Leaders Index 5-18-16

It was a pretty wild ride today. The major averages opened higher and worked their way up until about eleven Pacific time. They achieved solid gains until the Fed minutes came out and it looked like the Fed might be a little more inclined to raise rates than the market had anticipated. There was a big decline after that and all the major averages got into negative territory. A late rally off the lows saw the major averages finish mixed. The COMPQ retained a gain of .50%, but that was less than half it’s highest level. It closed in the upper half of it’s intraday trading range on slightly higher volume(according to Esignal). The SPX closed about unchanged, a .02% gain, in the lower half of it’s trading range. Volume on the New York was less than yesterday. Leading stocks were slightly higher on the day with the leaders index higher by .13% and finishing just above the mid point of it’s trading range. Volume on the index was higher but still below average. It broke further below the consolidation pattern it had been in for weeks and sure looks like a broken index now. The volatility is getting higher and the trendless environment makes it very difficult for all but the shortest term traders to make progress. Jerry