Leaders Index 10-18-17

The market again traded in a fairly tight range today with an overall slightly positive bias. The major averages opened a little higher and then bounced around all day until a little late selling saw them finish little changed. The COMPQ closed with a gain of only .01% while the SPX rallied .07%. There was more strength in the Dow, but that was mostly due to a couple of components, mostly IBM. The strength was again in the small caps and the semiconductors. The RUT and the SOX were up by .51% and .33% respectively. The major averages closed in the lower half of the intraday trading ranges, so there was some selling coming in. Volume was mixed, higher on the Nasd and lower on the New York. This was enough to produce a stalling day on the COMPQ. The SPX missed stalling because volume was lower. Leading stocks had a better session than the major averages with the leaders index gaining .96% and closing in the upper half of its trading range. The index closed right on its short term 9dma and finished slightly above this support level. Volume was lower than yesterday and a bit below average. The market looks like it is struggling a bit in the last couple of days. The leading stocks in particular have lost a bit of momentum lately. One thing I look at is the A’s minus E’s as a short term indicator of market direction. That turned down six trading days ago. The market recently has had periods of rallying followed by short periods of consolidation with only very small losses. It looks like we are in such a short term consolidation period right now, although there is little evidence of anything more serious. The overall picture looks positive and I will look to the A’s minus E’s turning back up to signal that the market is ready to move to new highs again. Jerry