Leaders Index 12-22-17

It was a quiet pre-holiday session yesterday with the major averages little changed on the day. They opened slightly lower and then went sideways for the rest of the session. The COMPQ finished lower by .08% while the SPX fell .05%. The NDX declined .12% while the largest losses were in the small cap stocks as the RUT sold off by .27%. A global sell off in bonds caused the Utility index to get crushed as the utility index broke below its 200dma and stayed there. The major averages closed the session near their intraday trading highs, a good sign. This could have been caused as much by a lack of selling interest as by buying support. Volume was lower and well below average as would be expected before a long holiday weekend. Leading stocks were lower as well with the leaders index declining .35%on the day. The index also closed high in its intraday trading range. It is sitting right on a confluence of its 17dma and 50dma. The index must rally pretty quickly or it could break below these important support levels, which would be very negative. Volume on the index was actually slightly above Thursday’s very low level, but was still extremely light. The major averages and the leaders index pretty much did nothing last week. This is a bit unusual as there is generally positive action this time of year. The charts of the major averages are looking a lot better than the charts of indexes that track quality growth stocks. Right now the market isn’t doing much. Next week should also have low volume as the week between Christmas and the New Year is a prime time for market participants to be away. This can sometimes cause outsized price moves. The market seems to either be struggling a bit or resting, depending on your outlook. There seems to be a little sell the news after the tax bill was passed and signed. We will have to see how the market acts in the last week of the year and early next year. I hope everyone has a good Christmas weekend. Jerry