Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Arnie Owen, Managing Director of
Equities, Cruttenden Roth: “Warnings and disappointments are finally not
being greeted with market deterioration but greeted with buying. We’re in
January, and we have a flow of funds starting. We have a market that for the
last 9 months has been discounting every bad piece of news we’re hearing now,
and they got the stocks down to levels where they’re washed out and are actually
okay.
“We’re looking at the worst, and the worst has been anticipated, so now
people are starting to look out to the second half of this year and buying is
coming in. You have institutions and mutual funds with cash, and they have to
put it to work. You’re getting guys coming in kicking and screaming that they
don’t wanna, they don’t wanna, they don’t wanna, but they gotta, and that’s my
favorite kind of market and my favorite kind of rally.”
Tim Heekin, Director of Trading, Thomas
Weisal Partners: “I think the mid-day action is just a little pullback or
breather. We had a couple of nice days, and, you know, tech and telecom seem to
have bottomed out a few days ago. They’re starting to come for some of the
quality names. I think what I like the most in seeing this tape is the rebound
in a stock like Nokia after reporting disappointing handset sales. Cisco shows
really good strength despite the whispers coming out of the Morgan Stanley
conference. Motorola had not that great a number, but the stock came in a little
bit anyway. So, I think this market has gotten to a point where most of the bad
news has been priced in, and people are looking to buy or cover shorts on the
announcements that are coming out.”
Brian Belski, Fundamental Market
Strategist, U.S. Bancorp/Piper Jaffray: “For the week ending Jan. 10,
equity fund inflows were $5.5 billion versus a $1.9 billion outflow for the
prior week. Money market fund inflows were a record $54.5 billion. Therefore, if
the market can show signs of solidification without major equity inflows, what
are the chances of additional upside once investors begin to deploy their
massive money market reserves? We believe the record money market inflows are a
significant bullish data point for the market and should provide strong
sponsorship for stocks going forward.”