The S&P made inroads into yesterday's losses, but Small Caps finished near the lows of the day after an intraday recovery. Bears hold the advantage from yesterday with buying volume well down on yesterday's selling. The S&P held its rising channel as relative strength expanded towards Large Caps over Small Caps.  Technical strength remains healthy. The Nasdaq is clinging on to channel support and is offering enough for a short term buy, but with a tight stop. But its the Russell 2000 which perhaps offers the most for shorts. The sideways consolidation hasn't confirmed a break, but a loss of 814 would give shorts something to work with. The Semiconductors are also looking vulnerable to a more protracted decline having already lost the rising trendline.  The 50-day MA is looking the most likely downward target. Despite today's gain it's sellers which hold the advantage. Buying into the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 does not seem as attractive as

It has been a while since markets experienced a significant distribution day, but today was one such day. Luckily the heavier volume selling wasn't accompanied with a big point loss, and prices remained inside tight rising channels for many of the key indices. But there was an exception.  The Russell 2000 is the index under the most selling pressure and today's action didn't help.  Small Cap selling saw a loss of the 20-day MA with additional pressure on range support. The net result is a significant dent in buyers' confidence.  Should losses continue tomorrow (leading to a confirmed break of the February trading range) the next support level is the 50-day MA down at 786. Note the expansion in relative weakness to Tech ...and Large Cap sectors The Nasdaq is looking vulnerable, but it has the benefit of expanding relative strength and robust technical health. So while a second day of selling may see channel support broken, it may have enough to attract buyers

Indices continued their march higher. The semiconductor index was the day's chief winner with a gain of 1.5% The advance in the Semiconductor index passed through to the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100, with a lesser gain for the S&P and Dow, but a small loss for the Russell 2000. The semiconductor index had lost support from its 'Santa Rally', but was able to defend its 20-day MA. Today's rally was part of the 20-day MA defense. Whether the February swing low becomes part of a new rising channel won't be confirmed until 438 is breached. The Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 were chief beneficiaries of the gain in the semiconductor index. The Nasdaq 100 is riding along channel support helped by higher volume accumulation. Along with the Nasdaq The S&P posted a smaller gain than was seen in the Nasdaq without the higher volume accumulation. Relative strength continued to swing from Small Caps to Large Caps. Helped by today's loss in the Russell 2000.  Not

Markets finished strong after a weak start. Volume rose to register an accumulation day, although overall volume was not particularly heavy. The rally keeps chugging along. The S&P continued to make relative strength gains against the Russell 2000. This is good news for defensive Large Caps, but it may be a growing worry for Small Caps. It's a modest shift and not enough to turn the broader trend in favour of safe sector Large Cap stocks, but should this continue it could signal the end of the broader rally. In morning trading the Nasdaq was trading outside of its channel, but afternoon buying was able to bring the index back inside its channel. The MACD trigger 'sell' remains in play.  With the index trading inside its channel (and at channel support) the favored outcome is for higher prices. The Russell 2000 finished down slightly, but the index is range bound in a sideways channel. No reason to get excited, although the range bound trading means relative

Indices were able to finish the week at or near the highs. The index which is most likely to benefit next week is the Russell 2000.  Whereas Tech has already broken to new highs and Large Caps are on the verge of doing so, it's the Russell 2000 which is set up for a breakout and offers room to next resistance.  The challenge remains 830, but a close above this level will leave another 35 points of room until resistance is encountered. The Nasdaq has no overhead supply, but the gradual weakening of market breadth limited last week's gain to under one percent. The Nasdaq Summation Index was the breadth indicator to give up the most (albeit a small loss). The S&P is just 5 points away from 2011 highs. From there it will go on to challenge the 2007 high, but it might be slow going given Small Caps and Tech will tempt buyers from positions of new multi-year highs. Next week looks set for a further expansion in breadth weakness which may result in a more subst

Small gains on a slight uptick in volume helped bulls defend support.  Both the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 maintained their advance within the boundaries of their channels  The S&P edged higher, undoing yesterday's losses. While the semiconductor and Russell 2000 dug in at their respective 20-day MAs, but neither could undo the earlier trendline breaks. There was a swing towards Small Caps from Large Caps; although there is a broader shift to Large Cap stocks dating back to the start of February. The Nasdaq added almost a 1%, but the gain wasn't enough to reverse the MACD trigger 'sell' for the index. While the semiconductor index recovered from an intraday loss of its 20-day MA to finish the day just above it. However, technical weakness continues to expand, so it's likely this defense of the 20-day MA won't build into a lasting rally. The Russell 2000 posted the largest one-day gain.  The index is developing a sideways consolidation with clear

Indices suffering most from recent selling took the hardest hit today.  The Russell 2000 finished just above the 20-day MA as the index pushed sideways. The Nasdaq took the next largest hit on the day and was left with an upcoming 'sell' trigger in on-balance-volume. Channel support is key; can the rally continue and defend this support? The Nasdaq 100 was likewise hit. Today saw a MACD trigger 'sell' - the first technical indicator to take a turn for this index. However, relative strength continues to improve.  This favors a bullish defense of channel support. Although the semiconductor index confirmed the break of the rising trend, it held on to the 20-day MA. Relative strength has shifted away from this key economic bell weather to other Tech stocks, although this relationship is still in whipsaw territory and has yet to establish a new trend. Tomorrow is a question for channel-support buying in the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100. If it's to occur it w