Markets managed to hold on to early lows without the selling pressure of earlier in the week. While the buying was relatviely modest, it still wasn't enough to see a return above 20-day MAs for indices, although there is a good chance for a second bite of the cherry this week. For the Russell 2000 ($IWM) there was an "inverse hammer" at oversold near term stochastics, but not at mid-level intermediate stochastics - a level often associated with support during bull markets. There are 'sell' signals in the MACD and On-Balance-Volume to overcome but other technical supports are healthy.

The Russell 2000 ($IWM) and S&P ($SPX) both finished near their respective 20-day MAs registered as test "fails", but not enough to suggest a recovery isn't possible tomorrow. The Russell 2000 does have the August swing high to lean on should it need it. Also, the closure of the December gap can be one to spark a recovery.

With the exception of the Russell 2000 ($IWM) we have the S&P, Dow Jones Industrial and the Nasdaq all up near all-time highs. There is the potential for some indices to return double tops, particularly if you look at Monthly charts like the S&P.

I'm trying the Topstep Trader Combine as a sampler to day trading and it's an interesting setup with minimal outlay costs to get started. I'm not a huge fan of their platform UI but everything else has been pretty good so far. Today was one of those days where I waiting (and waiting) for the profit taking to kick in, but by the time sellers made their appearance I had reached my loss limit for the day and so that, was that. You can see all of my whipsaw trades here. For the record, I only work off price action, looking at support/resistance and tells like rapid stop take outs, usually a good sign for a reversal.

"Black" candlesticks are rarely a good and we had one today in the Russell 2000 ($IWM). Expectation is for an open below today's close, then a close lower than the open. As part of this bearish setup I will be looking for a gap closure that may result in a bullish 'hammer', but more likely, I would look for a close inside the gap that keeps bears in control. Buying volume dropped significantly from Friday, but with the holidays fast approaching I wouldn't worry too much about volumes.

It was a classic breakout for the Dow as the index recorded a new all-time high. Weekly buying volume was the highest since January 2022. Technicals are net positive with the index shifting to a relative outperformance against the Nasdaq 100.

With the Fed signalling rate cuts for 2024 , it was another good day for markets, with the Russell 2000 ($IWM) cashing in on its resistance pressure with a 3%+ gain. In doing so, it easily surpassed the August swing high on higher volume accumulation.