We had a testing session on Monday.  The indices tested resistance on 2-3 occasions but couldn't punch through and they rolled over.

It was a very disappointing finish to a very promising session where the indices were up against resistance and had a chance to break out and explode. Despite the fact that they closed up on the day, underlying technicals were poor enough to make it a negative session no matter what the final results were.

Net on the day the Dow was up 42 3/4, the S&P 500 was up less than 3, the Nasdaq 100 around 2 3/4, and the Composite about 1 1/2.  But technically the advance-declines were almost 500 more negative on New York and about 260 more negative on Nasdaq. 

Up/down volume was 7 to 6 negative on New York with 1.3 billion traded.  Nasdaq volume edged by 7 1/2 to 7 on the plus side with a little less than 1.5 billion traded.

Reviewing TheTechTrader.com board, NGPS soared 3.19 today on contract rumors.  IMMR was up 55 cents on 10 million shares on a lawsuit settlement, but was 1.50 off the earlier high.

Other than that, TASR was down 1.37 and PACT got hammered late in the session, dropping 2.12 on 1.6 million shares.

Other stocks of note, junior energy stocks GEOI, down 87 cents, and USEG, down 47 cents, continued their slide of the last few days.

Some of the alterative energy stocks like DSTI, down 46 cents, and ENER, down 41 cents, also continued profit-taking, as oil continued to drop.

Reviewing the overall patterns, while key resistance was tested on several occasions over the last couple days, they just couldn't get through and backed off late in the day.

It looks like they're going to be re-testing support here, but with the oscillators still as oversold as they are, I would suspect that a bottoming process may be under way.

But it may take some retesting at lower levels before we are finished.

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.