On Tuesday, the market opened relatively flat and retested Monday's lows. The lows held, and the market rebounded weakly, breaking the market's 3-day losing streak. Today was a day for the market to digest the losses from the last 3 down days. Range for the day declined to 54 for the Nasdaq compared to 81 on Monday (and a whopping 148 on last Friday).

The Nasdaq rose +33 points (+0.81%) and the S&P gained +7 points (+0.38 %). The Dow managed to gain only +10 points (+0.06%). The small-cap Russell got into the action with +8 points on the day (+0.75%). Volume declined on all three major market indices. Advancers held an 2-to-1 edge over decliners, and up volume beat down volume by the same 2-to-1 margin. 

Today's price action could help form the support needed to stage a market bounce. However, the Nasdaq closed under its 100-day moving average for the second day in row, and the bias is still down until it can recross and close above that moving average. In 2013, the 100 SMA was the area where corrections were held in check and rebounds began.

There are always opportunities in the stock market, but one has to be patient for the best times to buy or sell. As stocks decline, especially growth stocks, they form new areas of support and consolidation. This allows for some stocks to build new setup opportunities. It may be tempting to buy stocks at what looks like cheap prices, but it is best to wait for volume confirmation which shows that the short-term trend has reversed to the upside.

Tomorrow's Economic Reports: Wholesale inventories, crude inventories, and FOMC minutes.