Leaders Index 10-24-17

The market rallied at the open today and was generally higher most of the session. The Nasd and New York averages were pretty close with the COMPQ up by .18% and the SPX higher by .16%. The Nasd averages closed in the upper half of their intraday trading ranges while the New York averages finished in about the middle of its trading range. The greatest strength today was again in the Dow. It was higher by .72% and has been the best performing average recently. The chart of the index is however starting to take on a parabolic look which could lead to a sell off. The semiconductors also remain particularly strong with the SOX up by .67%. Volume was higher on the New York and very close on the Nasd. It is positive to see higher volume to go along with higher prices. Leading stocks were higher as well with the leaders index gaining .64%. The index again bounced off its important 17dma support level and closed in the upper half of its trading range. Volume was lower than yesterday and the lowest in a couple of weeks. You would prefer to see higher volume on a bounce day. Overall the market continues to be in a consolidation. The rebound today was not particularly impressive. The chart of the leaders index still looks ok as do the charts of the major averages. Many quality growth stocks, particularly the big cap tech stocks, seem to have lost a lot of momentum. This is shown by the weakness in the A’s minus E’s accumulation/distribution. The picture is still positive, and as long as we don’t break important support this consolidation is more likely to be resolved to the upside. Jerry