The indices had a down day today, continuing the recent pullback off the rally highs.  The day started out with weakness.  They bounced around, had some volatility in the morning, and then went sideways during the mid-day session in a narrow focus.  At that point the indices rolled over, took out support and then headed down and took out the morning lows before a late snapback attempt failed into the close and closed near the lows for the day going away.

The Dow was down 52 and the S&P down 4.  The Nasdaq 100 was  down a whopping 17 3/4 and the SOX was down about 4.

Technicals were negative by 2 to 1 on New York and a like amount on Nasdaq.  Up/down volume was about 3 to 2 negative on New York on total volume of about 1.5 billion.  Nasdaq volume was about 1.6 billion with a little more than 2 to 1 negative.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed with a couple outstanding stocks on the upside and downside.  Among the gainers today was Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), which made another new 4 1/2 year high, reaching near 40 at 39.89 before closing at 38.61, up 1.04.

Kendle International (KNDL) in the drug sector advanced another 1.02 to a new multi-year high.

Other stocks of note, Spire Corp (SPIR) was up 81 cents in the alternative energy sector.  DayStar Technologies (DSTI) gained 19 cents and Evergreen Solar (ESLR) a dime.  But Dendreon (DNDN) awoke on some drug news and gained 79 cents on more than 6 million shares.

On the downside, the leading losers on our board was Dynamic Materials (BOOM) down 1.52, Rediff.com India (REDF) down 1.30, and Forward Industries (FORD) down 1.52.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly patterns, there was a key test today of support at 1590, right where the indices closed, on the Nasdaq 100.  So we're at a key four-week support zone, and we'll see how the market reacts tomorrow.

Good trading!

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.