After a lengthy break back is the weekly review of the StockCharters. Futures are taking a beating this morning so the trading range which has been in play for August looks ready to break. Maurice Walker was top-dog of the publishers ranked by hits, but Yong Pan of CobrasMarketView is the lead here. Even given the last time I looked at this summary the short term picture has stayed doggedly neutral. The hindsight July accumulation spike says 875 will be a big defence zone for the S&P Not sure about the SPY 'buy' signal Because the weekly 'sell' signal look dominant Breakout gaps to close; looking more likely to follow the 46% route! Interesting trading plan: Anthony Caldaro of Objectiveeliottwave has me confused on the EWT labelling; not sure how the trend can break into a "abc" as part of the countertrend "ABC" - surely it's a five wave up? Whatever way the count goes it looks like it's down from here. Richard Lehman's sideways

The indices closed lower on light volume with the Nasdaq doing so at a point of resistance. And the S&P around the psychological 1,000 mark Market Breadth spent another week in a mix of negative divergence and positive MACD trigger 'buys'. The S&P Bullish Percents closed at rising resistance While the Nasdaq Summation Index expanded on its negative divergence Along with the Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above the 50-day MA The conflicts are unlikely to resolve until we enter the meat-and-veg period of the trading year in September. So don't expect too much to happen over the next couple of weeks. Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data available too.

Whether the markets evolve into a form of broadening pattern , or play to a sideways consolidation, there is a growing pressure to push prices higher. The Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 closed with doji, but the semiconductor index posted a 2.2% gain to finish above its 20-day MA; lowering the risk the Nasdaq and Nasdaq were to follow suit after the semiconductor moving average loss. Other indices did little. The S&P is close to a MACD trigger 'sell', but other technicals are firm. Volume was lighter, ranking Thursday as a consolidation. Will Friday see a flourish to end the week? Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data available too.

Looking at how the futures action is playing out this morning it appears the market wants to go higher but is doing so without the volume to sustain it. One possibility is a broadening wedge given the scrappy action is making the sideways/flat trading range difficult to fit too. With respect to market breadth, the late day surge did not improve matters; new MACD 'sell' in Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above 50-day MA. A frustrating August... Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data available too.

After what could best be described as a modest distribution day bulls came back with an accumulation day. The 20-day MAs of the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 where were bulls made their stand. The next couple of days are important for the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100. The pace of the ascent has slowed but bulls have now shown their hand. If 20-day MAs break again it will be down to the 50-day MA where bulls will probably try again. The ascending channels leave room for indices to run to resistance; if they get there it will mean new highs for the rally and fuel to keep rally momentum going. However, gains as good as they were, weren't enough to recover the 20-day MA in the semiconductor index The trend is your friend until there is confirmation of a change; so far wobbles, but nothing concrete. Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data available too.

Modest distribution but volume was not particularly high, simply higher than yesterday. While the semiconductor index had already lost 20-day MA support, the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 held firm. So the only thing today's action really confirmed were the respective rising channels, giving context to the larger picture at play for these tech indices. Small caps are underperforming within their channel but the angle of ascent is sharper given it's anchored by the March low. Watch for upcoming MACD trigger 'sell' signal Breadth was muted; overbought but no technical technical change (i.e. net long) Bears are unlikely to push their luck until seasonally weak September comes round. Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data available too.

The indices spent another day trading in a narrow range but it wasn't all quiet on the battle front. The Nasdaq registered a MACD trigger 'sell' as relative strength moved further away from tech towards large cap stocks (S&P). The same was true for the Nasdaq 100, although the shift from tech to small caps widened more so than between tech and large caps. On the negative side there was the loss of 20-day MA support in the semiconductor index; the 50-day MA is next on the list. Look for the loss of 20-day MA support in the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 in line with semiconductor action. There was very little to add for small or large cap indices. Overall these were all minor bearish events which could prove significant if bulls don't re-assert themselves soon. Will they prove to be telling? Dr. Declan Fallon, Senior Market Technician, Zignals.com the free stock alerts, stock charts, watchlist, multi-currency portfolio manager and strategy builder website. Forex data availab