Leaders Index 3-1-16

The market had a solid rally session today. After opening higher all the major averages advanced pretty consistently during the day and closed at their intraday trading highs. The COMPQ led the way with a gain of 2.89% while the SPX rallied 2.39%. Volume was mixed, higher on the Nasd and lower on the New York. This is a solid accumulation day on the Nasd and while you would have liked to see more volume on the New York it was still a good day. Leading stocks were higher as well but lagged the overall market. The leaders index gained 1.00% on the session on lower and well below average volume. The index finished in about the middle of it’s intraday range and remains comfortably above all it’s short term moving averages. There was a new high on a price basis but the relative strength line declined a bit. This is clearly the best session since the follow through on 2/17. It would have been better if the volume on the New York were higher, but the day’s action improved the picture. All the major averages cleared important resistance at their respective 50dma’s. While the action of the major averages was good there is still a pretty small number of stocks that you would want to buy. This is ultimately the most important factor. The rally attempt is stronger after today, but I don’t know if it really changes the overall bear market scenario. The best I think we can expect from this is a tradable rally. Jerry