Since the New Year rolled in it has been semiconductors which have done most of the leg work for this rally: a solid 1% gain following last week's breakout is just the tonic for a technology rally: The gain in the semiconductor index was supported by technicals. Gains in the semiconductor index helped the Nasdaq 100 finish on a new high. And the Nasdaq The Russell 2000 wasn't left out with a decent gain of its own: nothing to spectacular, but enough to keep bulls interested. Only the S&P was left out in the cold. It managed a small gain, but was unable to break resistance. Play for a breakout in the S&P on Thursday.  However, the Nasdaq may be set for a flat close as it hangs on to today's gains ---- All Contributions Welcome - Thank You! Follow Me on Twitter Dr. Declan Fallon is the Senior Market Technician and Community Director for Zignals.com . You can read what others are saying about Zignals on Investimonials.com . JOIN ZIG

There wasn't much to today's action. The only real important aspect was the recovery from the morning sell off, but it wasn't enough to translate into any real end-of-day gain. The S&P was unable to break from its consolidation:

No real surprises. Tech and Small Caps continued to lead Large Cap stocks, and while volume climbed (to register distribution), the point loss was light. The S&P suffered a 'sell' trigger in On-Balance-Volume as the MACD trigger 'sell' expanded. The index was able to finish on its 20-day MA, offering a point of support for Monday. The index looks to be shaping a new consolidation; with resistance at 1,850 and support at 1,820 (although it could post intraday lows around 1,810). Risk measured on loss of 1,810.

Today consolidated Monday's reversal swing with low volume, minor losses for the S&P, and small gains for the Russell 2000 and Nasdaq. The rate of advance has not surprisingly slowed, setting up tomorrow for a chance of small losses. The Russell 2000 successfully tested breakout support with all technicals net bullish. Bulls probably have the best opportunity to bank gains in this index tomorrow.

It was more of the same for the semiconductor index. Yesterday's breakout was followed by some decent action, further improving the technical picture for this index and offering a strong foundation for additional gains in the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100.

Bears were unable to follow through on yesterday's selling. The morning gap set the tone, and buyers kept the momentum into the close, regaining (and in some cases, exceeding) yesterday's losses. The semiconductor index led the charge, breaking to a new high. The earlier bearish 'sell' signals in the CCI and MACD were reversed on today's gain.

Surprising losses when markets were set up for gains. The losses were substantial, fueled by upcoming earnings rather than any confirmed bearish action. The S&P fell back-and-below its 20-day MA, setting up a test of its 50-day MA. There is a MACD trigger 'sell' to navigate, with a pending bearish cross in +DI/-DI on the way. Given the degree of losses, it could come back to its 50-day MA by the end of the week. The Russell 2000 also had a rough day, although it didn't fall enough to violate the breakout. The index closed at its 20-day MA. If bulls are to mount a challenge, this is the index to do it. The Nasdaq took the hardest hit. It lost the converged support, and overshot the 20-day MA on higher volume distribution. The 50-day MA is next up at the target Prepare for some fight from bulls, because it looks like they were taken by surprise today on the selling, and failed to generate the afternoon buying which occurred in previous days. However, bea