Leaders Index 5-12-21

[Jerry Samet]

The sell off continued today with the market taking a hard hit all around. A much higher than expected inflation report sent the market lower at the open and it was all downhill from there. All the major averages finished at or near their intraday trading lows as selling continued into the close. The declines were across the board as the COMPQ and the NDX fell 2.67% and 2.62% respectively. The SPX declined 2.14%. Volume was mixed. It was higher by 2.52% on the New York and lower by 1.54% on the Nasd. This was enough to produce a distribution day on the New York averages. Leading stocks were crushed as the leaders index declined 4.78% on the day. The index closed near the bottom of its trading range on slightly lower volume. The index and its relative strength line moved further below their 50dma’s. A great deal of damage was done today and in the last three days. The Nasd averages are moving further below their 50dma’s and the small and mid-cap stocks are there too, along with the semiconductor stocks. The New York averages are mixed. The New York averages are holding just above this important moving average. We got distribution again today, and while the Nasd volume was a little less, it sure felt like distribution. We are now on distribution day away from a distribution cluster. An experienced trader knows to let the market tell him or her what it is going to do. The market seems to be telling us it wants to go lower. Jerry