Leaders Index 12-27-17

The market had another fairly quiet session today with a slightly positive bias. After opening higher the major averages rallied for a while before some selling came in and a good deal of the gains were lot. The New York averages finished in about the middle of their intraday trading ranges while the Nasd averages closed in the lower half of their trading ranges. The COMPQ ended with a gain of .04% while the SPX was higher by .08%. Very small changes. Volume was higher across the board but still well below average. This is not unusual during the week between Christmas and the New Year. Leading stocks did a little better with the leaders index gaining .49% on the day. The index closed near the highs of the trading day and it is back above all its important short and medium term moving averages. The market did little again today and it looks like hopes for a yearend rally are fading. The action today showed that the market has been unable to get a head of steam going. The action in the Nasd averages had the look and feel of stalling, although it didn’t meet the exact definition. There are few opportunities to make real progress right now and it looks like the market is biding time. Next week’s action when the holidays are over will likely tell us more about where things are going. Jerry