Leaders Index 7-18-18

The market put in a quiet session today. After a little early weakness the major averages climbed back to about unchanged and stayed there the rest of the day. The Nasd averages were a bit weaker with the COMPQ lower by only .01%. The NDX declined a bit more as big cap tech stocks were a little lower. The SPX was higher by .22% as New York averages were the strongest today. All the major averages closed in the upper half of their intraday trading ranges as there was support under the market. Volume was slightly higher across the board, according to Esignal. Leading stocks were slightly higher as well with the leaders index gaining .25% on the session. The index also finished strong as it closed just below the top of its trading range. This was enough for a new closing high for the index and it missed an intraday high by only a point. Volume was light and lower than yesterday. The market overall is acting well. It looks like it is taking a bit of a rest. The volume figures could be a little better as you want to see higher volume on rally days, but the picture is positive. There are several leading stocks that are forming nice looking bases and we will have to watch how these stocks move, but there are attractive opportunities out there. The short term trend appears to be higher and we should see the market work its way up. Jerry