In many respects, today's action was better than Friday's in that effectively confirmed the strength of end of week buying from last week.  For the case of the Nasdaq and S&P we had inside (doji) days.  Ideally, the "bullish harami cross" occurs at a swing low, but what we have is something similar when considered in the context of the decline from March highs.  It will soon be time to raise the stop of the index trades .  The Nasdaq is holding on to its breakout with the 'buy' triggers in the MACD and On-Balance-Volume retained. 

It's early days but Friday's close into the long weekend generated some solid bottom breakouts.  The Nasdaq, S&P and Russell 2000 all made positive resistance breakouts from their swing lows as technicals began to improve.  The Nasdaq closed above 12,000, and cleared declining resistance established from the March high. This came with a MACD trigger 'buy' and On-Balance-Volume 'buy' trigger.  This is looking better than it did in March when a similar breakout was attempted, but the index is now trading at better value. 

We don't want to linger too much on market struggles, but today offered a reprieve to yesterday's selling.  The Nasdaq finished with a gain of just over 1.5% as it attempted a scramble off the lows and avoid a fresh breakdown.  The MACD trigger 'buy' occurred well below the bullish zero line which is not a bullish setup, but I would be more confident if there was a break of the declining trendline. 

Friday's spike lows helped mark an anchor point for a trade worthy reversal. Today's action maintained the sanctity of the spike low as markets failed to close below the prior low, while also managing to finish the day higher. We still have to get beyond the range of what is now looking like a 2-week(+) base, but in an oversold market this is a good place to be.  The Nasdaq is on the verge of a new MACD trigger 'buy' as other indicators remained net bearish.  Confirmation of a bottom will come on a break above 12,000. 

Sellers pressured the bounce yesterday and attempted to make amends today, although there is still work to do. The Russell 2000 had the best of the action as it pushed its way back into Tuesday's trading candlestick.  Today's gain came with a 'buy' trigger in the MACD and On-Balance-Volume in support of an acceleration in relative performance against the Nasdaq and S&P.

Buyers were able to maintain the buying from last Thursday with a close at the high of the day across lead markets.  A challenge of the last swing high in early May would set up the reversal rally but there is a couple of weeks work required before markets are able to get there.  For the Nasdaq, we have the 'buy' trigger in On-Balance-Volume with an improving relative performance against the S&P.  The MACD is well below the bullish zero line, so the first 'buy' trigger might not be the one to go for.

Markets are attempting to build new swing lows from a condition of price extremes both in breadth, and relative to their long term (200-day) moving average.  If we are to get a bottom then we not only need to see gains, but we also need to how markets react on the next loss.  The March swing low started like what we saw on Friday, but when selling emerged buyers could stop it with a consecutive days of buying - at least not until Friday.  On the plus side, On-Balance-Volume is on a 'buy' trigger.