The indices marked time all morning in anticipation of the Fed announcement.  The Fed then announced today that they were going to pause their rate hikes and leave them as is.  The initial reaction was a positive one, but the indices quickly reversed and went sharply lower.  They then had as equally a sharp bounce, backed off and retested successfully on the Nasdaq 100, despite lower lows on the S&P 500. When that positive divergence occurred they snapped them back a bit at the close, but still ended down on the day.

The Dow closed down 46, the S&P 500 down 4 Ã,¼, and the Nasdaq 100 9 1/3.  The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) was down 2.80.

The technicals were 3 to 2 negative on advance-declines on New York and 2 to 1 on Nasdaq.  Up/down volume was 2 to 1 negative on New York and 11 to 7 negative on Nasdaq.  So, a negative number across the board, but not very negative. 

TheTechTrader.com board, however, was mostly negative today, led on the downside by Apple Computer (AAPL), which dropped 2.43.   Garmin (GRMN) dropped  1.18, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) 1.12, and DXP Enterprises (DXPE) 1.04.

Other losses of note, Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) was down 1.56, NVE Corp. (NVEC) 1.22, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 1.08.

On the plus side, Fuel Tech (FTEK) came out with solid earnings and the stock advanced 71 cents.  But most other stocks that advanced on my board were up just small fractions today.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, a five-day head-and-shoulders top that had formed on the S&P was taken out, but not convincingly so, as the 1268-70 zone provided support for the S&P 500.  Likewise, the 1477 area, which happened to be last weekââ,¬â"¢s low, provided support on the Nasdaq 100.

So, key support has not been broken, but at the same time the market obviously reacted negatively in a sell-the-news type reaction.  We often find that the direction of the indices in the day or two following the Fed action is what really counts.  So weââ,¬â"¢ll see where they want to go 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.