Cody Willard:
This Market's Gonna Take Work
2/1/05 8:41 AM ET
And so, we say goodbye to January. And what a month it was, as the Nasdaq finished down nearly 6%, and just about every stock index out there was down for the month as well. For the record, oil and oil stocks were clearly the outperformers.
Alas, as we enter a new month, the big question is whether the so-called "trend" reversed itself, or are we just setting up the markets for a further selloff. Of course, I'd note, as always, that the so-called "trend" depends on your time frame and your starting point. The aforementioned "big question" could likewise be, "Is the market ready to resume the rally that started last August now that it's shaken out the weak hands and lured back the permabear shorts?"
I'm afraid I don't see the overall market as particularly set up well for either the bulls or the bears here. I continue to think that it's much too early to call for a broad economic downturn, but I don't see a plethora of screaming buys either. No, I think this is a market in which one has to really roll up the sleeves, get on the phone, hit the road and do a lot of homework.
If your time frame is short, you can find F5s and Apples and eBays and Overstocks out there to trade into earnings. And if your time frame is long, you can find Junipers and MRVCs and, well, F5s and Apples to invest in. But it's gonna take work, because the market isn't full of stocks that have been taken out and trashed and/or bubbled, as is sometimes the scenario. And one must take what the market gives, if this is what we're going to do for a living.
Those crazy cats who buy and sell the futures are setting us up for a slightly green open. It's a long day and week ahead with Fed meetings, presidential speeches, and earnings galore. RevShark needed to attend to some personal business today, so I'll be in the hot seat.
Gary B. Smith:
