Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:Â
Rick Harrington, Technical Analyst,
Wachovia Securities: “I think that yesterday represents a mini-selling
climax, however, I doubt seriously that that’s a final low. Bear markets tend to
have a series of selling climaxes, and we’ve seen several already over
the last year. There were some missing elements yesterday. We saw relatively
mild put/call readings. We should have seen better readings than we’ve seen. We
did have a slightly better relative strength in the Nasdaq, and the Volatility
Index rose to its highest level in a couple of years, but we still have not seen
the type of sentiment change that is probably a prerequisite to bottom in this
market.
“I think that would be characterized by the wholesale selling of mutual
funds. The sentiment of the public has moved from complacency to concern to
major concern, but they have not turned to bearishness. I think that before this
market has run its course, and that could be three months from now or three
years from now, there’s going to be a wholesale liquidation of mutual
funds.”
Dennis Jarrett, Chief Market Analyst,
Jarrett Investment Research: “I think what we see today is some profit
taking that followed the very abnormal jump of yesterday’s action. The problem
we have is that it’s a Friday, and people are loathe to carry positions into the
weekend. So the next couple of hours could be very very important. If the buyers
come back, that will speak highly of what we can expect next week, and if they
stay away, then we’ve got some problems.”