Leaders Index 2-4-20

The market staged a powerful rally today. The major averages opened with solid gains and spent most of the remainder of the session working their way higher. All the major averages finished high in their intraday trading ranges, a sign of support. The Nasd averages were the strongest with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining 2.10% and 2.28% respectively. The SPX rallied 1.50%. Volume was higher across the board. It gained 3.47% on the Nasd and 10.26% on the New York. This shows that large institutional players were buying stocks heavily today. Leading stocks also had a strong session with the leaders index rallying 2.28%. The index closed near the top of its trading range on higher and above average volume. You couldn’t ask for much better action than we saw today. It looks like fears of the coronavirus faded and the market rallied sharply. The gains in the Nasd averages were very strong and they made new highs on both a closing and an intraday basis. The New York averages are not at new highs but they rallied on higher volume, just what I said we needed to see. Leading stocks did well as the leaders index broke above all its short term moving averages and is just below its previous highs. Volume was higher on the increase and the relative strength line of the leaders index made new highs. Another indicator of quality growth stocks, the FFTY, gained 2.31% and is also just below its recent highs. The action today was very encouraging. It would be good to see the New York averages join the Nasd averages in new high ground, but barring any more bad news on the coronavirus front we should see higher prices. Jerry