A backlog of stocks to cover, links offer redirects to fundamental analysis I've done at the Motley Fool; starting with Alexion Pharmaceuticals ($ALXN) .  July's breakout was substantial, and subsequent trading validated the surge with the defense of $105.  Prepare for follow through on a push above $117.30. It may be possible to run a stop as close of $112.50 when the break happens.

An earlier  Motley Fool article covered three materials stocks: Dow Chemical, Potash Corp and Airgas. The most interesting is perhaps Airgas. The stock bullied past $100 in July after a failed attempt in May. The 50-day MA has offered itself as support, which was used in August.  Technicals are net bullish.

After Thursday's stall at channel resistance, sellers returned with volume to push indices away from resistance and back towards 50-day (20-day) MA support. Selling volume was significant, but the broader trend is bullish and Friday's action didn't change this. Just as the Dow had a picture perfect bounce off channel support, the S&P had a picture perfect bounce off channel resistance.  Plenty of support below, but the index could spend another few days heading lower.

No surprise to see the indices stall out at channel resistance. Narrow day range allows for a swing trade on break of day's high/lows. Volume was down, which is inline with a consolidation. Little more to add on the day. Keep an eye on the S&P, it has underperformed relative to the Russell 2000 for a number of months, but it's finding its groove which should see an upside break of channel resistance.

After a series of low volume gains, bulls returned in force on heavy volume.  Technicals were already pointing towards a further advance but today took those indices all the way to channel resistance. The S&P finished right on channel resistance. It's a good place to take some profits, although best for bulls would be for the rally to nickle-and-dime higher along channel resistance.

In an extension of yesterday's action, markets rose on low volume to keep the rally off August swing lows intact. It was a slightly better day for technology indices as they managed to finish above the prior close, building on recent breakouts. The Nasdaq has eased in its relative performance against the S&P, but the breakout dominates.

Friday had set things up for a positive Monday, and Monday began with a bright start on a strong opening gap, but bulls were unable to build off the open. However, the selling was light and so the overall bullish picture is intact. The S&P was able to close with a net gain. Technicals are not overbought, which keeps things positive for Tuesday.