A lot of the Nasdaq stocks had a tremendous performance last year and may have gotten ahead of themselves in the early part of this year. |
And because it's such a low liquidity week and a lot of people are on vacation already, you're unfortunately going to see more of the same as the week goes on. |
Earnings have been pretty astonishing, but the market hasn't always responded to that. I think people are feeling better about tech earnings in particular, but we still have worries about interest rates and what that might do to the recovery. |
Economic data has shown us that we're not out of the woods just yet. We suspect that April too will be weak. ... What we need is a clear sign of economic activity picking up and companies willing to spend. |
GDP numbers could surprise a little to the upside, and that may be why the Fed said what it did, ... Confidence numbers could also be surprising, in light of recent reports. |
GDP numbers could surprise a little to the upside, and that may be why the Fed said what it did. Confidence numbers could also be surprising, in light of recent reports. |
Greenspan's comments suggest the Fed won't be aggressive in raising rates in the near term, which is a positive for markets, but he's not saying anything that surprising, |
Greenspan's comments suggest the Fed won't be aggressive in raising rates in the near term, which is a positive for markets, but he's not saying anything that surprising. |
I think part of it is certainly a relief rally that the blackout is behind us. |
I think there are a number of things going on. One is [Procter & Gamble] has done a great deal of restructuring. They're coming back to their core businesses, brands like Tide and Crest, ... They've got rid of a lot of the smaller brands. They've also consolidated some operations. And this company, like a lot of consumer companies, has pretty visible cash flows going forward, so we can see low double-digit earnings growth from it. |
If the war is short and goes fairly well and there are few casualties, there may be a relief rally. But if it's lengthy and perceived as unsuccessful, you're going to see more drifting and selling. |
If we do go to war, probably as soon as the war begins the markets will take a lift, as they did in the Gulf War. If it's short and successful, the markets could rise, but if it's not -- or if there are nuclear, chemical or biological attacks -- it could be negative for the markets. It would be a huge blow to confidence. |
Last week was down, so some of today is a reaction to that, with a bit of a bounce. |
Negative pre-announcements are outpacing positive ones by a three-to-one margin -- and that's very high, ... The big question is whether the market can look through that. We expect consumer confidence will increase and business confidence will start to turn up as well. |
Negative pre-announcements are outpacing positive ones by a three-to-one margin -- and that's very high. The big question is whether the market can look through that. We expect consumer confidence will increase and business confidence will start to turn up as well. |