Stock Market: What Are The Leading Indicators Telling Us?
As the market continues to rally the big question becomes, is this rally for real or is this another one of those dreaded bear market rallies? While I am sure everyone would prefer the former, the leading indicators seem to be painting a different picture. In my last article, I spoke about some aspects of the market that still looked bleak, but many of them are considered to be lagging indicators. Therefore, I decided to look at the leading indicators, to see if they are painting a different picture to help bring some more clarity to the situation. I am going to examine the Index of Leading Indicators and its components to see just where this economy might be headed and figure out whether or not this is a rally to believe in. The Components of the Index 1. The Average Weekly Hours Worked By Manufacturing Workers – Since March 2008, the average weekly hours worked by manufacturing workers has declined by 4.6% and is still registering declines. The average work week fell from 39.5 to 39.
