Leaders Index 7-24

The market had a strong start today but couldn’t hold on to it’s gains and spent the rest of the day selling off. The major averages closed near the lows of the day and volume was higher across the board. This produced distribution on the New York averages, and the COMPQ barely missed a stalling day. Leading stocks were flat today as the leaders index rose .02% on higher but still below average volume. The index tagged the 17dma although it held and closed well above it. The pattern of wide intraday ranges continued and the index is taking on a sloppy look. Neither the leaders index or the major averages have given real solid sell signals yet, but they both appear to be struggling. There continue to be solid breakouts, such as LL and ILMN today, but few are producing meaningful gains. TSLA seems to be the best performer, but it is on the cover of the last issue of BusinessWeek, usually a sign that a stock is to well known. Until we get more distribution or a real break it is still ok to be long stocks, but a couple of strong up days with real volume would make me feel better. Jerry