Leaders Index 3-20-23

The market rallied today. The major averages were mixed most of the session but some late strength saw all of them finish with moderate gains. All the major averages closed near their intraday trading highs. The Nasd averages lagged today with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .38% and .34% respectively. The SPX rallied .89%. Volume was lower across the board, as would be expected after an expiration day. Leading stocks were higher as well with the leaders index gaining 1.66% on the day. The index closed high in its trading range on lower but above average volume. The market rallied today and had some decent moves on a price basis. The small and mid-cap averages did the best and the Nasd averages lagged as financials did well. The Credit Suisse situation was solved with a shotgun wedding to UBS. The financial issues seem to be calming down and as long as there are no other banks that get in trouble the worst is likely behind us. Volume was lower today as you would expect after an expiration day, but it was still another up day on lower volume. That his been the pattern in recent action. I think the market is in a bottoming process and it looks a lot like the 2002 to 2003 bottom where the major averages bounced around the lows for months before the market was ready to make a strong upside move. It is looking more and more like there is a similar situation today. The market could well go up and down in short term moves until it is ready to make a real move. How long this takes we can’t know now, but while there may be some frustrating action in the short term, there is a new bull market in the not to distant future and I am bullish in the longer term. Jerry