Leaders Index 7-19-17

The market put in another solid upside performance today. After gapping higher at the open the major averages worked their way higher for the rest of the session. All closed at their intraday trading highs, a positive sign. The COMPQ led the way again with a gain of .64% while the SPX was close behind, rallying .54%. The small and mid-cap stocks put in the strongest performance with the RUT and MID higher by .99% each while the SOX gained .89%. All the major averages and most of the secondary made new all-time highs today. Volume was higher across the board and about average on the Nasd. This is what you want to see when the market makes new highs. Leading stocks were strong as well with the leaders index gaining .95% on the day. This was a new high on both a closing and an intraday basis. The index closed in the lower half of its trading range and volume was slightly lower than yesterday. Today’s action was encouraging as the rally continued. The fact that all the major averages made new highs on increasing volume shows that large institutional players were buying stocks. This is what is needed to drive a sustainable rally. The market is clearly in rally mode and the long side is the place to be. Jerry