Leaders Index 3-21-18

The market put in some wild action today in response to the Fed announcement. The major averages had some solid gains going into the announcement and then after a brief spike to session highs they started selling off. This continued until all the major averages finished the day at or very near their intraday trading lows, a sign of weakness. The COMPQ was lower by .26% and the SPX declined .18%. Volume was mixed, slightly higher on the Nasd and a bit lower on the New York. This was enough to produce a fresh distribution day on the Nasd averages. Leading stocks did better than the overall market again with the leaders index closing up .18% on the day. The index closed in about the middle of its trading range and volume was lower, but still almost average. The index is holding right on its 9dma support level and the relative strength line set another new high. Right now the chart of the leaders index looks like it is having a pretty good looking bounce off the 17dma support level. The market staged another negative reversal today. The fact that there was a Fed announcement contributed to the volatility, but the fact remains that there was a negative reversal in the major averages. This is not encouraging. The good news remains the leading stocks. They are acting much better than the overall market. There was also some internal strength in the market today as advancing/ declining volume and issues were positive. We have a split picture as the major averages, particularly the New York averages, are acting weak and the leading stocks are acting ok. The charts of the major average must improve significantly or the chances of any real upside action is minimal. Jerry