Leaders Index 4-3-19

The market opened higher and rallied for a good part of the session. Selling came in about two and a half hours into trading and most of the gains were lost. Late buying saw the major averages finish off its lows, but all the major averages closed low in their intraday trading ranges, as opposed to the strong finishes in recent days. The Nasd averages were the leaders today with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .60% each. The SPX declined .21%. The semiconductor stocks again showed unusual strength with the SOX gaining 2.27%. Volume was higher across the board. This and the low finish was enough to produce a stalling distribution day. Leading stocks were mildly higher as well with the leaders index gaining .29% on the day. The index closed in the upper half of its trading range and volume was higher but below average. This is a new intraday and closing high for the leaders index, but the relative strength line failed to make a new high. The market opened strong on encouraging news on a China trade deal. The fact that the market couldn’t hold most of its gains is disappointing, and we got another stalling distribution day. On a more encouraging note there has been a golden cross on all the major averages as their respective 50dma’s broke above their 200dma’s. The rally is still intact and the short term trend appears to be higher. It looks like the attempt to reach new highs is still on. Jerry