While the day offered early promise in the end it couldn't build on opening strength. The S&P didn't make manage a test of its 200-day MA, but was able to finish the day higher. ($SPX) via StockCharts.com Where it got dicey was with Tech and Small Caps. The Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 finished with black candlesticks at overbought stochastics. Such setups are typically followed by gap downs and a lower close. The Nasdaq 100 is perhaps the most vulnerable to a pull back tomorrow. ($NDX) via StockCharts.com Small Caps and Semiconductors, while also finishing on black candlesticks, are not as vulnerable to a sell off tomorrow because their respective black candlesticks are not isolated at the top of a rally. ($RUT) via StockCharts.com ($SOX) via StockCharts.com Tomorrow will likely see Tech weakness which may spread to Large and Small Caps. Today wasn't quite the test of 200-day MAs I was looking for so maybe tomorrow won't be the horror show black candlesticks

It was a good stint for the market with volume rising to register a modest accumulation day - undoing the selling volume of yesterday. The S&P is well positioned to make another run on its 200-day MA; look for higher prices on Thursday. ($SPX) via StockCharts.com Better still - there was a relative strength shift from the 'safety' of Large Caps to more speculative Tech stocks as illustrated by the Nasdaq. Here too should a challenge of a 200-day MA be mounted. ($COMPQ) via StockCharts.com The biggest gainer was the Nasdaq 100 as it cracked through its 200-day MA - August's reaction high at 1,918 is next resistance. ($NDX) via StockCharts.com But the fly in the ointment remains the semiconductor index. The loss of the trading range hurts this a little more each day a rally fails to materialise. This - to me - looks very bearish with declining 20-day and 50-day MAs to add selling pressure. It's hard not to see how any further selling here could take out th

There was little more to expect after three days of gains that the week would start slow after the long weekend. For the likes of the Russell 2000, Dow and Nasdaq 100 it was the 200-day MA which proved to be the step-to-far for bulls. For the Russell 2000 there is the risk of a bull trap following Friday's edge above resistance although technicals are net positive. ($RUT) via StockCharts.com The Dow, likewise, enjoys net positive technicals, but really it's stuck in a no-mans land in the middle of a rising channel. ($INDU) via StockCharts.com Likewise, the Nasdaq 100 enjoys net positive techncials even if market direction is lacking. ($NDX) via StockCharts.com The only worry was the semiconductor index which drifted out of the former range - a drop required to maintain the bear trap. ($SOX) via StockCharts.com Not too much to take out of today. Volume was little heavy given it was geared towards selling after the long weekend, but there is room for bulls to wo

It has been a while since I last wrote one of these. August has kept bears busy, so what are Stockcharts.com commentators saying about the market now? Ron Walker of TheChartPatternTrader.com has a 60-minute chart which shows the bullish divergence in NYSE advancing/declining issues wih last week's triple bottom, but also illustrates a bearish wedge which could lead to a 30-40 point drop back to rising support. The Volatility Index is down at the lower Bollinger Band; how will the bounce back to the mid-line behave (will this start to trend down? should be bullish for the market if it does)? Anthony Caldaro of ObjectiveElliottWave.com  looks to have marked a third wave (higher) on the weekly S&P chart - unless I'm misreading this??? Richard Lehman of TrendChannelMagic  has a more optimistic outlook for the long term direction for the market. 9/5 -- The short term charts have broken into green upchannels and have even accelerated. The more important issue, ho

Last week's rally has drawn markets back into the middle of their trading ranges, but there is an opportunity for the S&P and Nasdaq 100 to finish next week with a MACD trigger 'Buy'. In the S&P, until 1,129 breaks it's hard to see the post-April trading range going anywhere and volume will need to pick up. Stochastics are in no-mans-land, the recent decline failed to push either short or long term stochastics into oversold territory - has this rally come a little early? ($SPX) via StockCharts.com Even with the pending MACD 'buy' the Nasdaq 100 remains range bound between 1,702 and 1,978 with the 61.8% Fib retracement at 1,678 to catch the break of 1,702 (should it come). The August reaction high at 1,919 is the challenge to overcome to convert short-term strength into something more substantial. ($NDX) via StockCharts.com Breadth indicators aren't a great help. The Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks Above the 50-day MA is caught at 50% although r

While volume was uninspiring it was a good day for markets as they closed at their highs. The S&P managed to slip past converged 20-day and 50-day MAs on the back of a fresh MACD 'buy' - a respectable finish to the day. ($SPX) via StockCharts.com The Nasdaq did it's bit by making a good case for a bull trap supported by a MACD trigger 'buy' and a bullish cross in the on-balance-volume trigger line. ($COMPQ) via StockCharts.com Small Caps are fast approaching declining resistance with the 200-day MA overhead. There was also a bull cross between +DI / -DI directional index, leaving just stochastics to complete net bullish technicals. ($RUT) via StockCharts.com The semiconductor enjoyed the best of the day's gains - but this gain still wasn't enough to create a bear trap (but it helps). Look for a test of the 20-day MA Friday which is just 3 points away. ($SOX) via StockCharts.com Tomorrow's action will be dictated by the nonfarm payrol

A day when buyers took over the reins and didn't look back all the way to the market close. The only speed wobble was the light volume in the markets for an almost 3% gain on the day. For the S&P there was even a nascent 'buy' signal in the CCI. ($SPX) via StockCharts.com The Nasdaq is in the early stages of a bull trap but will have to deal with converged resistance at 2,190 and 2,205 from the 20-day and 50-day MAs respectively. ($COMPQ) via StockCharts.com Small Caps were able to go a step further and inched out a MACD trigger 'buy'. ($RUT) via StockCharts.com Hard hit semiconductors made sharp gains but it was the only index which failed to close at its highs. It also has yet to make an attempt at clambering back inside its former summer trading range. However, it did manage to reinstate its CCI 'buy' trigger. ($SOX) via StockCharts.com Tomorrow should see some follow through and offer a golden opportunity for indices to break through