A price breakthrough for IGW did take place in Tuesday's session, but it was without convincing volume. The chart for SMH, the other semiconductor ETF, shows a more decisive commitment of volume as the upper trading range has been penetrated.

Clive Corcoran writes that Apple (AAPL) appears to be headed towards a retest of the $96 level.

The chart for Schlumberger (SLB) suggests that a corrective move may be starting to develop.

The corrective action in the Shanghai market yesterday caused a minor sell-off in the US markets, but the underlying bullish dynamics continue to provide support and there just are not enough emboldened bears to test critical levels on the downside.

The banking index (^BKX) has made strong upward progress this week, but may have reached a level where chart resistance could require a short-term period of consolidation.

Despite recent new all-time high closes for the S&P 500, DJIA and Russell 2000, the chart for the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) has yet to re-challenge the late February level above 1840.

Lehman Brothers (LEH) was a beneficiary of the view that the sub-prime woes that hit the market in late-February may have been overdone.

The chart for Kinross Gold (KGC) is also pointing to a potential breakout for the precious metal itself.

The release of the FOMC minutes provided an excuse for traders to expand the range and test the resolve of the bulls, but perhaps more revealingly the test also provided a gauge to measure the enthusiasm of those favoring the short side to take the market down. Not for the first time there seems to be an absence of zealous bears.