It was a day of two extremes: bulls took the early advantage, but bears struck hard in the last couple of hours of trading. The S&P rallied as far as its 50-day MA before bears pressured, ending with some shorts profit taking to return some of the losses. \The S&P is enjoying a sharp relative advantage against the Russell 2000, but the 'spinning top' candlestick is a 50:50 play.

Markets took further losses, but a late rally put a bullish gloss on the day. With the DAX kicking in demand at the August low (not helped by Volkswagen), there is a chance for the S&P to build a swing low here. Volume climbed in distribution, which isn't great, but beats the tepid, nondescript action of yesterday. The S&P hasn't yet triggered a 'sell' trigger in the MACD, but is close to generating a strong 'sell'. Remaining OBV, ADX and Stochastics are in bearish territory. The Nasdaq gained a little ground on the open price and the 'bullish' hammer would offer more if oversold 'stochastics' were in play, which are currently treading the middle ground. The Russell 2000 also finished with a bullish doji. Like other indices, this reversal occurred in a bit of a vacuum, away from logical support. As the index which is experiencing the most relative weakness, it should be watched closely if it's able to regain its mojo. Stre

Yesterday's action had set things up for a big follow through down, but today's trading was very modest. Volume was also well down on yesterday. Volkswagen's disaster cast a malaise on the day, so it was perhaps surprising the news didn't trigger broader selling. While I still think a retest of August lows is needed (at the least), today's action does suggest another bounce may be in the making. The S&P continues to out perform the Russell 2000 and today's action was inside yesterday's range in a possible bullish harami cross; a break of today's high of 1,949 would confirm. The two side-by-side doji in the Nasdaq make for an interesting play tomorrow. It looks a straight coin toss, although the technicals play perhaps in favour of bears. The index looks rich relative to other indices, but rich can get richer. Play a break of the 2-day high/low with a stop on the flip side. The Russell 2000 did pressure and break yesterday's lows. Shor

A late recovery managed to put some gloss on today's action. Volume climbed to register as distribution. The S&P is in the process of regaining a relative performance advantage over the Russell 2000. Momentum remains on the bearish side of the fence with a sub-50 reading.