The character of the action changed a bit today as the bears put up their best fight in a long time. The dip-buyers spiked us up to recent highs twice during the day but were turned back rather vigorously both times. We even went out at the lows as the market ignored more yammering from the European finance ministers, who are obviously hoping to keep their comedy show running for a few more months.

What was most notable about the action today was that AAPL, the holiest of the holy in the land of dip-buyers, reversed hard and went out at its lows. Apple had been up for 10 straight days and acted like it would never go down again. It has been anointed the greatest stock in the history of mankind, and it is guaranteed to upset the market beast that punishes anyone who gets too cocky.

The big question for us to contemplate now is whether the recent back-and-forth action is a signal that we are building a significant top or just healthy consolidation which will eventually set us up for further upside.

I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm leaning toward the defensive side. Maybe with Apple finally being knocked down, the indices will be more reflective of the action in individual stocks.