Leaders Index 12-10-15

The market rallied off the decline of the last three days, but it left a bit to be desired. The major averages opened higher and showed some solid gains during the session, but late weakness saw them lose much of those gains and finish in the lower half of their intraday trading ranges. The COMPQ finished the day with a gain of .44% while the SPX rose .23%. Volume was lower across the board and below average on both exchanges. This is not really what you want to see on a recovery day. Leading stocks rose as well and did a little better than the overall market. The leaders index closed up .70% on the session, outperforming the overall market, as shown in the relative strength line of the index, but the chart showed some weakness. The index closed low in it’s intraday trading range on lower and below average volume. The index also tagged it’s 50dma at it’s session highs but couldn’t break above this important now resistance level. The market continued the recent pattern of rallies on lower volume and declines on higher volume. This combined with the high distribution count is a big cloud over the market. This time of year is usually positive, but is not acting that way right now. October is usually a weak month but was very strong and December is usually a strong month and so far looks pretty sloppy. A Fed rate increase is pretty much baked into the cake right now and if it doesn’t happen the market could get a boost, but right now the picture is not very encouraging. Jerry