Leaders Index 12-27-19

The market took a break yesterday after its recent advance. The major averages opened up, but saw its highs for the day in the first few minutes. They spent the rest of the session working their way lower. The New York averages were flat with the SPX higher by a fraction. The COMPQ and the NDX fell .17% and .08% respectively. These are modest declines. All the major averages closed in the lower half of their intraday trading ranges, showing some weakness. Volume was higher across the board. It gained 11.52% on the Nasd and 13.28% on the New York. Leading stocks again were somewhat weaker than the overall market. The leaders index declined .50% on the session. The index closed in the upper half of its trading range and continues to hold above its short term moving average support levels. Volume was about the same as Thursday. The market closed little changed yesterday after bouncing around the unchanged level most of the session. The market has posted a solid rally in the last few weeks and is probably due for a rest. One of the short term indicators I use, the A’s minus E’s , turned down yesterday. It was a small decline, but may well signal that the market will take a rest here and consolidate its recent gains. I haven’t seen anything yet that would say the rally is in trouble, but a consolidation or modest pull back is likely. The action yesterday was orderly, but it would have been preferable to see lower volume. I don’t think the rally is over, but a short pause to rest is probably in the cards. Jerry