Thought this might be of general interest - from today's "Worden Report".
TIPS AND HINTS (Wednesday March 16 [SIC], 9:30 A.M. ET)
There is an interesting article in section C of today's WSJ about the possibility of a "growling" bear market in tech stocks. Barton Biggs of Morgan Stanley has declared that a bear market has "crept up" on the technology sector, masked until recently by a continued rally among the largest tech stocks such as Intel, Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices. Frankly, if the sector crept, it was across a creaky floor, since it was not exactly a secret that stocks like Iomega (IOM), Cascade (CSCC) and 3Com (COMS) were pushed over the falls in a barrel. IOM topped out in the second quarter of last year above 48 in a blaze of publicity. It dropped below 15 last year and is below 15 now. It is not exactly a new story.
CSCC hit the skids in October - not exactly in modest silence -- and has lost roughly two-thirds of its value. COMS made it almost to year-end before the collapse. It has lost more than half its value. We find it confusing that Mr. Biggs is choosing now to set off the alarm, suggesting a fifteen percent decline rather than a mere ten percent drop in the tech sector. Fifteen percent sounds like nothing compared to what has already happened to many tech stocks.
As for the larger tech stocks, such as "mighty" Microsoft (MSFT), we find that Mr. Gates's little enterprise has formed an ascending triangle and appears to be ready to break out on the upside. Check the daily and weekly bar charts.
We agree that the market is more vulnerable than it has been since 1989. However, imminent collapse seems unlikely, and we've been noticing for some time that a good many tech stocks have been taking gas. |
