Lot of positive talk about OLB's and financial sectors coming out now:
rd.yahoo.com*http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20000317/news/current/sector.htx?source=blq/yhoo&dist=yhoo
<<For the online brokers, analyst James Marks at Credit Suisse First Boston said expectations are surfacing that the group will report strong account growth for the quarter. While it's been long known that trading volumes are going to be very strong this quarter, many investors have been focused on account growth as ad spending runs heavy and competition heats up in the group.
Leading the online group: Charles Schwab (SCH: news, msgs), up 5 5/16 to 55 5/16. Also gaining: E-Trade (EGRP: news, msgs), Ameritrade (AMTD: news, msgs), DLJ Direct (DIR: news, msgs) and National Discount Brokers (NDB: news, msgs). The group, however, remains off 52-week highs.
A note from Robertson Stephens analyst Scott Appleby Friday lent further support. Saying Nasdaq trading volume in March "is tracking as the strongest ever, with an average weekly volume of 8.6 billion, a 36.6 percent increase from last quarter," Appleby raised his forecast for transactions growth to 40 percent over the fourth quarter. Greater transactions growth should translate into greater commission revenue for the group -- as long as commissions are relatively steady.>> |
