Leaders Index 12-14-20

[Jerry Samet]

The market reversed down after a solid start. The major averages opened higher but topped out quickly and spent the remainder of the session working their way lower. We ended up with a split session with the Nasd averages holding some gains while the New York averages finished in negative territory. The COMPQ and the NDX closed higher by .50% and .70% respectively. The SPX fell .44%. Volume was higher across the board. It gained 3.90% on the Nasd and 3.18% on the New York. That was enough to produce a distribution day on the New York averages. The Nasd averages avoided a technical stalling day, but it sure felt like stalling action in the Nasd averages. Leading stocks finished generally higher with the leaders index gaining .57% on the day. The index closed in the upper half of its trading range on higher but below average volume. The index continues to trade below its declining 9dma resistance level. The action of the market today was mildly negative. Early strength was lost as the major averages reversed lower. The Nasd averages were the strongest and held on to decent gains, but larger early gains were lost. The New York averages closed in negative territory and now have five distribution days on the SPX. The market still seems to have an upside bias to it, but it is not as strong as it was earlier. Quality growth stocks continue to lag overall as can be seen in the leaders index and the IBD 50. The start of vaccinations that began today helped the market and there was early talk of progress in stimulus talks that was later debunked. We continue to be in a seasonally favorable period so I would expect some more positive action in the remainder of the year, but there are some yellow flags waving. Jerry
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