Leaders Index 4-16-25

It was another nasty session today. The major averages opened lower and mostly worked their way down the rest of the day. The final losses were pretty strong and while there was a little late buying all the major averages finished in the lower half of their intraday trading ranges. The COMPQ and the NDX fell 3.07% and 3.04% respectively. The SPX lost 2.24%. Volume was higher across the board. Leading stocks lost ground as well. The leaders index declined 2.45% on the day. The index closed in about the middle of its trading range on higher but below average volume. It was a pretty ugly session today. The major averages lost significant ground. Statements by Powel about inflation and the economy caused a lot of selling and tariff talk didn’t help. Some late buying saw the major averages finish off their lows, but the declines were substantial. The market was trying to rally and I have said that some short term indicators pointed to a possible tradable rally. It doesn’t look like that will happen now. The market is showing real weakness. This is the second rally attempt that appears to be going nowhere. If you look at the charts of the COMPQ, NDX and SPX it looks like there has now been a second countertrend rally that was very weak. Today’s action could be the start of the third down leg of the bear market. It is a little early but it looks like it could break that way. This is an incredibly news driven market and could move hard in either direction at any time. The higher volume on the decline showed that large institutional players were selling stocks today. There is little reason to be playing around in this market. Jerry