A nice boost for markets. Enough to clear consolidations? We will see, but on today's action I would give that a 'yes'. Certainly the Russell 2000 ($IWM) has cleared its consolidation with a new breakout on higher volume breakout.

The Russell 2000 ($IWM) experienced confirmed distribution on Friday, but there was no real change in the technical picture aside from the loss in relative performance against the Nasdaq and S&P. The index is going through another sideways consolidation period, not uncommon since the initial bounce off April lows.

Market action remains strongly bullish, despite the best actions of Trump to negate it. We didn't see across the board accumulation volume, but we did see solid bullish candlesticks. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) posted a solid bullish white candlestick while technicals remained mixed with a MACD trigger 'sell'. I would still think bulls are in control, buj see how things go on the next push above $225.

It was the first real bearish day in a while, but one bearish day is not something to get too concerned with. For the Russell 2000 ($IWM) there was a sizable bearish engulfing pattern at overbought momentum. Volume surged against general quiet summer trading, confirming distribution, but not enough to switch On-Balance-Volume to a 'sell' trigger.

We are not seeing big changes on daily timeframes, but what changes we are seeing are making their way on to weekly time frames. The S&P was the latest index to mark its breakout on the weekly time frame. Last week's neutral doji came with heavier volume (distribution), so we need to watch for the potential of a 'bull trap', although I would see the net bullish technicals as a more bullish long term outlook.

Today was a handy solid for bulls as buyers kept things on the move after some light downward action. It's summer trading, but as long as the trend is higher it's all good. Technicals for all lead indices are net bullish.

While I have no direct evidence of this, it always seems holidays deliver junior trader "feel good" gains, and this July 4th feels like no exception. Indices enjoyed gaps higher without making big gains, enough to keep things under the radar and allow senior traders to enjoy their break in the Hamptons. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) is net bullish with a relative performance gain of Small Caps over Tech Indices. There was no net accumulation in volume - not surprising given the holiday - but things are nicely set up for next week.