Leaders Index 3-11-19

The market staged a powerful rally, at least on a price basis, today. The major averages opened higher and rallied for most of the session. All the major averages finished at or very near their intraday trading highs, a sign of support. The Nasd averages were the strongest with the COMPQ and the NDX higher by 2.02% and 2.11% respectively. The SPX gained 1.47%. Volume was mixed, lower on the Nasd and higher on the New York. The New York volume was distorted by extremely high volume in BA after one of their planes crashed over the weekend. Leading stocks had a strong day as well with the leaders index gaining 2.84% on the day. The index closed near the top of its trading range and broke above all its short term moving averages. Volume was lower and below average. The market continued the strength it showed late Friday when it had a positive reversal. The gains were strong on a price basis but they were not confirmed well by higher volume. Volume was lower in the leaders index and on the Nasd. It was higher on the New York only because of BA. This shows that large institutional players were not heavy buyers today. All the major averages regained their important 200dma now support levels, and this is positive. The overall picture has improved with the major averages and the leaders index overcoming significant resistance, but the lower level of volume is concerning. For the market to make a real run at new highs there must be the support of buying from large institutional players who have the firepower to drive the market higher. If it doesn’t then the positive action in the last two trading session will likely not take the market to new highs. Jerry