Leaders Index 2-2-16

The market was hit pretty hard today. The major averages opened lower and worked their way down the rest of the session. They all finished at their intraday lows, a sign of weakness. The COMPQ led the way down with a loss of 2.24% while the SPX declined 1.87%. Volume was higher across the board, showing that large institutional players were selling stocks today. This produced distribution on all the major averages. Since there was a follow through like day last Friday this is a second day distribution day, putting the follow through in question. Leading stocks were hit as well with the leaders index falling 1.97% and closing in the lower half of it’s intraday trading range. Volume on the index was higher than yesterday and above average, showing distribution in quality growth stocks. A distribution day so soon after a follow through usually means that the follow through will fail. This happened after last Tuesday’s follow through when there was a distribution day the next session. Now there is second day distribution after Friday’s action. This shows how difficult it is to make any progress in this market environment and is a good reason not to get to heavily exposed. Jerry