Leaders Index 2-1-17

The market opened strong today and all the major averages showed solid gains. The major averages made their intraday highs in the first ten minutes and started selling off. They bounced around the Fed announcement for the rest of the day before closing with modest gains. The Nasd averages led the way with the COMPQ and the NDX finishing higher by .50% and .70% respectively. The New York averages lagged again with the SPX finishing flat with a gain of only .03%. The Nasd averages closed in about the middle of their intraday trading ranges while the New York averages closed low in their ranges. The small and mid-cap stocks closed lower as the RUT and MID lost .04% and .22% each. Volume was mixed. Higher and above average on the Nasd and lower and about average on the New York. Leading stocks did better than the overall market with the leaders index rallying .85% and closing high in its trading range. The index set a new closing high but missed an intraday high by a hair. The index is trying to break above its recent five day consolidation and while today’s action was positive it was not a decisive break into new high ground. While the market couldn’t hold its early strength it was overall a more positive session than a negative one. Fed announcements can cause some added volatility, but overall the picture still looks pretty good. Jerry