30
Jan
2012

What the Market Wants: Uncertainties Cloud Market's Progress

Uncertainties Cloud Market's Progress

We still don’t know what the market wants or what it will get. The market continued inching ahead, up about +0.40% over the last 5 days, but it was down sharply this morning for a loss today.

Concerns about exposure to Greek debt are paramount in the minds of investors.  Transparency is far from where it should be, yet European leaders did agree today on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone, and 25 out of 27 EU states supported a German-inspired pact for tighter budget discipline.

Citigroup (C) is significantly reducing compensation for its investment bankers, and Bank of America’s (BAC) rating was cut to “neutral” from “buy” by Goldman Sachs Group.

Last week’s economic reports were mixed, as were today’s.  Personal income was up a little more than expected, but personal spending was down. Last week, GDP came in ok but below expectations. Durable goods was better, but other leading indicators were worse.  Most home sale numbers were below expectations and below expected prices.  Not pretty.

Market Stats. Financials, which, until today, have managed to stay out of the headlines for a few weeks, are down sharply. Techs are the only ones doing well. Heathcare came in near the bottom, rather than the expected top, and Energy was mediocre due to concerns about growth.

Small caps continued to do a bit better than their counterparts.  We cannot say much, with any real conviction, about where to invest.  Just continue to search for growth as cheaply as possible, and continue with some type of hedge.

Here are the market stats.

4 Stock Ideas for this Market

This week, I created a custom search with MyStockFinder, emphasizing high value, high growth, high earnings revisions, high earnings quality and some momentum.  Here are four stock ideas for your consideration:

Telecom Argentina SA (TEO) – Telecommunications
GT Advanced Technologies, Inc. (GTAT) – Energy
Western Digital Corporation (WDC)—Technology
Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. (BRLI)—Healthcare

Until next week,

David Brown
Chief Market Strategist
Sabrient Systems, LLC.
Leaders in Investment Research
http://www.sabrient.com
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is published solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as advice or a recommendation to specific individuals. Individuals should take into account their personal financial circumstances in acting on any rankings or stock selections provided by Sabrient. Sabrient makes no representations that the techniques used in its rankings or selections will result in or guarantee profits in trading. Trading involves risk, including possible loss of principal and other losses, and past performance is no indication of future results.

david / Tag: BAC, BRLI, C, GTAT, TEO, WDC /