The stock market indices today went back and forth in the morning and consolidated for most of the day, moving lower on the S&P 500, but holding up much better on the Nasdaq 100.

Net on the day, it was a mixed session. The Dow was down 25.58 at 11,697.31, the S&P 500 off 2.71 at 1273.85, and the Nasdaq 100 up 7.11 at 2277.51.

A lot of Nasdaq's outperformance could be due to Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) having a strong session today, moving to 8-month highs at 28.82, up 82 cents.

TheTechTrader.com board, was mixed, although there were several gainers today. Leading the way, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) was up 5.60 to 35.55, making it one of the top gainers on our board today.

Other gainers of note, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) was up 5.50 to 226.50, Youku.com Inc. (YOKU) 2.67 to 40.59, Polypore International Inc. (PPO) 2.32 to 44.01. E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (DANG) 1.80 to 27.89, Finisar Corp. (FNSR) 1.39 to 32.25, and Hauppauge Digital Inc. (HAUP), a huge percentage gainer, up 1.28 to 3.65.

In addition, ADTRAN Inc. (ADTN) was up 2.09 to 38.93, Resources Connection Inc. (RECN) 2.44 to 21.39, Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (SKH) 1.15 to 10.68, and ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (CKSW) 1.08 to 9.12.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LXRX) advanced 71 cents to 2.22, Ford Motor Co. (F) 34 cents to 18.23, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (GSL) 75 cents to 5.79, Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NVMI) 43 cents to 8.73. Rediff.com India Ltd. (REDF) 48 cents to 5.75, Amarin Corporation plc (AMRN) 86 cents to 8.59, Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (CHTP) 45 cents to 7.85, and Elan Corp. plc (ELN) 48 cents to 6.76

Hyperdynamics Corporation (HDY) was up 75 cents to 6.10, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (QCOR) 55 cents to 15.37, STEC, Inc. (STEC) 48 cents to 19.83, Terremark Worldwide, Inc. (TMRK) 75 cents to 14.08, VirnetX Holding Corp (VHC) 87 cents to 15.53, and VIVUS Inc. (VVUS) 69 cents to 10.55.

On the downside, point-plus losers included Goldman Sachs (GS), down 1.79 to 172.21. Rare Element Resources Ltd. (REE) dropped 2.20 to 13.84, but the big loser today was Molycorp, Inc. (MCP) down 7.84 to 52.86. Amazon (AMZN) lost 1.56 to 185.86.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices were choppy today, firm on the NDX but weak on the SPX, closing mixed for the day.

We'll see how they can close out the week tomorrow, but certainly it’s been a strong week so far.

Harry Boxer is a technical consultant to many Wall Street hedge funds and large institutional traders, and author of TheTechTrader.com.