Week In Review: Leaders Get Hit As Market Churns
Friday 12.04.09
Market Commentary:
Stocks ended the week higher as investors digested a slew of economic data. On Friday, stocks edged higher after the government released a stronger than expected jobs report. Volume, an important indicator of institutional sponsorship, was higher than Thursday’s levels on both major exchanges. The fact that the major averages closed in the lower half of their daily ranges on heavier volume could be interpreted as churning- which is not a healthy sign. Advancers led decliners by a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by well over a 2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. There were 45 high-ranked companies from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List that made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, one more than the total of 44 issues that appeared on the prior session. Leadership among high-ranked growth stocks had dried up in recent weeks, so the expansion in new highs this week has been a welcome improvement. New 52-week highs solidly outnumbered new 52-week lows on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange.