Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Scott Cummings,
General Partner, Agile Asset Management: “There’s some bloodletting, but I
don’t think we’ve seen a capitulation yet. There’s a lot of pain right now given
the precipitous decline of the semiconductor index and the Nasdaq as a whole.
But there hasn’t been a really cataclysmic give-up yet, and I think that still
needs to happen before we can get any sustained movement to the upside. So the
real possibility is that we get a few disappointments from some of these
upcoming technology companies that are due to report.Â
“It won’t so much be their
numbers as it will be the guidance given by company management on their
conference call. I think the guidance is going to cautious if not slightly
bearish. Put yourself in the shoes of being the CEO of a company whose market
cap has been cut in half, and they’re still going to do the forecasted number
that the Street is looking for in the September quarter. He’s human, and he will
be on the call, and he will address the fact they had a phenomenal September
quarter, but with his market cap cut in half, he’s going to be more cautious by
human nature, in what he’s willing to commit to in future quarters.”
Arnie Owen,
Managing Director of Equities, Cruttenden Roth: “I think there is a lot to
be digested, and now that we’ve gotten past the pre-announcements, everybody is
waiting for the announcements. The IBMs, the Lucents, the Oracles, the large
companies. So right now we are in a marking-time mode. As the numbers go, so
goes the market.”
Paul Desmond,
president, Lowrey’s Research: “We have been maintaining a defensive posture
toward most stocks since September 12th, when our last short-term sell signal
was registered. Our short term indicators have been at oversold levels for the
past several weeks, but simply reaching oversold levels is not enough to produce
a new rally. Until lower prices are met by enthusiastic, sustained demand,
prices could continue to drift even lower.”