The near term out of these companies is shaky. It's the forecast for higher growth in the second half that is really bringing markets higher today. People are seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel. |
The semiconductors are lifting on very dismal volume, with very few people acting before the anniversary. It's a continuation of yesterday, and clearly there is a little money going into semis, but it's going to be a long, long time before there is any real growth in the sector. |
The utilities are really breaking down today [Tuesday]. They were seen as a safe haven play and now you have people worrying about dividends being cut across the board. |
There's a lot of nervousness on the political front and that's keeping the buyers out of the market. We've got 50 significant companies reporting results this week - but at this point, bad news is almost good news, because it's so built in to people's expectations. |
There's a lot of skittishness about the Middle East, with crude prices up above $27. We're not going to see the situation get as dire as it did in the '70s, because we get oil from more sources now, but you will see prices continue to rise and markets will keep feeling the effects. |
There's also still some money being put to work out there for solid companies with good fundamentals. It's just really selective. |
We're in a bear market. You're going to see these little rallies on short-covering, but there's nothing (else) on the horizon to push us past that right now. |
We're really in a trading range, drifting sideways for the time being as the market waits for its next catalyst. |
We're seeing a little bounce from oversold conditions, with stocks not being down quite as much as they were this morning, but it's still nasty out there. We're in a bear market, where we have these false rallies on a little short-covering, but there's nothing on the horizon to push it past that. It's also the end of the quarter, so you've got a lot of people sitting on the sidelines. |
We've been trading sideways for months, and until we get some sort of resolution with Iraq, we're going to keep trading in fits and starts. |
You have pretty light volume ahead of the Fed meeting. You also had the Dow have one of its best weeks in 15 years last week, so you're going to see some pullback from that. Airlines are down again and it's pressuring the broader market, particularly the Dow. US Airways' filing wasn't a surprise but it still sets a negative tone. |
You're seeing some profit taking across the board after yesterday's [Monday's] bounce. You've got a little shift back into bonds, but basically trading is calm. It's kind of the standard summer doldrums. On the upside, you're seeing some money go into some high-risk areas ... which tells you something about how the psychology is changing from a month ago. |