Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Louis Parks, Senior Managing Director,
Raymond James & Associates: “I think at this point you’re seeing a few
things going on. Number one, I think that although everyone was optimistic about
the fact the Fed did not have to tighten, they’re realizing that the Fed’s
overtures and comments clearly are pointing to the fact that we still have a lot
of inflationary risk. I think there’s going to be some upcoming concern about
what the action might be in August.
“I think the articles that I have seen in print have read fairly
negatively, in my opinion, about the Fed’s concerns. Although they’re taking a
breather now from action, the Fed is going to be watching numbers extremely
closely and further action may come in August. As for the market, I think what
you’re seeing now is a little bit of window dressing. Portfolios are getting out
of stocks that didn’t improve during the recent rallies. Very few new positions
are being taken, and very little new money is coming into the market right
now.”
Gary Kaltbaum, Chief Technical Analyst,
JW Genesis: “I think you have entered somewhat of a bearish phase here once
again. There are a few stocks that are breaking out and holding, but I don’t
like the fact that all of a sudden you’re starting to get breakouts and
failings, and that’s as far as the growth stock spectrum is concerned. As far as
the Dow and S&P, it’s been a non-event for us for several months now.
As far as the Nasdaq, I’m a little disappointed in the lack of real strong
follow-through.
“It may just be the fact that we’ve had a big run off the lows, and that
there’s still a lot of resistance to go through on the way up. A great example
is Nokia
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PowerRating) that tries to breakout and then gets flattened like a pancake
very quickly. It just tells you that there’s a lot more work to do here.”
Barry Berman, Managing Director of Equity
Trading, Robert W. Baird & Co.: “The market’s continuing to sell off
after the move up in anticipation of the Fed not raising rates, and I think
you’re just basically seeing some profit-taking. It’s fairly slow and likely to
get slower. Looking ahead, I don’t think it’s going to be wait-and-see until
August. I think it’s going to be wait-and-see for economic numbers. I think the
market’s going to make up its own mind as to what the Fed’s going to do based on
the economic numbers it sees between now and then.”
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