Today was a mixed but generally lower session, as the indices continued to exhibit downward pressure, particularly from the SOX Index, which dropped 7.44 today and really pressured the high-tech sector of the S&P and NDX.

The day started out with a back and forth movement that failed to attract buyers.  They then sold off into the lunch hour, bounced, pulled back, and then after the FOMC minutes were released, the market staged a quick rally right to key resistance that failed right there.

They sold off for the next 1 1/2 hours or so, and only a late snapback brought them off the lows for the day.

Net on the day the Dow was up 14.41, but some 60 points off the earlier high.  The S&P 500 was down 2.46, around 9 points off the high, and NDX was down 7.68, about 12 points off the high.

So, as you can see, the indices were much higher in the morning.

Advance-declines were 20 to 12 negative on New York and 21 1/2 to 8 1/2 on Nasdaq, pushing 3 to 1.  Up/down volume was 5 to 3 negative on New York with about 1.7 billion traded. Nasdaq traded a like amount with a ratio of about 3 1/2 to 1 negative.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed but generally lower.  There were two outstanding stocks to the upside on news today.  BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) was up 2.06 on 21.4 million, and Real Networks (RNWK) on a huge settlement with Microsoft, was up 1.96 on 22.6 million shares.

Only one other stock was of note on the plus side on my board, and that was BSD Medical (BSM), up 43 cents today.

The downside was led by Forward Industries (FORD) which cracked 20 and kept going, down 1.84 at 18.86.  Neoware (NWRE) gave back 1.27, Cutera (CUTR) 59 cents, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 42 cents.

In the alternative energy sector, which was generally lower, DayStar Technologies (DSTI) was down 39 cents, Distributed Energy Systems (DESC) 16 cents, Evergreen Solar (ESLR) 28 cents, but Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) managed to eke out an 8 cent gain today, despite closing 1.80 off its morning high.

Reviewing the overall hourly patterns, the NDX broke last Thursday's spike low, dropping to as low as 1535 in the morning, before retesting late in the session successfully.

The S&P has not taken out last week's lows, which are directly below at around 1182, closing today just under 1185.

So until we get a confirmation of the new NDX lows, there's always a possibility of a positive divergence and a set-up for a rally here.

The indices are getting very oversold, especially on the NYSE, and I'm expecting a snapback rally in the next 1-2 trading days.

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.