Image source: Pixabay

We are two-for-two for the S&P 500 pushing beyond the 6,100 level resistance, as this week was nearly an exact repeat of the previous. Just as things looked ready to push on, sellers returned.

Supporting technicals are net bullish, which leaves just the price to do its thing. What happens at the converged 20-day/50-day MAs will be important, because there can only be one winner here.

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The Russell 2000 (IWM) doesn't have a 'bull trap' to contend with, but it does have its 50-day MA to overcome. And like with the S&P 500, it only found rejection at the moving average on higher volume distribution. Technicals appear to be mixed; bullish, with the exception of on-balance volume.

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The Nasdaq's price action was similar to that of the S&P 500, except it hasn't been challenging the highs. There was a clear trend break in December, but since then, the index has just been moving sideways. A break of the 18,700 level would result in a bearish trend, and a break of the 20,100 mark would indicate a switch to a bullish trend. If you wanted a hint as to what comes next, Friday's volume ranked as distribution.

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The Dow Industrial Average seems to be caught a little in the middle, with a fresh trend break. There was a trend break in December, but then the index came back to challenge the all-time highs. However, it's once again drifting into a new trend break.

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Bears are likely to be in control early next week, but we won't see any trend shift for a while, at least until markets clear their trading ranges. The financial media will likely focus on the noise, but it will be a few weeks before we know the true picture.

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