Leaders Index 12-18-18

The market put in a pretty wild session today. After opening strong and moving to nice gains the major averages sold off and got into negative territory. Some late strength saw them finish off their lows, but all the major averages closed low in their intraday trading ranges. The Nasd averages were the strongest with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .45% and .67% respectively. The SPX was flat with a gain of only .01%. Volume looks like it will be a little lower across the board, according to Esignal. Leading stocks were a bit higher as well with the leaders index rallying .35%. The index closed in the lower half of its trading range and closed below its 50dma. Volume was lower but a bit above average. The market looked like it might stage a nice snap back early, but it didn’t last. Late buying allowed the major averages to close off their lows, but it was not the kind of session that you would want to see if you expected higher prices. The market opened strong and closed pretty weak again, not the sign of a strong market. When there is a big decline you want to see a strong bounce to indicate the worst may be over. We didn’t see that today. Jerry