Leaders Index 3-23-15

The market showed a bit of strength early but couldn’t hold on to it. The New York averages spent most of the day in positive territory while the Nasd averages were lower almost all day. Late weakness caused all the major averages to close at their intraday lows, although the losses were moderate. The SPX declined .17% while the COMPQ fell .31%. Volume was lower than Friday, as would be expected after an expiration day, and was well below average. This showed that large institutional players were not selling stocks today. Leading stocks were mixed to slightly down, as the leaders index fell .21% on lower and slightly below average volume. The index closed just below the mid point of it’s intraday range and is still well above all it’s short term moving averages. There was some weakness in a few quality growth stocks but others did well. Overall it is not unexpected for the market to consolidate after last weeks gains and today’s action looked pretty orderly. No real damage was done today and it appears that the trend remains up. Jerry