Leaders Index 1-23-24

The market mostly treaded water today with moderate gains in the major averages. They opened higher and mostly traded sideways. Some late strength allowed all the major averages to finish near their intraday trading highs. The Nasd averages were the strongest with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .43% each. The SPX was higher by .29%. There was some weakness in small and mid-cap stocks. Volume was lower across the board, showing that large institutional players were not that active today. Leading stocks mostly took a break with the leaders index declining .26% on the session. The index closed in about the middle of its trading range. Volume was lower and below average. The market staged mild gains today as it consolidates recent gains and waits for important earnings reports. Small and mid-cap stocks were weak today after being strong yesterday. The market is acting pretty well right now. There has been a good sized advance and the market is holding the gains and not giving much ground as it consolidates and the rally resumes. We are continuing to see new breakouts and leading stocks are generally acting well. The short term indicators I look at are acting better so I would expect to see higher prices in the short term. The rally is looking good and being heavily invested is the place to be. I will be away for a few days. The updates will resume on Monday. Jerry