The markets had an early rally out of gate but failed at key overhead resistance , and that was about it. They had a 3-wave decline and sharp one until late morning, tried to bounce around mid-day, failed at resistance, and then sold off in a steady, downward choppy fashion into the close.

Net on the day the Dow closed down nearly 90 points at 7465.95, tagging 7447.55 right around the lows of November, but the close was the lowest in six and a half years! The S&P 500 also suffered, dropping from a morning high of 797 down to 777, closing just a couple points above its low, at 778.84, down 9.48. The Nasdaq 100 gave back 34 points off its high, closing down nearly 21 today at 1167.89. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) had a very negative session, down 10.77 to 196.09, a more than 5 percent decline.

Advance-declines were negative by nearly 3 to 1 on New York, and by about 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was about 3 to 1 negative on New York on total volume of 1.45 billion. Nasdaq traded just under 2 billion and had an almost 5 to 1 negative volume ratio.

TheTechTrader.com board was generally lower. Apple (AAPL) was down 3.73 to 90.64. Financials suffered greatly, with Hartford Financial Services (HIG) down 2.51 to 7.73 on 41.8 million shares, a real crusher there. WFC was down 1.04 to 12.01, and BAC down 64 cents to to 3.93. C lost 40 cents to 2.51, a new 18-year low. JPM lost 91 cents.

Shippers also had a negative session. Excel Maritime (EXM) fell 1.35 to 4.45, and DryShips (DRYS) was down 18 cents to 3.59, holding up relatively well.

On the plus side, the ultra shorts had a fantastic session. The UltraShort Real Estate ETF (SRS) closed up 6.45 to 82.66, but that was about 10 1/2 off its low on the day. The Direxion Large Cap Bear 3X Shares (BGZ) snapped back 6 1/2 off its low and closed up 2.53. The Direxion Financial Bear 3x Shares (FAZ) at 70.20 was up 8.10 today, 14 points off its low. That was our Chart of the Day.

----------------------
See Harry's Chart of the Day Video Presentation
----------------------

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, additional downside progress was made today, and short-term support was broken. We'll be watching key support at the 1135-40 zone the Nasdaq 100. The November lows are fast approaching down around the 740 area on the S&P 500, but that's about 38 points from where it closed today.

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) 2009 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.