Leaders Index 7-28-17

The market was little changed after Thursday’s reversal. The major averages traded in a fairly tight range and closed with small losses. The COMPQ finished lower by .12% while the SPX declined .13%. Both ended the session near their intraday trading highs, a sign of support. Volume was lower across the board and below average on both exchanges. This is not unusual on a Friday in the summer. Leading stocks overall performed about in line with the overall market with the leaders index falling .13% on the day. The index closed in the upper half of its trading range and held above the short term 9dma support level. Many quality growth stocks performed pretty well yesterday and overall it wasn’t a bad day for quality growth stocks. After a nasty reversal like we saw on Thursday you would like to see a strong rally back to show that the rally has further to go. Yesterday’s action was a little weak on that count. Some of that was caused by a decline in AMZN after a disappointing earnings report caused the stock to decline 2.48%. Many leading stocks did well yesterday, which is good, and the leaders index still is holding up well. It would be very encouraging to see both the major averages and the leaders index return to new high ground with some real conviction in order to reassure us that the rally is intact. Jerry