An odd day for the markets with a mix of gains (Russell 2000) and losses (anything else!). Volume climbed to register distribution for the Nasdaq, Nasdaq 100 and S&P, but given the degree of loss it's more like churning than hard defined selling. The S&P sharply reversed its relative gain against the Russell 2000, but is close to a MACD trigger 'sell'.

Profit taking paid a visit to the market. Small Caps experienced the worst of the day's selling. The index finished with a loss over 1% and is fast tracking towards its 20-day MA. The Russell 2000 also closed with a MACD trigger 'sell'.

When I wrote at the weekend I thought we had seen our market top (at least for the S&P), but today's action surpassed it with the week not half way done. The new high doesn't change the heavily overbought nature of the rally, but what goes high can go higher. Despite the new high in the S&P, the relative shift from Large Caps to Small Caps continues.

Markets experienced low volume trading, with slight losses on Friday's close. The biggest change was a couple of "Golden Crosses" for certain indices between 50-day and 200-day MAs, a long term bullish signal.  Another reason to suggest the next fall will be a buying opportunity. The S&P had little to show on the day, "Golden Cross" or otherwise. The long standing relative shift to Small Caps has been running since the end of November, but this looks to be slowly changing in favor of Large Cap stocks.

The rally is close to a top as marked by the spike high in the 19-day EMA for both the NYSE and Nasdaq. For the NYSE, this spike is the highest in over 10 years, so there is a good chance Friday's strong finish will turn out to be the actual top for this phase of the rally.  While the Nasdaq spike hasn't reached the heights of 2003, it has exceeded spikes from previous late event rallies (e.g 2007).

Apple's earnings were always going to weigh on today's action, but markets held up well.  The Nasdaq did shed near 1% on a significant increase in volume, but it didn't negate the breakout. Technicals remained in the bullish camp with little loss in strength.

The day finished with a drop in sector breadth strength , but markets (with the exception of the Russell 2000)  posted gains.  The Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above the 50-day MA rolled higher, but technicals expanded on technical weakness, with a 'sell' in the MACD.