The indices had another plus session and closed near the high end of the range for the day, but we had some volatility.  The day started out with a big gap-up in the morning that took Nasdaq to new rally highs.  The S&P 500 at that point failed to breakout through 1310.  They pulled back in the morning slightly below initial support but held secondary support and the two-day trendlines.  They had a very strong afternoon rally starting at about 11:15.  They backed and filled mid-afternoon but surged in the last hour before pulling back late in the session.

Net on the day, the Dow was up a little less than 36, the S&P 500 up 5.6, and the Nasdaq 100 more than 16. That was led by the SOX Semiconductor Index, which was very strong today, up nearly 14 points, or nearly 3 percent.

The technicals were much better on New York than Nasdaq, with advance-declines 3 to 2 positive but positive by just 300 issues on Nasdaq.  Volume on New York was a little less than 1.6 billion and a little less than 2 billion on Nasdaq, with a more than 2 to 1 positive ratio on both exchanges.

TheTechTrader.com board was active.  There were several stocks we follow that did very well today.  Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), one of our portfolio position, was up a whopping 3.93 on 3 1/4 million shares, closing at the exact tick high of the day going away.  M Systems Flash Disc (FLSH) gapped up and closed strongly, up 2.86 on 6 1/2 million.  Optelecom-NKF (OPTC) up 2.05, Vimicro International (VIMC) up 1.84 and Xyratex (XRTX) up 1.03.

Other stocks of note, Novavax (NVAX) snapped back 48 cents, Sify Ltd. (SIFY) 40 cents, Neoware Systems (NWRE) 38 cents, and Fuel Tech (FTEK) up 97 cents, and reaching a new all-time high at 16.97.

On the downside, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) gave back 56 cents, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) 52 cents, LMI Aerospace (LMIA) 1.05, and PW Eagle (PWEI) 77 cents.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, Nasdaq moved undauntedly higher, as it has for the last week or so, and the S&P 500 made a key breakout today, taking out multiple tops at around 1310-11, closing at 1311.38 after reaching as high as nearly 1313.

So, we'll see if positive momentum from the current breakouts forebear further strength.

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.