from briefing .com----Given that investors didn't get the follow through buying they expected Monday, they began Tuesday's session in a foul mood... Their mood wasn't helped any by cautionary comments by Lehman on Net giants America Online (AOL 43.50 -9.11) and Yahoo! (YHOO 48 15/16 -6 5/16) or by negative comments from Chase H&Q on the semiconductor equipment group... Chase downgraded nine companies from BUY to MARKET PERFORM... It did so on the heels of a Q4 earnings warning from Teradyne (TER 24 7/8 -9 9/16)... Not surprisingly, weakness in the Net and Chip groups led the Nasdaq broadly lower.
Technically, indices look poised to test their recent lows... If supports hold, buyers are likely to return... However, considering how quickly the mood changed from relief on Friday to despair today, don't expect the indices to move straight up... It's going to take time for investors to regain confidence in techs - especially the beaten up Net and chip names.
As we noted last week, the cash needed to fuel a sustained recovery rally is there... All we need is for buyers to end their strike and step up to the plate... But for that to happen, investors need to think that if they don't buy now they'll have to pay a higher price the next day/week... Hardly the case at the moment, as traders remain convinced that although many stocks are cheap relative to where they were weeks/months ago, they could, and probably will, go lower still. It is this mindset which needs to change, more than anything else, for stocks to get going again. What could change that mindset? Good earnings news, end of tax-selling season, further relief on energy prices, more favorable tone out of the Fed - any one or more of these. |
