I think it's encouraging that the market showed some strength late in the day, especially the technology stocks," says GREG ADAMS of CHASE ASSET MANAGEMENT.
"It's still going to be a little rocky period here as we get into first-quarter earnings reports, but I think once we get through that, the market can probably set up for a little bit of rally into the end of May or so." (CNBC
"Market Wrap", 3/24)
"I believe that the bull market will continue until there is economic deterioration," says ABBY JOSEPH COHEN of GOLDMAN SACHS. "I see no economic deterioration." ("The Washington Post", 3/24)
"I think the next 2,000-point move is not back to 7500, but up 2,000 points," says MICHAEL HOLLAND, chairman of HOLLAND & CO. "I think this market is going to broaden out because ... profitability is going to expand around the world. ... I think a lot of the pain that a lot of multinational companies like 3M have suffered in the past year is going to reverse. ... A lot of companies will be joining the technology companies moving forward." (CNN
"Moneyline", 3/23)
"Sure, [the market] doesn't have the breadth, but you can't tell me this is not quality," says RALPH ACAMPORA of PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES. ("The Washington Post", 3/24)
FROM THE BEARS:
"There is a feeling that the market is going to go up, but I'm just not sure that the buyers are going to participate," says THOMAS GALLAGHER of CIBC OPPENHEIMER.
"I think 10,000 is a formidable resistance area for the market." (CNBC "Market Wrap", 3/24)
"Things look pretty ugly to me," says WILLIAM MEEHAN at CANTOR FITZGERALD. "It has been a long time since we have seen breadth this negative. A lot of people are saying it doesn't matter, but I think it does." (NYT, 3/24)
"A 10 percent correction would not be unreasonable on the Dow," says LOUISE YAMADA at SALOMON SMITH BARNEY. "Nor would a 15 percent to 20 percent correction on the Nasdaq." (NYT, 3/24)
"Obviously [the stock decline] was triggered by several disappointing releases that affected the technology sector and the banking area, but the real problem has to do with the narrowness of the market," says RICHARD UNRUH of DELAWARE INVESTMENTS. "This could just be a minor correction, but extremely narrow markets like this can't go on forever because they push up the favorite stocks to the point that there is no way that they can achieve the expectations that are set for them." (WSJ, 3/24)
STOCK MARKET:
"The market seems to be growing narrower and narrower," says ART CASHIN of PAINEWEBBER. "I know that's an old song, but it's becoming the classic refrain down here [on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange]. The jury is still out on whether we're going to have a little bit of a correction. The fear that -- at least for a short time -- the road to 10,000 might be a dead-end street caused a little bit of a worry." (CNBC "Street Signs", 3/24)
"Even given where interest rates are right now, certainly the stock market looks to be pretty fully valued," says ELIZABETH MACKAY of BEAR STEARNS. "When we throw in some earnings uncertainties before the end of the quarter and an international conflict on top of it, I think we wind up with a market that's somewhat mired and has a tough time making progress." (CNBC "Market Wrap", 3/24)
"I think some of the defensive issues are seeing some strength here. like the utility stocks, because this is preannouncement season when companies that have bad news to report confess their sins," says ALAN SKRAINKA of EDWARDS JONES. "So investors are seeing a little flight to quality." (CNBC "Market Wrap", 3/24)
"I think Wall Street's expectations for a select group of stocks are a little bit high," says JACK CUNNINGHAM of the SALOMON BROTHERS INVESTORS FUND. "The market has been very narrow ... to the extent that if some of these stocks that have really led the market over the last year and a half weaken, that will not bode well for the overall market." (CNBC "Market Wrap", 3/24)
"I think the market is going to trade around here in the 10,000 area for awhile," says ELIZABETH BRAMWELL of BRAMWELL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. "The rules of diversification are going to work in favor of the market broadening out. Mutual funds are generally not more than 5 percent invested in a given security and because there has been such a tremendous run in some of the leader stocks in the S&P, I think some of that money probably will be redeployed elsewhere." (CNBC "Market Wrap", 3/24)
"You really had the ultimate momentum attempt, which was running stocks through 10,000, and when you have that fail, with all the talk about valuation, that heightens people's sensitivity a little bit," says MICHAEL CLARK of CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON. "I can't underline enough how significant the loss of momentum is, because there are a lot of people who only play it for that reason." (WSJ, 3/24)
"The fact that we almost made 10,000 and retreated highlighted a lot of negatives," says RICHARD CRIPPS of LEGG MASON. "We are entering cooler waters because the money that built this market is receding." He adds:
"The shift in sentiment is the biggest change in the market from last week. The fact that we weren't able to sustain 10,000 has created a dynamic of profit-taking. ... This market is passing through a valuation peak." ("The Washington Post" and WSJ, 3/24)
"It's really a confluence of events," says PHILIP CUTHBERTSON at KEEFE BRUYETTE & WOODS. "We tried to go through Dow 10,000 and didn't. The kosovo thing might be an excuse. And tech stocks are getting weak. It's just bleeding into the market." ("USA Today", 3/24)
"[Tuesday], the market's building weaknesses finally caught up with it," says CHARLES BLOOD of BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN. "We tried to go through 10,000 based on strength in 20 or 30 of the big blue chip stocks [and] couldn't do it. The weakness that has been underlying the market for quite awhile has now finally come to the surface and taken down even the good big stocks." (PBS
"Nightly Business Report", 3/23)
"It's a good sign if people are starting to pay attention to fundamentals," says LISA CULLEN of MERRILL LYNCH. ("USA Today", 3/24)
"Those investors who have a short- to medium-term horizon -- a few months horizon -- may want to cut back here or at least hold some cash and wait for a better buy point," says RICHARD McCABE of MERRILL LYNCH. "Those with a long-term view -- a one- two-year view -- I think should stay very well invested. But if they do have cash to put to work in stocks they may want to scale down those buy prices in the next two or three months." (PBS "Nightly Business Report", 3/23)
"When the broader market isn't doing anything and the leaders sink down to that level, you feel it," says DONALD SELKIN of JOSEPH GUNNAR & CO. ("The Washington Post", 3/24)
"The real earnings difficulty is still in the technology area," says TOM HUDSON of the LORD ABBETT AFFILIATED FUND. "One of the strongest groups that has taken this market up is technology, and there is a fundamental concern here about PC pricing." ("USA Today", 3/24)
|
