The bulls flexed their muscles today and sent the major averages higher even as the US dollar rallied! Volume, a critical component of institutional demand, was lower than Monday’s levels which indicated a lack of buying from the institutional crowd. However, the fact that the major averages were down for most of the session and closed near their intra day highs helps offset that concern.
Monday’s (11.16.09) after market report analyzes the important events of the day.
The major averages ended lower as the US dollar surged on Thursday. Volume, a critical component of institutional demand, was higher on both major exchanges which marked the latest distribution day for the popular indexes. Decliners trumped advancers by about a 4-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by about a 3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. In terms of new leadership, it was encouraging to see new 52-week highs outnumber new 52-week lows on the NYSE and Nasdaq exchange but the number of actual leaders breaking out of sound bases remains very light.
The major averages rallied on Wednesday, sending the benchmark S&P 500 Index to a fresh 2009 high on positive economic and political data. However, volume, a critical component of institutional demand, was reported lower on both major exchanges. That signaled that large institutions were not aggressively buying stocks.