Leaders Index 8-3-18

The market traded in slightly positive territory yesterday. The New York averages led the way with the SPX gaining .46%. The Nasd averages struggled a bit with the COMPQ and the NDX higher by .12% and .32% respectively. All the major averages closed at or very near their intraday trading highs, a sign of support. Volume was lower across the board, which is not unusual on a Friday in summer. Leading stocks were mixed but mostly underperformed as the leaders index fell 2.14% on the session. The index fell back below its important 50dma and closed in the lower half of its trading range. Much of the damage was done by large declines in two components of the index. SEDG and JOBS fell by 13.94% and 17.09% respectively, but several other components showed losses as well. Volume on the index was lower but still above average. The market was higher yesterday, but the action was a bit disappointing. Quality growth stocks did not follow through on Thursday’s strong action. It would have been better to see stronger action. Trading has been mixed recently and it has been hard to make meaningful progress. Few stocks are producing strong gains after breaking out of good setups. There are stocks that are acting well on good earnings reports and others that are getting killed on weak reports. A couple of stocks to keep an eye on are GRUB and SQ. If they can move higher it will be a good sign. If they fail the chances of a good rally decline. Jerry