The markets had a very strong start to the week as futures turned positive just before the opening and the markets opened up strong with a gap in the Nasdaq 100.  They ran all morning, consolidated around lunch hour, and then punched to new highs in the afternoon, making new six-year highs on the S&P and new all-time highs on the Dow.  But the Nasdaq 100, despite breaking out over last weekââ,¬â"¢s highs, so far have fallen about 16 points short of their yearly highs.

The indices were at the session highs until about an hour to go, when some profit-taking pulled them back.  Net on the day, the Dow was up just under 90, the S&P 500 a little less than 12 1/2, and the NDX nearly 25 points.  The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) was up a strong 9.33, or about 2 percent.

The technicals were very positive today, confirming the solid day today.  Advance-declines were positive by more than 3 to 1 on New York and 2 Ã,½ to 1 on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was better than 3 to 1 on New York on total volume of about 1.4 billion and better than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq on just under 2 billion shares.

TheTechTrader.com board  was mostly higher.  Chinese stocks were strong today, particularly on our board.  Chindex (CHDX) was up 1.91 today.  Among Asian stocks in our model portfolio, Home Inns & Hotels (HMIN), the hotelier in China, was up 1.37; Gmarket (GMKT), the Korean equivalent of eBay, was up 1.35; and China Medical (CMED) gained 58 cents.  American Oriental Bioengineering (AOB) was up 35 cents and Jinpan (JST) up 86 cents.

Among other portfolio positions, there was a strong performance today from Simpletech (STEC), which advanced 1.57, or more than 17 percent, on nearly 4 million shares.  Alos Therapeutics (ALTH) in the biotech sector closed near 7, up 73 cents on more than 1 million shares.  Inphonic (INPC) was up 58 cents, Jamba (JMBA) 46 cents, TRT advanced 54 cents, and VASCO Data Security (VDSI) 43 cents.

Further, Fuel Tech (FTEK) snapped back 63 cents, and Sigma Designs (SIGM) tagged 27 today for the first time ever, closing up 94 cents today.

On the downside there were very few losses to speak of and mostly fractional.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, as indicated before the Dow and S&P 500 had breakout performances today to multi-year and all-time highs, but the Nasdaq 100 still trails despite a strong performance today.

Weââ,¬â"¢ll see if it can play catch-up tomorrow, but todayââ,¬â"¢s action augurs well for the indices to continue the trend. After last weekââ,¬â"¢s steep declines, the bears were unable to take control, and the bullish action today action could encourage more short covering and higher prices.

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.