Markets soared today from the get-go and closed strongly, although they did back off in the last hour.  However, the Dow was up a whopping 212 today, the S&P 500 up 23, and the Nasdaq 100, 18 1/4.  The SOX index advanced 9 1/4, or more than 2%, and helped the Nasdaq, although, as you'll see in the review, they did back off in the last part of the day, with Nasdaq leading the way.

The day started out with a strong surge at the opening and staged a very strong morning run.  They pulled back mid-morning sharply, but held support and then rallied in a five-wave advance from there, leading to the highs for the session with about an hour and a half to go.  The last hour or so saw some profit-taking and the indices did back off, but the Dow did manage to close above 11,000, at 11,011.  The S&P 500 closed near 1260, which is key resistance, and the Nasdaq 100 at 1490, but about 8 points off the highs, just short of the 1500 level, and near key resistance.

Technicals were extremely strong, especially on the NYSE where the advance/declines were 2871 up to only 472 down. Nasdaq ended with a  2335 to 691 positive advantage .  Up/down volume was about 12 to 1 positive on the New York Stock Exchange, with a total of about 1.85 billion traded.  And Nasdaq  traded very heavy volume of 2.4 billion, with a more than 3 to 1 positive ratio.

TheTechTrader.com board was very strong across the board, with mostly gainers.  Leading the way was DXP Enterprises (DXPE), up $3.21 on half a million shares traded today.  Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX ) one of our recent charts of the week, was up $2.30.  Zevex (ZVXI), also a recent pick, gained $1.79, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) $2.17, The India Fund (IFN) exchange-traded fund  up $3.00 and the gold tracking stock (GLD) up $1.13.

Other stocks of note, Dynamic Materials Corp. (BOOM) advanced $1.73, Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) $1.22 on news of a big contract, and JetBlue Airways, Inc. (JBLU) up $1.00.  Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPDI) advanced $1.67. 

Some selected additional higher stocks were PW Eagle, Inc. (PWEI) up $0.91, Micron Infrared, Inc. (MIKR) up $0.60, Hanson (HANS) up $0.88, and Fuel Tech (FTEK) up $0.76.  Apple Computer (AAPL) advanced $1.20 today, but after the close came out with a strong earnings report and is trading nearly four points higher in the aftermarket, which should auger well for a strong beginning tomorrow. 

On the downside, Qualcomm (QCOM), which closed the regular session at $36.73, is trading at $34 in the aftermarket, down 2 3/4, and may abate some of the bullish sentiment tomorrow morning. Baidu.com (BIDU) had a tough session all day, and managed to lose $1.04, and Broadcom (BRCM) was off $0.41.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly index chart patterns, the Nasdaq 100 & S&P 500  three-week downtrends were broken with a vengeance today, on strong technicals and strong volume.  Both indices closed up near secondary resistance, and we'll see if we can make some additional headway tomorrow, but today was an excellent and very bullish follow-through day, no question.

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.