It was looking good for all indices in morning trading, but bears were able to knock back the S&P back inside its base by the close of business. However, the Russell 2000 was able to post a breakout, even if it hasn't gone all the way to new all-time highs, it has made inroads into challenging the 'bull trap'.

The S&P is experiencing an interesting tussle at resistance, with 1,850 proving to be a difficult level to break. Volume climbed to register yet another distribution day, but Friday's intraday spread was narrow - offering a swing trade opportunity on break of day's high/lows

Bears found no joy after the first real day of selling for February failed to lead to anything. The Nasdaq maintained its breakout, and even managed to register an accumulation day: bulls can probably play for further upside with a stop below 4,225.

The Nasdaq breakout is under pressure after today's loss. It hasn't lost its breakout, but should it do so it will leave a 'bull trap' and offer a shorting opportunity.

The shortened week started where it left off, with gains all round. However, it was left to Small Caps to enjoy the best of today's action.

The Dow was the most bearish of the indices heading into the weekend, but despite the lighter volume it was still able to push above resistance, negating the breakdown.

Swing trades can look to trade a break of the day's high/lows, with a stop on the flip side. But momentum is with the bulls, so any short-side break could be short-lived.

A surprising show of strength after three days of gains.

It was relatively low key, but the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 were able to post a third day of gains yesterday.

Buyers are relieved to have seen a second, decent day of gains following the losses at the start of the week. Volume just about registered an accumulation day, although there is perhaps some concern the buying of the last two days has come on lighter volume than the selling which took indices to these lows.

Yesterday was a relatively easy day for bulls. The decline had created a bit of a vacuum, which the subsequent rallies happily filled.

It was looking a little worrisome for the Russell 2000 after sellers pushed the index below Monday's lows in early action. The index gave back some of the recovered gains by the close, but not enough to reverse what amounted to a bullish hammer.

After Monday's action, it was no surprise to see markets claw back a small amount of those losses. Buying volume dropped, a trend which has been apparent since the failure of the S&P to break above 1,850. Technicals in the S&P are oversold.

The battle between bulls and bears finally resolves itself in favor of bears. The end result differed by index, with some performing 'better' than others. Bad economic data was blamed for the fall.

One should give the edge to support - for now - but trading volume has consistently picked up in favor of distribution on days the market has closed lower.

It proved to be a tough day for bulls. Shorts are unlikely to have been the cause of today's losses, although some may not have wasted time jumping on board.