Leaders Index 2-23-17

It was overall a pretty negative session today. The major averages were split on the day with the New York averages holding up better than the Nasd averages. The COMPQ was off by .43% while the SPX was flat with a .04% gain. The Nasd averages closed low in their intraday trading ranges while the New York averages finished high in their trading ranges. Volume was mixed, lower on the Nasd and higher on the New York. This means that the COMPQ missed a distribution day as volume was lower. The story was different with leading stocks. They took a real hit today as a lot of quality growth stocks showed strong declines on increasing volume. The leaders index declined 3.00% and closed low in its trading range. The index broke through both the 9dma and the 17dma with some conviction. This is not a positive sign. Many individual components took large hits on much higher volume. This is the worst session for the leaders index since the rally started after the election. The volume figure in the leaders index chart is distorted as HGSI is having some data problems relating to volume but not price. The overall volume was higher than yesterday. This shows distribution in quality growth stocks. The major averages held up fairly well today, particularly the New york averages. The action of leading stocks is a real red flag. Many stocks had serious hits today and many times leading stocks roll over before the overall market. Today’s action was not enough to turn the big picture negative, but stocks have to recover quickly of the rally could be in trouble. Jerry