The indices closed sharply lower today as the Fed raised interest rates and indicated they may not be done tightening. 

However, the morning started out with some firmness and then a mid-morning consolidation and a strong pop to new rally highs just before the lunch hour.  But this was certainly below the resistance levels of the last week.  The S&P 500 reached as high as 1306, the same level it reached twice last week.  The Nasdaq 100 set a new high for the last five sessions but then tumbled after the Fed made their announcement.  Only at the very end of the day did they try to bounce.

Net on the day the Dow was down 95 1/2, the S&P 500 down 8 1/3, the Nasdaq 100 7 1/2, and the SOX index down 10.3 points.  The certainly helped push Nasdaq lower.

The technicals were 2 to 1 negative on advance-declines on New York and 3 to 2 negative on Nasdaq.  Up/down volume was 2 1/2 to 1 negative on New York with 1.5 billion traded.  Nasdaq traded more than 2 billion shares and had a 4 to 3 negative plurality.

TheTechTrader.com board was very mixed with a few outstanding stocks to the plus side.  DXP Enterprises (DXPE), one of our recent Charts of the Week and portfolio holdings, was up 4 points today   Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) gained 1.32, Evergreen Solar (ESLR) 71 cents, Fuel Tech (FTEK) 45 cents ???, LanVision (LANV) 37 cents, and LMI Aerospace (LMIA) 33 cents.  That was pretty much it for the plus side.

On the downside, Dynamic Materials Corp. (BOOM) dropped 1.18 on news of a secondary stock offering. Rediff.com India (REDF) dropped 62 cents, PW Eagle (PWEI) 61 cents, and Rambus (RMBS) 53 cents.  Smith Micro (SMSI) backed off 56 cents off from six-year highs, and Nitches (NICH) was down 54 cents.  Endwave (ENWV) dropped 92 cents, and Chindex (CHDX) 46 cents.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, damage was done technically today, as the indices dropped sharply in the afternoon after the Fed announcement.  We'll see if there's any downside follow-through, or if they can reverse this tomorrow.

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.