Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Michael Lyons, Senior Trader, Morgan
Stanley: “It’s looking very good. We got nice follow through the last
couple of days, and it just continues to move higher here. Decent volume. No
sign of weakness or giving up, at least at this point. Market breadth is getting
better as we go along. Coming near the end of the quarter you have to believe
that money is being put to work by some of the money managers. Consumer
confidence was strong this morning. I guess that the feeling is that if we
haven’t hit bottom we certainly came close to it last Thursday. Once they turned
around, they certainly didn’t pause much, and they continue to have legs here.
Overall, there’s good feel and good tone and strength across the board.”
Scott Cummings, General Partner, Agile
Asset Management: “As we approach the end of the first quarter, a number of
market technicals with regards to valuation, investor psychology, and money
supply figures suggest that the market is close to a bottom, and I suspect there
could still be some choppiness in both the Dow and the Nasdaq through the April
15 tax deadline. But consider these downdrafts as buying opportunities with a
market rally this spring.
“It is a bold call as we have heard numerous market strategists say buy,
buy, buy since late January, and that has been a painful downdraft since late
January. I think we stand a chance here of a market rally in the spring. We’ve
got a lot more bad news on the economy and on earnings as we approach the first
quarter, but I am really looking on technical basis as the market being in a
position where it can rally. I will be more comfortable when we are past the tax
deadline and we know people are no longer selling to raise money.”
Paul Rabbitt, President,
RabbittAnalytics.com: “We think investors are waiting for evidence that
earnings downgrades are dissipating. Unfortunately,
we are unlikely to see relief for another six months.
Fed rate cuts are a substitute for economic recovery because they lead to
it eventually. Normally three rate cuts
totaling one ½ percentage would be a great stimulator for stocks.
This time there was a technology stock bubble.
The mania was so extreme; investors are now demanding an opposing extreme
of pain to unwind the excesses.”