We had a two-tiered day today.  The market rallied for most of the morning and into the early afternoon.  And then they rolled over in a steep slide in the afternoon that gave back all the gains and then some.

Net on the day the Dow was down 4 points, the S&P 500 down about 2, and the Nasdaq 100 down about 9 1/2.  The SOX Index, which was the chief reason for Nasdaq's decline, was down about 8 1/2 points today.

The technicals were negative by 3 to 2 on both exchanges on advance-declines.  Up/down volume was about 4 to 3 negative on New York on total volume of a little less than 1.6 billion.  Nasdaq had heavy volume today of more than 2.4 billion, with a 13 to 11 negative ratio on up/down volume.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed but mostly negative.  The leading gainers today were three of our model portfolio positions.  PW Eagle (PWEI) broke out above key resistance and then backed off, but still ended up 1.40 on the day on 2.1 million.  Rediff.com India (REDF) advanced 1.13 today on 1 1/4 million.  And Sify Ltd. (SIFY) advanced 73 cents on more than 2 million shares.

On the downside, Apple Computer (AAPL) lost 1.89, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) gave back 1.80, Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) fell 57 cents, and Parlux Fragrances (PARL) 55 cents. 

There was not much else of note either up or down, but rather just fractional losses across the board.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, we had a nominal breakout today to new highs on the Nasdaq 100, and nearly equaled the 2005 highs on the S&P 500 but failed right there. The afternoon sell-off was a fairly steep one, particularly in the last hour or so, and gave back a large part of the gains.

Both indices closed below their 40-day moving averages on the hourly charts, which is of some concern.  The S&P's failure to break out and confirm today contributed to the late slide.

We'll see how it goes early next week, the beginning of which may be key in terms of market direction.

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.