Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Scott Cummings, General Partner, Agile
Asset Management: “I think, frankly, that the cloud has lifted with regards
to the Fed. I think the bias is getting on the long side of this market now. I
think it’s still going to be choppy given that it’s the last two weeks of August
and everyone being away. So, therefore, the volume will be light, adding to the
volatility, but I feel pretty good about the tech sector. I think we could be in
for a surprise on the upside, particularly on the semi and semi equipment areas
which have been under such pressure lately. These things are really bouncing off
the bottom, and I think the fundamentals are great. I think there are going to
be some upside surprises, perhaps, in these two sectors as we go into the
fall.”
Tim Hayes, Global Equity Strategist, Ned
Davis Research: “To the extent that the Fed is perceived to be on hold, I
think pretty much that’s where the market is right now in its trading range.
This can probably be expected to continue until such a time that the Fed
actually will cut rates, which really is not on the near-term horizon. It’s a
very selective market. One thing we’re looking at are the financials and
anything that benefits from the changed perception in terms of the Fed raising
rates. We moved to over-weighted in bonds from an under-weighted position.
Basically, the two sectors that are showing up on our focus list are the
non-bank financials and utilities.”
Michael Lyons, Senior Trader, Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter: “It’s a little choppy again here. The Dow is having
problems getting started, and it’s sort of a continuation of yesterday. They’ve
had a good run here recently, and they’re just selling into any strength, which
there really isn’t very much of to get out of positions. Technology is still
holding on to their good opening, and they’re holding their own, more or less.
There’s really not much leadership, though, and it’s just kind of choppy. There
are some pockets of strength in here like in Kodak
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and they seem to also be rolling some money into Johnny Johnson
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Overall, it’s just a mixed bag today.”