Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Barry Hyman, Chief Market Strategist,
Weatherly Securities: "I think the Fed certainly lowers interest rates next
month at the Jan. 30 meeting. I’m not counting on anything in between. It’s
possible, but I think the more likely scenario is that you get a 50 basis point
decline at the Jan. 30-31 meeting. There’s just intense pressure on the small
cap end of the market. This is because of margin problems, a lack of liquidity,
and really no Internet market left other than some of the big, branded names
looking for survivability. We’re going to go into 2001 ending this year on a
quiet note, with light volume for the rest of the week. I think there could be
somewhat of a pickup at the end of the week as tax selling abates and the
presumption emerges that something good can happen in 2001 after a horrendous
year."
Frank Gretz, Market Analyst, Shields
& Co.: "If Santa Claus should fail to call…bears will come to Broad
and Wall. This old saying refers to the so-called Santa Claus rally, the nice
little gift that comes along in the last five days of every year and the first
two days of the New Year. Unfortunately, the saying also refers to the
consequences should this rally fail to occur. December already is proving a bit
ominous. Typically the best month of the year, poor Decembers often precede bear
market years."
Tony Cecin, Director of Equity Trading,
U.S. Bancorp/Piper Jaffray: "We’re seeing a quiet day after Christmas where
many of the market participants are probably taking the rest of this week off,
so I don’t think you are going to see any dramatic action one way or the other,
and if you do, it will probably be on relatively light volume.”