It was a stealth setup for the Russell 2000 ($IWM), hiding below its 200-day MA and declining trend before buyers made a higher volume break of resistance (on confirmed accumulation). The next target is the 50-day MA for those who took advantage of the break. Supporting the move are 'buy' signals for the MACD and On-Balance-Volume. When it gets there, or tags the July swing low, we will get a better idea as to whether bears arae in control or buyers have enough momentum to mount a challenge of $300. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ) rallied from support and has reached its first target of its 20-day MA. Next is the 50-day MA. Technicals remain net negative. The S&P didn't register a breakout given it's still stuck inside its range, but it could do tomorrow. The only problem is that it has already banked two days of gains, so the risk:reward isn't entirely favorable. Bitcoin ($BTCUSD) is down at the October spike low and is an aggressive long trade for thos...

There may be an aggressive long for the Russell 2000 by virtue of its under-the-radar action. Systems tracking trend breaks or moving average breaks will still be in the dark, but looking at the chart, there may be a subtle long setup. Risk-reward is easy to measure as an undercut of Friday's low (on a closing basis) would negate the traade. Initial upside target is the 50-day MA. What I also like? The uptick in relative performance over the Nasdaq.

We are starting to see a larger split in market performance across sectors as Large Caps attract buyers, and Tech stocks attract tumbleweed. Caught in the middle are Small Caps. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) chalked up another accumulation day without breaking resistance (or the 200-day MA). Tomorrow is a chance for the Russell 2000 to pick a side; will it break or will it succumb to selling pressure? Looks like an options swing trade as the next move could be telling.

It has been a volatile past few days for indices, but the bigger picture remains unchanged. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) has struggled to regain its 200-day MA despite today's big gain. Today's buying registered as accumulation but technicals are still net bearish, and the 20-day MA is on course to cut below its 200-day MA. However, if we see a close above 20-day MA and 200-day MA it will give skew things back in bulls favor (buying subsequent dips). Aggressive players could look to buy any subsequent drop below $272, with a stop on a loss of $270.

Troubling times for indices as Thursday's strong bounce was killed by an even larger sell off on confirmed distribution. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) was already oversold when it finished with a bearish engulfing pattern. The May swing low has played as support following the loss of the 200-day MA, but after Friday, it's hard to see that continuing. Looking at a weekly chart for the index, there is a chance the 50-week MA could play as support, but for this to happen we need to see a Friday close at or above this level; if we don't, then $240 becomes next support.

Buyers step up after yesterday's losses, losses that registered as distribution. Buyers returned on good volume, and in some cases, exceeded the losses of yesterday. But the buying was not necessarily enough to reverse the damage of Wednesday's losses. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) did not survive its third test of its 200-day MA in the space of a couple of weeks. Technicals are now net bearish with a new (strong) MACD 'sell' trigger. Traders need to be careful here. Today's buying (a "two-bar reversal") in an oversold condition should register as a long-trade opportunity, and it may yet still do, but with the psychological break of the 200-day MA it's hard to see this turning into a strong bounce. And we are now in the kind of situation where crashes emerge. We should see a move to the 200-day or even the 20-day MA, but beyond that, it's hard to say.

It has been a bit of a mixed bag for indices as bulls looks to restablish breakouts and/or defend support. However, shorts may be the one to benefit in the near term. The S&P is getting squeezed into the 'bull trap' left by the inverse hammer. It's a good swing trade play, but given today's higher volume distribution I would look for a bearish break with a near term target of 50-day MA. Technicals are mostly bullish, but On-Balance-Volume has been trending down since August - running against price action.

After reversing from its 20-day MA it managed to find support at its 200-day MA with a bullish 'hammer' at oversold conditions on heavy volume - an ideal reversal scenario. Friday's trading brought a more indecisive spinning top, but it did manage to close higher. For Monday, we will want to see what happens when it gets back to the 20-day MA responsible for the reversal on the sizable bearish engulfing pattern.

Markets are breaking two ways - Small Caps heading south while Tech and Large Caps head north, but even Small Caps have reason for optimism. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) bounced off its 200-day MA, reaching its 20-day MA until today's reversal dragged it back with a bearish engulfing pattern. Despite the bearish candlestick the MACD still managed a 'buy' trigger and selling volume was light. I would be looking for a bullish test and buyers to step in. Momentum is slowly improving, so I'll be watching for bullish divergence in technicals.

Markets swing lows were undone by early enthusiasm failing to build on opening gaps. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) had looked the most likely to shape a bounce worthy of note, but the early gap higher was the extent of the gains and by the close of business we had an indecisive 'black' candlestick style 'spinning top' - not a candle to get excited about. Buyers of the bounce will need to be ready for a move down into the gap, and maybe as far as a second test of the 200-day MA. Technicals are net negative.

