John Hancock Funds Buy JDSU,
John Hancock Funds' Will Braman:
U.S. Stock Market Comment
By Phil Serafino
New York, Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A comment on activity in U.S.
computer-related and communications-equipment stocks:
``Somewhere in here we're marking a bottom,'' said Will Braman, chief
investment officer for John Hancock Funds in Boston. ``Our course of
action over the next one to three months is to become more aggressive'' in
buying technology shares.
Braman already has started buying JDS Uniphase Corp., Broadcom
Corp. and PMC-Sierra Inc. for the John Hancock Large Cap Growth
Fund.
``We're making a bottom now because we've pulled the valuation down
tremendously,'' Braman said. The technology shares in the Russell
1000 Index, which sold for more than 90 times expected earnings six
months ago, now are priced at less than 30 times, he said.
``We're going to have a tough, tough period in terms of earnings,'' he
said, though the U.S. won't slip into recession, so profits will continue to
grow.
Technology ``will remain the place to find the best earnings growth,''
Braman said. Investors will be encouraged when they see that they're
``getting the leading companies to show that even in a difficult earnings
environment they can continue to deliver the numbers.''
Technology stocks make up 40 percent of Braman's fund, down from 60
percent six months ago. |
