Leaders Index 4-26-18

The market put in a good rally today after the FB earnings report. FB closed the session up 9.06%, a big move for such a large company and a boost to the market. The Nasd averages led the way with the COMPQ and the NDX higher by 1.64% and 2.08% respectively. The SPX rallied 1.04% on the day. All the major averages closed high in their intraday trading ranges, a sign of support. Volume was higher across the board, but was below average on both exchanges. It is good to see higher volume on a day of strong price increases. Leading stocks were higher as well with the leaders index gaining 1.95% on the session. The index closed high in its trading range and slightly above its 17dma. Volume on the index was lower than yesterday and well below average. You would like to see higher volume in quality growth stocks on a rally day. The action of the market today was positive. FB sparked a strong open today and the market held it well. After the close today AMZN and INTC both had good earnings reports and those stocks are higher in aftermarket trading. This should produce some more positive action tomorrow. The action today was encouraging, but the longer term chart patterns are not much changed yet. The next target for the major averages is their respective 50 day moving averages. If they can break above these resistance levels, particularly with some real conviction the market would have a chance to move higher. Jerry