Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Adam Weisman, Managing Director, Wit
Soundview: “It’s a relatively low-volume week where a lot of market
participants are on vacation extending the Christmas/New Year holiday. It seems
like the technology stocks are doing okay today. Volume is again somewhat
lackluster. We’re coming to the end of the tax selling season as the last day of
the year is the trade date where you can sell stocks and you have 30 days to
replace them. People for tax reasons are selling some of their worst positions.
I have seen a fair amount of that over the last week and a half. I think the
general feeling out there is that people know the first quarter is not going to
be good overall.
“We saw another pre-announcement with Network Associates this morning,
and the stock is down roughly 70%. Notwithstanding that, I think people are
getting to feel that the Fed might move sooner rather than later as evidence
continues to show that the economy is slowing more than they would like to see.
So the next interest rate move no doubt will be rates coming down and not up,
and that’s a good sign. We’re coming into the January season where a lot of
retirement and 401(k) money gets put to work.”
Brian Conroy, Head of Listed Trading,
J.P. Morgan: “It’s very quiet in institutional activity. I would just say
that trading today is characterized by carryover situations from last week.
Those accounts that wanted to buy or sell securities before year end and have
not quite finished what they were trying to accomplish last week are continuing
along the same vein, but there’s really nothing new coming out of the
institutions that I can see. However, it is the end of the quarter, and
typically there is always some window dressing, so-to-speak, for the portfolios
at the end of their quarter.”