Leaders Index 5-2-18

The market had another negative session today. The major averages treaded water until the Fed announcement then staged a short rally. It didn’t last and the market started declining and sold off into the close. All the major averages closed at their intraday trading lows, showing that there was little buying interest as prices fell. The COMPQ lost .42% on the day while the SPX declined .72%. Volume was higher across the board, according to esignal, meaning that there was distribution on all the major averages. Leading stocks did a little better than the overall market with the leaders index gaining .24% on the session. The index closed just above the midpoint of its trading range. It remains right on its important 17dma support level and the relative strength line of the index made a new high today. Volume also increased on the day, a good sign as prices rose. The action of the market was not encouraging today. The late weakness and higher volume shows that large institutional players were selling stocks. The major averages all continue to decline beneath their declining 50 day moving averages. The NYA is back under its 200dma. The picture continues to deteriorate and a defensive posture is called for. I will be away for a couple of days, the updates will resume next week. Jerry