Comme Ci, Comme Ca
A neither-here,
neither-there day for many of
the names.
Which is exactly what’s needed to work
off some of the excesses of the ramp-up.
Without a doubt, the most encouraging
development of the past week has been the action of the semis, ignoring bad news
at last, with the men already separating themselves from the boys.
Two weeks ago, I
mentioned that the group was no longer going down, a modest plus.
It is now rising in the gentle manner
that it should, as opposed to 1) the reckless demeanor it exhibited last spring
and summer, and 2) the V-type of bottom that does little to squash the
underlying bullish current in a convincing, in toto, manner.
Friday, most semis pulled back on
drying volume, a plus, while some of the smaller semi equipments actually rose.
The second-most encouraging
development of the past week has simply been the Naz’s stubbornness in giving
back the prior week’s thick gains.
It surrendered nothing and actually
added 5.5%.
These are small things to be thankful
for.
For when you drop off a cliff — 56%
to be exact — you don’t just pick yourself up and move forward.
You first come to your senses, shake
yourself off, mend your disrepair, and then try to figure out which way is up.
All of this takes time.
More time than the vast majority of
participants are ready to allow for, given recent conversations I have been
privy to.
Cabot Micro
(
CCMP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was certainly
a disappointment, turning an exceptionally attractive base into sloppiness the
past three days.
Cabot’s action is merely one
indication that, although improved, the growth sector isn’t yet ready.
Gymboree
(
GYMB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), a stalled
breakout, is another.
No, the market is not out of the
woods.
But beginnings have to start
somewhere.