pattern across markets which means I'll be looking for a break of newly drawn ascending support (of the last 8 days) in these indices. The S&P still has a MACD and On-Balance-Volume  trigger 'buy' signals but Friday's high (and the high of the bearish engulfing pattern) was the 50-day MA. Sidelined bulls will want to see a convincing break of the 50-day MA, and probably the downward channel before committing. Bears have the easier play - helped by the strong relative underperformance of the index against its peers. Short the loss of Friday's low with a stop above 2,680.

Tuesday saw some upside from Monday's recovery but the trading ranges I marked on the charts over the weekend remain valid so no change in the status quo. The S&P shows this best with the trading range defined by the former 'bull flag'. Today's close left the index just below resistance. The lower close could suggest another run back to 2,590s.

Posted on Investing.com " It has been a rocky start to 2018 with direct and indirect Trump factors; for example, Cambridge Analytica (+ fake news distribution), Trump vs Jeff Bezos and a new tariff war, hitting certain FAANG stocks, with the contagion spreading to those indirectly impacted and the broader Tech sector. But not-to-long ago, the same Trump factors were driving the post-election rally; ‘Business Man’ leader, accelerated deregulation with industry friendly appointments, funding cuts to regulatory agencies and massive tax cuts favoring the investment classes. In reality, the “Trump factor” is a bit of a red herring; it’s the uncertainty and randomness of what may come – be it Trump, terrorists or natural disaster - rather than what has come that’s the problem. With that in mind, we can only consider how markets value FAANG component stocks here-and-now."

The earlier moving Dow Jones got pegged back a little as it fell inside its prior consolidation. Similar moves appeared for the S&P and Tech Averages but as these were still range bound prior to Friday their selling was not as noticed. Markets are in a 50:50 tug-of-war between bulls and bears as these (now) 3-week consolidations work their way to a conclusion. I have redrawn the consolidation for the Dow. Friday's mini-breakout could be viewed as 'bull trap' but I think it's probably fairer to broaden the resistance level for the consolidation. The 200-day MA again looks important but another test so close to its last maybe one too many.  Volume climbed to count as distribution but overall volume was still quite light. Technicals are mixed.