Markets finished Friday on a flourish with a close at, or near new highs. Volume climbed to register an accumulation day, which keeps thing ticking over in favor of bulls over the long weekend.  The Semiconductors had the best of it, although these gains were posted at the open.

Charts are turning into a scatter plot of doji. Today's losses didn't violate support and trading volume was light. Little to worry about here. The Russell 2000 took the largest loss, but it's secure above its 50-day MA. The index is trading within a rising channel with a number of support levels, including the 50-day MA, to look too.

Whereas yesterday offered a spark of life from the Russell 2000, today offered little. The Russell 2000 gave back a little of the ground it made yesterday, but not enough to negate the gain.

There wasn't a whole lot of action in the indices today.  The only index to come out with anything was the Russell 2000. I thought we would have seen today's gain yesterday, but it was welcome all the same. Today's gain for the Russell 2000 also resulted in a return of the net bullish technical picture.

There was still a little doubt in today's action with the bulk of the gains coming on the morning gap. However, it did mean the brief pause from Friday was negated by today's push higher. The S&P made a challenge on 2,000, but it wasn't able to stick the move higher. Volume was lighter, reflecting a drop in buying interest, but with new highs for Large Caps and Tech indices it's hard to see past the bullish picture.

Friday's action marked a balance between bulls and bears. Tech and Small Cap indices finished with indecisive doji, marking a swing trade opportunity; buy/sell break of Friday's high/low with a stop on the flip side. The S&P and Dow closed lower, but not enough to suggest bears finished the day in control. The losses in the S&P weren't enough to trigger a 'bull trap', so the long-side play is still favoured.  Selling volume was also down on Thursday's buying, another reason to suggest bulls have control.  Technicals remain net bullish.

It was the only index with something to play for today, and that play was bullish. The S&P nicked a close above 1,992, which leaves it vulnerable to a 'bull trap' tomorrow. Other aspects, like technicals, are bullish, which keeps the long side favored in this market.