The markets edged higher on Thursday, tagging more new multi-year highs, but it was more of a consolidation-type session with an upward bias. The day started out with a slight gap up. They then consolidated, backed and filled in the morning, and then ran to the session highs, particularly on the NDX, just under 1900, a tad above the highs reached last week, but then they pulled back at mid-day and retested, held the two-day rising trendline successfully, tried a late rally that made nominal new highs on the Dow and S&P but not on the NDX, and then they rolled over in the last hour before a last few minutes firming brought them back up again.

Net on the day the Dow was up 29 1/2 to a new all time high of 13,241. The S&P 500 was up nearly 6 1/2, closing over 1500 for the first time in seven years, at 1502.39. The Nasdaq 100 gained 5.91, and at one point in the session was just half a point under 1900, closing at 1895 and change. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) gained 2 points and closed over 500.

Technicals were positive but just barely so on Nasdaq. Advance-declines were ahead by 500 issues on New York, 18 to 13, and ahead by a paltry 21 issues on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 9 to 5 positive on New York on more than 1 Ã,½ billion traded. Nasdaq traded more 2.1 billion and had about a 13 to 7 positive ratio.

TheTechTrader.com board was very active, and the vast majority of stocks were higher. NVE Corp. (NVEC) jumped 2.57 on an excellent earnings report, although that was more than 3 Ã,½ points off the earlier high. Jones Soda (JSDA) gained 1.29 at the close, although after market was down 4 Ã,½ on a disappointing earnings report.

IDSA was up 1.70. Former Chart of the Week and portfolio position Force Protection (FRPT) snapped back 1.21. DXP Enterprises (DXPE) snapped back 1.53, and Dendreon (DNDN) gained 1.28 on nearly 26 million shares traded.

Other stocks of note, former Chart of the Week Echelon (ELON) gained 96 cents today, and Chart of the Week DGIT was up 67 cents. Portfolio position GIGM gained 38 cents.

Portfolio position IDM Pharma (IDMI) was up 34 cents, Nuance Communications (NUAN) 46 cents, portfolio position Research Frontiers (REFR) was up 50 cents, and Taser (TASR), a recent Chart of the Day and one of our picks in our CBSMarketWatch article yesterday, was up another 29 cents.

On the downside, there were just small fractional losses. Ascent Solar (ASTI) had a difficult day, down 63 cents, in a mostly narrowly mixed solar energy group.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, as indicated the indices made nominal new highs and then consolidated for the rest of the day, continuing its bullish action of the last few weeks, and at this point is showing no major signs of distribution or severe technical divergence and could still work its way higher.

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.