Leaders Index 2-15-17

The market continued to rally today as it put in another solid performance. The major averages opened higher and advanced almost uninterrupted the whole session. The Nasd averages led the way with the COMPQ higher by .64% and the NDX gaining .59%. The SPX was up by .50%. All the major averages closed at their intraday trading highs, a positive sign. Volume was higher across the board and above average on the Nasd. This shows that large institutional players were buyers of stocks today. Leading stocks were higher as well, but generally lagged the overall market. The leaders index was higher by .44% on the session and closed near the top of its trading range. Volume was lower than yesterday and below average. The index had a nice run and has spent the last week consolidating those gains in a pretty constructive manner. The index is sitting just above its short term 9dma and has tagged its 17dma for the last couple of sessions. After outperforming the overall market quality growth stocks seem to be taking a little breather, as can be seen in the relative strength line of the index. The market is acting well. The major averages have advanced six days in a row and closed at or very near the highs each time. This is a sign of real strength, although they may be getting a little ahead of themselves very short term. It would be nice to see the leaders index break above its recent consolidation, particularly on volume, but things look good right now. Jerry