Leaders Index 3-31-17

The first quarter ended yesterday on a fairly quiet note. After opening a little lower the major averages traded in a fairly tight range. A little weakness in the last half hour saw all the major averages finish the day low in their intraday trading ranges. The Nasd averages held up better as the COMPQ fell only .04% while the SPX lost .23%. The greatest strength was in the small and mid-cap stocks as the RUT and MID gained .26% and .06% respectively. Volume was higher across the board and was above average on the New york and about average on the Nasd. This was enough to produce a fresh distribution day on the New York averages although the decline in the COMPQ was too small to qualify as distribution. Leading stocks again outperformed the overall market with the leaders index gaining .27% on higher and about average volume. The index set a new closing high, but not a new intraday high. The relative strength line if the leaders index also made a new high, a positive sign. The overall picture looks mildly positive at this point. The Nasd averages are the leaders right now as they are at or very close to their highs. The New York averages are not doing as well and will need to catch up. Small and mid-cap stocks have been bringing up the rear recently, but both the RUT and the MID broke above their 50dma’s late last week, a sign that they may be improving. The fact that quality growth stocks are leading the major averages is a very positive sign as you want to see leading stocks outperform the overall market. It looks like the market is trying to work its way higher right now, but it is a struggling advance rather than a strong one. Earnings season is coming up and if the reports are good it could provide a lift to the market. Right now it looks like the market and leading stocks have some upside, but it doesn’t appear to have a lot of punch behind it. Jerry