Leaders Index 1-24-18

The market took a rest today after its recent strong advance. After opening a bit higher the major averages peaked early and started fairly mild declines. They closed with small to moderate losses, but off their lowest levels. The Nasd averages were the weakest, but this is to be expected as they were leading the way higher. The COMPQ and the NDX were lower by .61% and .63% respectively. The New York averages did much better with the SPX declining only .06% and the NYA higher by .25%. All the major averages closed in the lower half of their intraday trading ranges but off their lows of the day. Volume was higher across the board and above average on both exchanges. Semiconductor stocks were hit particularly hard with the SOX lower by 2.31%, but these stocks have been the best performers. Leading stocks were mixed, but generally held up pretty well. The leaders index was essentially unchanged with the index off by only .01%. The index made a new intraday high early but didn’t hold it. It tagged its short term 9dma but closed in the upper half of its intraday trading range. This is a sign of support. Volume on the leaders index was lower than yesterday but still well above average. The action of the market was ok today. Some decline or consolidation is to be expected after the powerful run the major averages have had in recent days and weeks. The decline in the Nasd averages along with the higher volume was enough to produce distribution on those averages, but the small decline or even advance in the New York averages means that there was no fresh distribution there. The charts of both the major averages and the leaders index still look good and today’s action didn’t do any real damage. It would have been better if volume was lower today, but the trend remains up and while there may be some selling in the near future we should see higher prices. Jerry