Leaders Index 3-25-14

The market had a pretty weak rally attempt today. After a strong open the major averages sold off into negative territory and it looked like we would get a repeat of the late weakness. A late rally off the lows allowed the major averages to close positive on the session. The best gains were in the defensive big caps on the New York. The Dow had the best gain, up .56% while the SPY was up by .44%. The COMPQ was again the weakest with a gain of only .19%. Volume was lower across the board, showing that there was not a lot of buying pressure. Leading stocks again had a hard session with the leaders index flat, declining .01% on lower and about average volume. The index has been contained by it’s declining 9dma for the last few days and has been below the important 17dma for the last four days. It is trading between the 17dma on top and the 50dma just below. The direction it breaks will likely tell us which way the market will go. The market could go either way from here. It could well follow recent patterns and break to new highs as it has so many times recently or break below the 50dma on the major averages and the leaders index. It is a dangerous market right now and new positions should wait until the picture is clearer. Jerry