We had two very distinct parts of the session with a sharp plunge in the morning and a strong snapback rally that lasted from the early morning lows to the close, especially on Nasdaq.

The day started out with a small move lower. Then they bounced to resistance and failed, but plunged on the housing news, where new home sales were sharply below expectations, sending a chill through Wall Street. But they stabilized around 10:00 am, and then rallied steadily, closing up on the day on the SPX & NDX.

The Nasdaq 100 was up nearly 9 points. That was about 28 points off the low. The S&P 500 closed up 1.39, and that was 14 points off the low. The Dow was down 12 points today, but was 102 points off its low. So, a very strong recovery today.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) was down 59 cents on the session, but about 6 points off its low.

The technicals were mixed. NYSE advance-declines were negative by about 90 issues. Up/down volume was just slightly negative on 1.45 billion traded. Nasdaq was also negative on advance-declines by 16 Ã,½ to 14, but up/down volume was nearly 2 to 1 positive.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed. Outstanding gainers include U.S Global Investors (GROW), which exploded, particularly in the afternoon, up 6.40 on the day. It looked like short-covering there. DXP Enterprises (DXPE), one of our recent Charts of the Week, extended its gains, running hard today, up 3.70, and Jones Soda (JSDA), also another stock we highlighted recently, jumped 1.95 on 28 million shares and touched a new multi-year high.

Other stocks of note on the plus side, Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) was up 80 cents. Low-priced Dendreon (DNDN) gained 7 cents on 15.4 million shares. However, that was substantially off the earlier high when it traded up to 5.23. It closed at 4.54, so a disappointing ending there. And PRG-Schultz International (PRGX) closed up 59c

On the downside, Boxer Shorts Bear Stearns (BSC)down 1.80 and Continental Airlines (CAL) down 1.08. Lehman Brothers (LEH)also lost 77 cents. Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) gave back 96 cents from recent gains. Research Frontiers (REFR) dropped another 42 cents, closing at 9.90. Sigma Designs (SIGM) gave back 41 cents, XIDE 47 cents, and FTEK 34 cents. ISIS had a disappointing session despite positive drug news. The stock traded over 11 in pre-market, but closed at 9.86, down 28 cents on a 5.7 million share reversal day.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly patterns, the impressive part about today was that the S&P 500 lows were right above the rising 40-day moving average on the hourly charts. That provided support, and the rally back was a strong one, particularly on Nasdaq, which got back up just underneath its highs from last Thursday and Friday as did the S&P.

We’ll see if they can follow-through and break them out, or whether resistance is futile and they turn them back lower from here. This is a key point in the trend.

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.