Leaders Index 3-2-15

The market had a solid up session today. The major average opened higher and continued strong for the rest of the day. Late strength allowed all the major averages to close at their intraday highs. Most of the strength was in the Nasd as the COMPQ gained .90% while the NDX was higher by .95%. The SPX gained .61%. The merger between Freescale and NXP really powered the semiconductors as the SOX rallied 2.78%. Volume was lower across the board so institutional investors were not heavy buyers. The COMPQ hit a milestone and closed above 5000 for the first time since 2000. We also saw new highs in the SOX and the RUT. Leading stocks had a good session as well with the leaders index gaining 2.23% on higher and well above average volume. It was in fact the highest volume in weeks. The index made new highs on both a price and a relative strength basis. The fact that quality growth stocks are outpacing the overall market and the distribution count has fallen to such low levels suggests that the market has further to go on the upside. Jerry