Leaders Index 8-18-21

It was a pretty ugly session today. The market opened somewhat lower and bounced around for a few hours. The Fed minutes came out and it showed a greater interest in tapering asset purchases than the market expected. The major averages gyrated up and down for a little while before selling came in and the major averages declined into the close. All the major averages closed at or very near their intraday trading lows. There were solid losses across the board. The New York averages were a little weaker with the SPX losing 1.07%. The COMPQ and the NDX declined .89% and .97% respectively. Volume was mixed. It was higher by 4.26% on the New York and lower by 8.23% on the Nasd. Leading stocks were mixed but did a little better than the overall market. The leaders index declined by .24% on the day. The index bounced off its 50dma and held above this important moving average. It closed in the lower half of its trading range on lower volume. The action of the market was not encouraging today. The major averages were somewhat lower until the Fed minutes came out and indicated that the Fed was closer to tapering than the market expected. A lot of selling came in right up to the close. The COMPQ finished a touch below its 50dma, which is very negative. The other major averages remain above this moving average, but not by that much. Leading stocks performed a littler better today, but the charts of leading stocks are generally not looking great. If the Fed does indeed taper it could cause a meaningful decline in the market. The major averages and leading stocks must show some positive action quickly or the market could get into real trouble. Jerry