Leaders Index 8-18-16

The market had a mildly positive session today. The major averages opened higher and traded slightly up for the rest of the day. Late buying saw all the major averages finish at their intraday trading highs, a sign of strength. The COMPQ was higher by .22% while the SPX rallied by exactly the same amount. The biggest gains were in the small and mid cap stocks, along with the semiconductor. The RUT, MID and SOX were up by .75%, .73% and .71% respectively. Volume was lower across the board and below average. This shows that large institutional players were not that active today. Leading stocks were higher today as well with the leaders index gaining .72% on the day. The index closed high in it’s intraday range and closed right above it’s short term 9dma and 17dma. The index broke into new high ground on Monday, but was unable to hold the gains and it broke back into it’s trading range. The market seems to be struggling a bit now as both the major averages and the leaders index broke into new high ground on Monday but were unable to retain the moves. Both are in consolidations right now and the direction they go will tell us a lot about the health of the rally. Jerry