Leaders Index 8-17-20

The market rallied today and although the Nasd and the New York diverged a bit the overall action was positive. The Nasd averages outperformed today with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining 1.00% and 1.11% respectively. The SPX gained .27%. All the major averages opened higher. The SPX spent the day mostly holding on to the gains while the Nasd averages rallied during the day. The Nasd averages closed high in their trading ranges while the New York averages closed in the lower half of their trading ranges. Volume was mixed. It was lower by 9.88% on the Nasd and higher by 7.48% on the New York. Leading stocks rallied as well with the leaders index gaining 1.96% on the session. The index closed near the top of its trading range and is now above all its short term moving averages. Volume was a little lower and below average. The relative strength line of the leaders index is back above its 50dma. There was a bit of a divergence today as the Nasd averages were by far the strongest gainers. They closed strong while the New York averages finished weaker. The Nasd averages made new highs today on both a closing and an intraday basis. The SPX closed above its recent consolidation, but the breakouts were not real dramatic. If you look at the charts you can see the new highs, but it wasn’t a clear breakout. Hopefully we will see that soon. The lower volume on the stronger Nasd averages was a bit of a disappointment, but hopefully it will come in on further advances in the next few days. It is liking like the leadership that has been effect since the beginning of the rally is reasserting itself. This is positive as it looks like the tech stocks and quality growth stocks are strongest again. The leaders index still needs to rally back to its old highs, but the action today was encouraging. Jerry