It was an odd day for bulls. All the key indices enjoyed big gains, posting returns of over 2%, but there was very little buying of speculative stocks with buyers preferring to focus on financials like Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The biggest winner was the semiconductor index with its 3%+ gain. The index rallied right up to its 20-day MA and gained enough to see a MACD trigger 'buy'.  There was a gain in relative strength against the Nasdaq, but not enough to see a net bullish shift towards semiconductor stocks. Watch for a consolidation around the 20-day MA before a secondary push to channel resistance. The S&P also rallied to its 20-day MA with a bull cross in On-Balance-Volume, but not enough to see a bull cross in its MACD.  There was also a relative shift loss to Small Caps (Russell 2000), which in itself is bullish for the market as a whole, even if it hurts the S&P. The Russell 2000 had rallied back above its 200-day MA (and also to its 20-d

I suppose the non-news news in Europe was/is going to make it difficult for buyers to become enthusiastic. It's also a market which hasn't really extended its woes with the indices trading near their 200-day MAs. Perhaps if the indices were trading 15-20% below their 200-day MAs it would be an easier buy (?). Despite the overall limp buying in the markets the Russell 2000 managed a respectable +1% gain with a bullish engulfing pattern.  The bullish divergence in the CCI and MACD also suggest an opportunity for something more than a one day wonder. The semiconductor index also did well, finishing with a bullish morning star, but given the downward trend in relative strength to the Nasdaq 100 it might not be there just yet.  However, its time will be soon as it already qualified for a swing low under the >10% loss to the 200-day MA rule. The Nasdaq will be the index to benefit from any continued gain in the semiconductor index.  It also has a natural support area

After Friday's whitewash there was a certain amount of relief to see the selloff stall with an afternoon comeback. The S&P held lower channel support but remained below its 200-day MA. There is a bounce play available with a stop on a loss of Monday's low, with upside targets of the 20-day MA and upper channel resistance. The Nasdaq recovered enough to peg to its 200-day MA with additional support around 2,750.  Lower channel support exists around 2,700, so even if today's narrow range is breached there will be another opportunity for buyers to defend. The Russell 2000 finished with a bullish hammer and a bullish divergence with the CCI and MACD histogram. Of the major indices it's the one most likely to offer the largest % return on the next bounce as relative strength (to the Nasdaq) trends higher despite its relative position to its 200-day MA (vs the Nasdaq). Bulls will look to buy a break of Monday's high with a stop on a loss of Monday'

Market Breadth offered a few swing low opportunities over the past few weeks but this is the first time supporting stochastics for the Percentage of Nasdaq stocks above the 50-day MA reached an oversold level.  However, other breadth indicators have shown greater resilience in their technicals. The Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above the 50-day MA dropped into the high teens; the closest comparison was the swing low in 2010 but even in this scenario there is perhaps another couple weeks of losses before the absolute low is reached. The Nasdaq Bullish Percents is caught in the middle ground and has room to maneuver to the downside.  Supporting stochastics haven't breached the mid point (50%). Although the Nasdaq Summation Index joined the Percentage of Nasdaq Stocks above the 50-day MA in oversold technical territory. However, the breadth indicator hasn't quite reached its pivot low.  Typically, this  forms as an island reversal; if there is a gap down Monday we may ye

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