Definitely an ugly day on the Street.  The indices opened lower and stair-stepped lower all day.  There were some intermittent rallies that brought the indices back to intraday resistance, but each time they failed.  In the last hour, the mid-afternoon rally faded at earlier levels and they closed down at the lows going away.

The Dow was down 103 1/2, the S&P 500 down more than 11, and the NDX down around 16 1/3.  The SOX today was down nearly 2 percent, down 8.10, and that didn't make things easier for Nasdaq for sure.

Advance-declines were 2 to 1 negative on New York and nearly 3 to 1 negative on Nasdaq.  Total volume was heavy volume, with up/down volume nearly 3 to 1 on New York and about 3 1/2 to 1 on Nasdaq, where total volume was about 1.85 billion.  So, heavy volume on the downside today.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed but mostly fractionally lower.  There were some outstanding stocks on the upside.  Abatix (ABIX) advanced 1.41, Spire Corp (SPIR) 84 cents, Catuity (CTTY) up 89 cents, Cavalier Homes (CAV) 53 cents, and Global Industries (GLBL) up 46 cents.

On the downside, Dynamic Materials (BOOM) suffered again, losing 70 cents.  Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) in the alternative energy group, which got hit today, was down 1.05.  Evergreen Solar (ESLR), another member of that group, was down 42 cents, although Distributed Energy Systems (DESC) was up 56 cents with a late rally.

Other notes of note on the downside, Neoware (NWRE) dropped 72 cents, and the SMH was down 51 cents, the Qs down 43 cents, and Broadcom (BRCM) 66 cents.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the takeout of key support yesterday was followed with more downside action today, and now the indices are nearing intermediate support from the late August lows around the 1550-55 zone on the NDX, closing today just under 1562.  The late August lows on the S&P are in the 1202 area, and we closed today at around 1210.

So we may get some tests of key support in the next day or so. However, the oscillators were oversold going into today, and are probably much more oversold at this point.

If the indices are lower in the morning, I will look for a snapback rally at some point 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.