Leaders Index 8-21-18

The market opened higher today and worked its way up for most of the session. Selling came in and almost half of the gains were lost by the close. The Nasd averages were the strongest with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .49% and .35% respectively. The SPX was higher by .21%. All the major averages finished at or near their intraday trading lows, a negative sign as there was late selling coming in. Volume was higher across the board, which is usually good but the late selling marred it a bit. Leading stocks did well with the leaders index rallying 1.00% on the day. The index had been in a short consolidation and started moving out of it last Friday and has moved higher since. The index made a new high today on both a closing and an intraday basis, although there was late selling that saw the index close in the lower half of its trading range. Volume was lower and slightly below average. The relative strength line of the leaders index made a new high, showing that quality growth stocks are leading the market higher, a good sign. The market had a strong session going and still closed with solid gains even though there was late selling that cost the major averages a good chunk of their gains. There were new highs in the small and mid-cap averages and the SPX made a new intraday high. The A’s minus E’s and the Summation Index have both turned up. The market looks like it is working its way higher, but it doesn’t have a lot of punch to it. The picture has improved in the last few days and I would expect to see higher prices ahead, but it is likely to be a bumpy ride. Jerry