Leaders Index 2-26-18

The market staged another solid rally today, this time with some volume behind it. The major averages opened higher and after some mild selling turned higher and rallied for the rest of the session. The COMPQ finished with a gain of 1.15% while the SPX rallied 1.18%. All the major averages closed at their intraday trading highs, a sign of support. Volume acted better today than on Friday. It was higher on the New York and only very slightly lower on the Nasd. This shows that large institutional players were buying stocks. Leading stocks did well also with the leaders index gaining 1.43% on the session. The index closed near the top of its trading range and made a new high on both a closing and an intraday basis. Volume on the leaders index was very close to Friday’s level but was very slightly lower. The market put in a second day of solid price action. This time there was some higher volume behind the move, at least on the New York. It was really close on the Nasd. The picture improved quite a bit today. The leaders index is in new high ground and the Nasd averages are not far behind. The New York averages have further to go, but the higher volume today was encouraging. The next step is for the major averages to break into new high ground. The rally attempt looks like it may survive the negative action of last week. Distribution so soon after a follow through can often kill it, but not always. The next week or so of trading should tell us a lot about whether or not the market will go on to new highs and continue the bull run. Jerry