Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Michael Lyons, Senior Trader, Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter: "I’m seeing them picking away here on the buy side for
a change. They came in this morning lightly and continue to be doing it here
lightly. The fact the Nasdaq has gone above the 4000 and is holding there is
encouraging. Again, though, there’s not a lot of volume. Honeywell is
still ugly, down three and that’s 16 Dow dollars. Exxon is down about 10, and
Johnson & Johnson is off about 8 Dow dollars. So those three are the ones
weighing on the Dow while breadth is to the downside. But it’s pretty much a
mixed bag on the listed side. Financials are doing well on good earnings from
some brokerages.
"We’re groping for good news. There’s no doubt about it, and they’re
chomping at the bit to get it going here. Until we get this Fed indecision out
of the way next week, I think we’ll be trading kind of sideways. Yesterday was a
good day, and they’re holding them together today and just picking their spots
on the buy side."
Brien Finnerty, Managing Director and
Head of Institutional Trading, C.E. Unterberg, Towbin: "Semis are hot. The
advanced chip makers are flying. PMCS, KOPN, TXCC, AMCC. That’s been the hot
group, and it’s continuing. Fiber optics is hot, but it has cooled off a little
today. JDSU is down, but that’s because a big seven-and-a-half million share
print went up before the opening. One of the companies that they acquired sold
their stock, so it’s not a big deal. But actually, I thought the stock would pop
after that, and it still might. I’m just thrilled the way the market’s acting.
Everyone’s saying that the volumes not there, and it’s not, but I’ll take
it."
Terence Gabriel, Stock Market Strategist,
IDEAGlobal.com: "The market’s been plagued by anxiety about whether the Fed
raises rates in June, and we think the Fed is on hold in June. Oil prices are
also a concern, and we’ve been watching that closely as well. Overall, I would
say there has been a lot of disbelief in the recent rally, but the fact is that
the Nasdaq indices have broken above and closed above their May 1 reaction peaks
that occurred after the March into April crash.
"On a technical basis, it looks as if the longer-term trend studies are
turning positive here and suggesting that we have a significant run that should
occur in the Nasdaq during the next two to three months. So, my feeling here is
that we’re going to see the Nasdaq battling back to their highs into the summer
and into early Fall before the issues that will contribute to an
intermediate-term decline will resurface. I would expect the rally will continue
to be led by the technology stocks, as well as just a lot of stocks on an
individual basis that look like they’re turning up out of basing patterns."