It was looking rough for the indices as Spain did its best to surpass Greece to be first in line to jump the Euro. Markets will need more than soothing words from the IMF to rescue this one but there was some reprieve in afternoon trading. The Russell 2000 was able to defend its 200-day MA as the 'buy' trigger in the MACD held on for another day along with the relative gain against the Nasdaq. A break above today's high sets up a long trade with a stop placed on the next duck below the 200-day MA. The S&P suffered another day of distribution but it finished in the middle of the days' range. The setup is not as bullish as it is for the Russell 2000, but Large Caps are holding a small edge over Small Caps which may make it a 'less' risky trade. The Nasdaq was able to finish near the day's highs, but it's caught between the Russell 2000 and S&P in terms of potential upside.  The MACD 'buy' trigger is still in play. Bulls nee

This week's fundamental stock analysis covers Pandora (P), DSW Inc (DSW) and Pilgrims Pride Corp (PPC) and is available here .  Previous articles include: Darden Restaurants and Genomic Health Garmin, Electro Rent and McGrath Rentcorp MercadoLibre Akamai and NetEase Randgold Resources and Pan American Silver Automatic Data Processing, Paychex and Texas Instruments Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Tesoro Petroleum Atlas Pipeline Partners, Potash Saskatche and Freeport McMoran

Poor housing data undid all the gains from yesterday and left the nascent rally vulnerable to further losses. The two consolations were losses were confined to the beginning of the day and didn't accelerate beyond the open, and selling volume was lighter than prior buying volume. Despite the losses, relative strength swung back towards Large Caps and away from Small Caps. Small Caps reversed hard without ever really challenging its 20-day MA (or former wedge support). While the Nasdaq was left in the middle of its channel, although it did do enough to see a MACD trigger 'buy'. The tight action - despite the loss - offers a swing trade opportunity buying/selling on a break of Wednesday's high/low with a stop on the flip side. ---- Follow Me on Twitter Dr. Declan Fallon is the Senior Market Technician and Community Director for Zignals.com . I offer a range of stock trading strategies for global markets which can be Previewed for Free with de

After a few days of tight trading the nascent rally took another step higher. Volume rose to register an accumulation day (albeit against a low volume bank holiday Friday), but it's all good if you are a bull. The one index which marked a technical improvement was the Russell 2000. Today saw a MACD trigger 'buy' as the index finished just below its 20-day MA and former support turned resistance. The S&P is a day's gain away from the 20-day MA but it has an additional few days of upside before it encounters resistance at the declining channel. It was the same story for the Nasdaq, although the 20-day MA is running close to falling channel resistance. In general, the indices (with the exception of the Russell 2000) are very close to seeing MACD trigger 'buy' signals. A MACD 'buy' combined with a cross above 20-day MAs could offer fresh upside follow through for the indices.  Given the proximity of indices to their 20-day MAs it's l

Markets finished the week higher, but were unable to reverse prior week's losses or trend breaks. The Dow is the index best positioned for bulls on Tuesday.  It trades on rising channel support although it has only recently fallen out of an overbought condition which suggests a play on holding channel support has a stronger chance of failure. Small Caps spent another week defending key support of 760, but the loss of the rising channel signals an end to the trend and a more probable start of a sideways consolidation - marked by 760 support. The Nasdaq is caught somewhere in the middle.  It had overshot 2,885 support but hasn't quite made it to its next support level.  Converged support around 2,700 is looking a more likely test. While Market breadth continued to push lower and into swing low territory.  However, stochastics for the Nasdaq Summation Index haven't yet reached oversold territory - suggesting further declines ahead for it (and the Nasdaq)

Bulls are having a hard time acquiring the momentum to confirm a swing low.  But at least the decline has been arrested.  Volume eased and remains well below the distribution of the previous week. The S&P is close to an on-balance-volume 'buy' with the MACD in pursuit. It was a similar picture for the Nasdaq, although former support may now play as resistance. But the Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above the 50-day MA is firming up a swing low (and doing a better job than the index itself). Although the Semiconductor index is heading in the other direction. The Russell 2000 remains contained by 764 resistance despite yesterday's strong recovery.  But with the 200-day MA playing as support there may be enough to make it to the 20-day MA. Today's setup looks to favor bulls tomorrow and probably for the next few days. In addition, sectorbreadth is closer to oversold territory and in such situations the upside potential is good. ---- Follow

My latest Motley Fool review on Darden Restaurants and Genomic Health is available here . Past Reviews: Electro Rent ($ELRC), Garmin ($GRMN), McGrath Rentcorp ($MGRC) MercadoLibre (MELI) Akami ($AKAM) and NetEase (NTES) Randgold ($GOLD) and Pan American Silver ($PAAS) Automatic Data Processing ($ADP), Paychex ($PAYX), and Texas Instruments ($TXN) Chesapeake Energy Corporation ($CHK) and Tesoro Petroleum ($TSO) Atlas Pipeline Partners ($APL),  Potash Saskatche ($POT) and Freeport McMoran ($FCX)