Brokerages Take a Licking but Keep On Ticking
By James J. Cramer
10/6/99 10:48 AM ET
You may hate the brokerage stocks, but you have to marvel how they act today in the face of terrible news. First, the "Heard on the Street" column takes dead aim at the group. It talks about hidden losses and terrible bond markets, the type of heat that usually causes some dislocations.
Then Sanford Bernstein, which has historically spoken highly about the industry, rolls out some damaging coverage, including underperforms on Schwab (SCH:NYSE), E*Trade (EGRP:Nasdaq) and Knight/Trimark (NITE:Nasdaq). Ouch, those usually inflict mortal damage on stocks. And what happens? Well, you have a screen. Take a look. These stocks are acting well. Heck, they are all up.
For me, that's cause for taking another look-see at a hated group. In fact, I even beeped Jeff Berkowitz, who is at the CBS (CBS:NYSE) presentation/lovefest and said that the ability to shake off bad news in the brokerages might mark an important short-term bottom.
I know you take your life into your hand when you talk about a bottom in this group, but let's face it, there is a massive amount of negativity built into these stocks. Hmmmm. |
