The market opened slightly lower yesterday after a stronger than expected employment report, but quickly regained the losses. After that it was a mostly sideways trading range for the rest of the session. Most of the strength was in the Nasd with the COMPQ climbing .18% and closing near it’s intraday high. The SPX finished lower by .14% and closed in the lower half of it’s intraday range. Volume was higher on the New York(which avoided a distribution day due to the small loss) and very close to flat on the Nasd. IBD had it slightly higher while esignal had it a bit lower. Small caps led the pack with the RUT gaining .78%. Leading stocks showed unusual strength yesterday with the leaders index gaining 1.47% on higher and about average volume. The index had a good sized white candle while it set new highs on both a price and a relative strength basis. The index is riding it’s short term 9dma higher and is showing surprising strength when compared to the major averages. While few quality growth stocks are showing real gains overall there is some consistent strength in these stocks. The fact that they are outperforming the overall market is a good sign, but it remains difficult to make much progress in the current environment. It is clearly a stock pickers market, and only the handful of very best stocks will give you returns worth the effort. Jerry
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