Leaders Index 12-23-14

The market had a mixed session today. The New York averages, especially the Dow, moved higher while the Nasd averages lost ground. Both the Dow and the SPY set new intraday and closing highs. This caused IBD to go to a rally resumption call, but still under pressure. There was a lot of weakness, most pronounced in biotech stocks, in the Nasd. The SPY gained .17% while the COMPQ declined .33%. There was also strength in mid cap stocks as the MID went into new high ground. Volume was a bit lower across the board as would be expected this holiday week. Leading stocks were generally weak as the leaders index declined .84% on slightly higher but still below average volume. Even with the new highs on the New York averages the market is clearly struggling. Few quality growth stocks are well set up and breaking out. Even fewer that do break out are producing any really worthwhile gains. If you can find a good stock to buy it is ok to take on some modest positions, but this remains a very difficult market to make any money in and I would be pretty conservative in the amount that I became invested unless more stocks start acting well. Jerry