Leaders Index 1-5-23

The market opened lower today and was down most of the day. The major averages opened lower on strong employment news before trading started. They all traded lower and finished near their intraday trading lows. The Nasd averages were weaker with the COMPQ and the NDX falling 1.47% and 1.59% respectively. The SPX declined 1.16%. Volume was lower across the board, showing that there was not a lot of selling pressure today. Leading stocks did better than the overall market with the leaders index gaining .19% on the session. The index closed in about the middle of its trading range on lower and below average volume. The market got spooked early by some stronger than expected jobs numbers. Concern that the Fed would continue raising rates at a fast clip caused a decline. Most or all of yesterday’s gains were wiped out. The market is still acting weak and while it could move up a bit in the short term it really is showing no signs of a sustained move higher. The most likely move from here is a retest of the 10/13 lows. I have said that the first quarter or two of this year would be rocky before an important bottom could be put in. This looks like it is playing out. The employment report comes out tomorrow and it could move the market if it deviates from expectations much. Jerry