The markets ended with a very nasty afternoon slide that closed the indices near the lows for the week.  Only a last half-hour snapback brought them off the lows for the day.

It wasnââ,¬â"¢t a pretty picture as the Dow was down 134 1/2, the S&P 500 8 1/2, and the Nasdaq 100 nearly 18.  The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) dropped 6 Ã,½.

Technicals confirmed the negative day, with a 5 to 3 advantage of decliners over advancers on the New York Stock Exchange and about 2 Ã,½ to 1 negative on Nasdaq.  Up/down volume was decidedly negative by 2 Ã,½ to 1 on New York and about 3 Ã,½ to 1 on Nasdaq.  Total volume was 1.4 billion on New York and about 1.8 billion on Nasdaq.

TheTechTrader.com trading board:  On the plus side, Mikron Infrared (MIKR) snapped back with vengeance after a sharp mid-day decline and closed up 71 cents on the day.  Micronetics (NOIZ) was up 53 cents, SunOpta (STKL) up 34 cents, and Merix (MERX) up 22 cents.  Those were pretty much the sole gainers for the day.

On the downside, point-plus losers included Travelzoo (TZOO), down 2.63, and the India ETF (IFN), down 1.93.  Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) was off 1.89, Zevex (ZVXI) down 1.35, DXP Enterprises (DXPE) 1.16, and Broadcom (BRCM) 1.38.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the four-day declining channel continued today, although the mid-day rally did severely test price resistance.  But once again the rally rolled over and made lower lows, ending near the lows for the week.

The S&P 500 took out short-term support late in the session, before snapping back to it.  The overall configuration of the Dow and S&P are still potentially bullish, but Nasdaq remains trailing badly and is actually not far from the lows for the entire decline.

That index also remains in a distinct downtrend off the April highs, with key support in the 1515-20 zone, which may be tested early next week. 

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.