Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Todd Gold, Technical Strategist, Gruntal
& Co.: “Basically we’re seeing a consolidation day. In my opinion, as
long as the Nasdaq Composite closes over 2700, what that’s going to do is break
the Nasdaq above the Sept. 1 downtrend line, and in our opinion that would signal
a near-term move toward the 3000 to 3030 area. That would likely correspond with
the SOX Index, which as long as it can close above 700, could work its way
toward 765 to 800. Now when we get to those levels, it’s going to be a different
story. When we get to those resistance levels, I think that we’re going to see
some pretty aggressive profit taking as people try to pick up stocks somewhat
lower.
“So for now, I like the semis like Micron, Texas Instruments, and LSI
Logic. I would continue to avoid the high-multiple, high-flyers that are up 80%
or 90% in the last two weeks, and there’s really no edge in trading them. While
they may go up 50 points, there’s still a 50-50 chance they can go down 50
points. At least with the semiconductor stocks, we have some bases and we have
moved sideways for a bit, and you have support on some of these.”
Scott Cummings, General Partner, Agile
Asset Management: “The Nasdaq is clearly in a recovery mode, responding
favorably to good news, which is much different than as recently as four weeks
ago. I would also say there is a strong likelihood that as we continue through
the earnings season with also another Fed rate cut, that the Nasdaq continues to
go higher. Based on how high or how large the move is, I think traders will then
reassess come the end of the earnings season whether or not the market is due
for a pullback to consolidate some of those gains.”
Brian Belski, Fundamental Market Analyst,
U.S. Bancorp, Piper Jaffray: “Equity funds showed $3.6 billion of inflows
for the recent week, and that marks the second week in a row of $1 billion-plus
inflows. We believe the sponsorship provided by steady growth fund inflows is
providing a major positive for the stock market, reflected by the near-term
strength of both the technology sector and the broader Nasdaq Composite in
general. A majority of equity fund flows went into growth categories for the
fourth week in a row, suggesting a probable investor discipline shift from value
to growth.”