The last couple of days for Bitcoin had pointed to indecision on a series of doji, but today's white candlestick above 82.5K breakout support suggests we may yet get another kick on higher. In a manner, it's a victim of its own success as market indices have headed in the other direction. On a positive note, 82.5K should be strong support. If there was a concern, it's that On-Balance-Volume is running below its 20-day MA which may suggest undercover distribution is at work; if 82.K support is lost then further loses are likely.

We have a bit of a mixed bag. Markets which were oversold and developing swing lows are now struggling to mount a bounce. Those in trading ranges are still in the upper bounds of those ranges, and could still breakout, but are likely to be influenced by their much weaker brethren. Bitcoin is holding its breakout, but today's doji after yesterday's move lower doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. Starting with the Russell 2000 ($IWM), we have an index on a fast track to test the 200-day MA. The early September swing low failed and we don't really have a reversal candlestick here, but we could see an attempt at one, once the index tests its 200-day MA. What we need to be careful of is a crash scenario that can emerge in a scenario like this (deeply oversold and net bearish).

Tomorrow we are going to see how strong the 'bull trap' is in the Nasdaq as Friday's finish tagged resistance. Volume was down, although technicals are net bullish. More likely, we will see some 'pennant' like formation over the coming week, before get another another solid white candlestick.

The first attempt to rally off a bottom stalled out at its 20-day MA. We now have invalidated that low, so are looking for the next one. Today's dragonfly doji on higher volumem distribution is another such attempt. We have oversold momentum and bearish net technicals. It's only worth it if the index rallies from the open; a close into the spike low negates the reversal play - we really want to see a gap higher and a solid white candlestick.

So much for the questionable breakout in the Nasdaq or the potential short play in the S&P, both were swotted away with substantial gains in each index. There remains doubt across both indices, but if each are able to retain the bulk of their gains over the coming days then the bearish thesis will be much weakened. The Nasdaq was the biggest mover over the past couple of days was the Nasdaq. The doji breakout was a non-issue and those who bought the 26K tests will be sitting pretty. Today's gain was enough to register a new high breakout, but it's vulnerable to a 'bull trap', particularly if sellers are able to drive the index back below 27K. However, we did see a new MACD, On-Balance-Volume, and +DI/-DI 'buy' signals, returning technicals to a net bullish state.

Bitcoin is again on the move, looking more bullish than my initial "bullish outlook". I had looked for a more pronounced 'bear trap' on a duck to the 50-day MA, but instead buyers stepped in and shorts were forced to cover buy. This is excellent right-hand-base development on the longer weekly chart, and it's hard not to see Bitcoin challenging $125K by 2028, if not sooner. It will still be volatile, but long-term investors waiting for a new entry opportunity should wait for prices to narrow again in low volume, then buy-and-not-look-back. Long term buyers should not get sucked into the daily machinations of cryptocurrencies, and should have a proper long term outlook of years - not months or weeks... Anything shorter will need to use adequate risk:reward. If I was to stick my neck out, I might look for $100K for end-of-year and measure risk based on that target. As an asset, I hate cryptocurrencies (and the sphere around them), but they do appear to be influenc...

After the Fed driven sell-off that delivered support breaks for some of the indices there was an attempt by bulls to stage a bounce, but traders weren't able to build on the sizable opening gaps, and some indices drifted lower by the close. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) lost the most ground off the open. However, today's close was enough to regain support, leaving yesterday's action as a potential 'bear trap'. Technicals are net bearish oversold. And today's buying volume was below yesterday's selling (distribution). The S&P finished the day where it started, which is also 20-day MA resistance. Aggressive traders could go with a swing trade as the next move could be sizable (particularly if the move is higher). The Nasdaq is dominated by the trading range, but within that we have a consolidation triangle. As it stands, the index is at resistance of this triangle, and given recent selling volume I would be looking for a move to close today...

The Russell 2000 ($IWM) delivered on its 'bull trap' as the reversal came all the way back to support before undercutting $288. Selling volume was high but not excessive as the index now looks on course to test its 200-day MA. Stochastics are oversold, and in a bear move these can stay like this for an extended period - so don't be banking on a bounce. What would be bullish is if we get a 'bear trap'; i.e. a close above $287. In the intermediate term (to the end of year) we are due a tradable bounce and a 'bull trap' would set up for one quite nicely.

Interesting times for markets this week. I'll start with the Russell 2000 ($IWM) as it finished the week with a bearish black candlestick just above trading range support. Candlestick like Friday's don't typically have a good ending, but if we some form of spike low down to $285 then I would look for a trade-worth low. Note how intermediate-term [39,1] stochastics are now oversold - another reason to pay attention to any reversal candlesticks that appear over the coming days.

I don't know if the equal-weighted S&P is a harbringer of things to come for other indices, but a second day of heavy selling has undercut the 50-day MA, and breakout support. Technicals shifted net bearish with a worrying undercut of mid-level stochastics. The next support level is down at 8,600s, but I want to see oversold stochastics on such a test. However, the ease at which existing support was lost is a concern.