The price congestion at the 610 level on the chart for the Russell 2000 (RUT) suggests that there is a likelihood of another leg down to the 585 level in the intermediate term.

The intraday chart for the S&P 500 proxy SPY illustrates how useful the Ichimoku cloud formation can be in anticipating points of resistance.

The chart for the exchange traded fund EEM indicates that a correction is under way for the emerging markets.

There is evidence on individual stock chart patterns that traders are looking for moves back to resistance as entry opportunities on the short side.

Asian markets managed to get a bounce overnight which has been attributed to the fact that President Obama didn’t continue his bank-bashing theme in his state of the union address.

The indicators on the chart for the Nasdaq Composite (NDX) are not always reliable, but notice should be taken of them, especially when an index or security is at a multi-period high.

The chart for JP Morgan Chase (JPM) looks decidedly negative and suggests that a lot of institutions want out of this sector.

One by-product of President Obama's declaration to end the cozy relationship between the US government and Goldman Sachs is that there could be investors who find the safety of US Treasury bonds more appealing than the risk assets which have been propped up since March 2009 by liquidity provisioning.

The chart for the Nasdaq Composite Index is suggesting that a large move may be imminent, and given the backdrop of a potential sovereign bond crisis in parts of Europe and a deterioration in sentiment from China, it is slightly problematic to assume that the breakout will be upwards.

Across the FX market this morning there are growing signs of risk aversion patterns, which could be a precursor to a more defensive posture in the US equity market as the day progresses.