The indices had another positive session, although the path to the close was a volatile one. They gapped lower at the opening, had a mini 5 wave decline to severely test short-term support on the Nasdaq 100 at around the 1762 area, but held up much better on the S&P and Dow. When the NDX failed to break down and started to rally strongly, they caught fire to the upside and had a sharp rally, taking the NDX from 1763 to 1807, about a 44-point rally. The S&P in that period of time went from 1363 to 1387, about 24 points, so a very strong move on the indices mid-morning to early afternoon.

Then they backed off and did some retesting and tried to retest the highs again, but fell short, and then rolled over sharply in the last hour. However, in the last half hour, they bounced and came off the lows to close with net gains of nearly 115 on the Dow, 9 1/2 on the S&P 500 and 5.85 on the Nasdaq 100, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) up a solid 6.29, or a little less than 2 percent.

Technicals were positive by better than 2 to 1 on advance-declines on New York and a little less than that on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 2 1/2 to 1 positive with a total volume of 1.4 billion traded in New York. Nasdaq was nearly 2 1/2 to 1 positive with a total volume of nearly 2 1/4 billion.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed but mostly higher. Point-plus gainers included Cree Inc. (CREE) up 2.12 to 34.91, acting very well technically. Chindex (CHDX) snapped back from yesterday's sell-off, up 1.68.

There were several large fractional gainers, with portfolio position and recent Chart of the Week China Natural Resources (CHNR) up 91 cents. Emcore (EMKR) gained 74 cents, as did Energy Conversion Devices (ENER). MBI, in the mortgage sector, bounced 70 cents. China Finance Online (JRJC), one of our portfolio positions and Charts of the Week, was up 42 cents. UEPS was up 61 cents, and Origin Agritech (SEED) up 36 cents.

On the downside, shippers took it on the chin today, with DryShips (DRYS) 5.57, Excel Maritime (EXM) 1.53 and TBS International (TBSI) 95 cents.

Sigma Designs (SIGM) continued very weak action and dropped for a moment today below 30 for the first time in more than months. That's 43 points off its high just this last December, closing at 30.61, down 3.56.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices have come out of their nearly 2 week consolidation ranges, particularly on the S&P 500 and Dow, though not quite yet on the Nasdaq 100. However, the declining tops line has been taken out there. So, there are positive technical developments occurring, and let's see if we get some follow-through into the end of the month to extend the rally.

Harry Boxer is a technical consultant to many Wall Street hedge funds and large institutional traders, and author of TheTechTrader.com, a real-time diary of his day, swing and intermediate-term trades. 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.