The markets had another negative session to start the week. They were down for most of the session and stair-stepped lower until about a half hour to go. Then they staged a very strong snapback rally, taking back half the losses on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, and three-quarters of the losses on the Dow.

Net on the day the Dow was down 59 1/2 after being down more than 200, the S&P 500 was down 16.25, about 14 points off its low, and the Nasdaq 100 down 28, about 20 points off its low. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) fell 5.18 today, closing about 4 points off its low.

The technicals were negative by a little more than 2 to 1 negative on advance-declines on New York and a similar amount on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was nearly 4 to 1 negative on New York on light total volume of 1.1 billion. Nasdaq traded a lighter 1 2/3 billion and had 3 1/2 to 1 negative volume ratio.

TheTechTrader.com board was mostly lower. Leading the way to downside was AAPL, down 4.26. The agriculture stocks were sharply lower with POT down 6.47, CF down 2.41, AGU 2.09 and MOS 2.52.

ACH gave back 1.53, DRYS 1.27, ENER 1.55, RIMM 1.24 and RMBS 1.22. SPWR gave back a point, but managed to close 2 1/2 points off its low.

Top 20 List member TSYS was up 35 cents to 8.55, portfolio holding UEPS was up 2 cents to 13.30, QCOR snapped 32 cents to 7.87, and AUXL was up 35 cents.

Among the ultrashort ETF’s, the QID was up 2.63, and the BGZ up 3.20.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, technically the indices successfully tested and held last week’s lows, and managed to snap back late in the session. So we'll see if those levels continue to hold near the 1167-70 zone on the Nasdaq 100 and the 857-8 level on the S&P 500. Those are the very key short-term support areas that need to continue to hold in order to not see substantially lower levels.

So it'll be interesting to see if during this year end holiday low volume period this week the indices will hang in there, rally back, or crack.

Good trading!

Harry

For more of Harry Boxer, sign up for a FREE 15-Day Trial to his Real-Time Technical Trading Diary. Or sign up for a Free 30-Day Trial to his Top Charts of the Week service.

(c) 2008 AdviceTrade, Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed only by written permission of AdviceTrade and The Technical Trader at info@advicetrade.com . In using any portion of Harry Boxer's content, you agree to the terms and conditions governing the use of the service as described in our disclaimer at http://www.thetechtrader.com

Mr. Boxer's commentaries and index analysis represent his own opinions and should not be relied upon for purposes of effecting securities transactions or other investing strategies, nor should they be construed as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security. You should not interpret Mr. Boxer's opinions as constituting investment advice. Trades mentioned on the site are hypothetical, not actual, positions.

Harry Boxer Archive

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.