Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Scott Curtis, Senior Equity Trader,
Kaufman Brothers: “You’ve got an options expiration today, so there’s a
little bit of pressure on the equities with the unwinding of some option
positions. There’s also the news on the Florida legal battle, and it looks like
they’re going to head to the Florida State Supreme Court. That situation has not
been resolved and won’t be for quite awhile. We’re still being held hostage by
the legal community down in Florida and everywhere else.
“Unfortunately, we’ve lost a lot of liquidity in the market. I think
people are very nervous about this, so the volume has dried up a lot. The moves
get to be a little exaggerated since there is that lack of liquidity out there,
so you get a lot of knee-jerk reactions. When a news story comes out, they’ll
take them up or take them right back down, depending on who wins which court
case. Until that’s settled it’s going to be a tough market, and with all the
liquidity taken out of the market, it’s obviously going to have an impact on the
economy also as it spills over. We’re all held hostage in this because it’s not
just the markets, it’s also the economy.”
Brian Belski, Fundamental Market
Strategist, U.S. Bancorp/Piper Jaffray: “Even though a
‘nobody-really-knows-what-is-going-on’ psyche continues to inflict its
stranglehold on the stock market, we believe a fundamental shift in investing
discipline is slowly seeping back into the market. Yes uncertainty is abounding,
with the market shunning any and all negatively perceived news surrounding
almost any word that ends in tion (i.e., election, inflation, litigation).
But it is exactly this reactive tone and mood that we believe presents the best
opportunity for investors.”
Adam Weisman, Managing Director, Wit
Soundview: “There were a couple disappointing reports last night in the
technology space. Serena Software
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both down sharply as there’s been some general disappointment out there in some
of these software names. In the broader market, there was the big move up when
the judge’s decision was announced down in Florida, but it’s been generally
selling off since then. It’s not really that busy volume wise today, but I am
just seeing many more names for sale than to buy. That’s for sure.”