Market's Message: The Tide Is Turning Bullish, Says Plexus' Prieur du Plessis
Posted Apr 06, 2009 04:12pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing
Related: FXI, EWZ, EEM, ^DJI, ^GSPC, SPY, DIA
One down day can shift the mood, but there was a general sense of optimism this weekend in San Diego, where I attended a hedge fund conference and separate tribute dinner for newsletter legend Richard Russell.
Among those in attendance - and feeling at least cautiously optimistic - was Prieur du Plessis, executive chairman of Plexus Asset Management, a South African-based firm with about $2 billion of assets.
The market's message is "the tide is turning," says Plessis, who cited the same valuation argument as BCA's Martin Barnes as well as these recent trends:
Outperformance of small-caps stocks over large.
Strength in growth-oriented sectors like tech, basic materials and consumer discretionary.
Strength in commodities and emerging market stocks.
These are the kind of signs "only would typically expect at a bottom," says Plessis. Even if the recent rally - over 20% for the Dow and S&P in the past four week - is a case of "too much too fast," the money manager believes the S&P has established a new trading range between the March lows (666) and January highs (935).
While the global economy remains "murky" and America's banks the "elephant in the room," Plessis believes a "bottoming area" has been established. He expects emerging markets, notably China and resource-rich nations like Brazil will continue their recent outperformance and says: "I suspect this is a trade that will be perpetuated over the next few years. "
Editor's note: Stay tuned later this week when we'll publish our exclusive interview with Richard Russell, who is not so favorably disposed - as anyone who's followed his recent work knows.
Posted Apr 06, 2009 04:12pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing
Related: FXI, EWZ, EEM, ^DJI, ^GSPC, SPY, DIA
One down day can shift the mood, but there was a general sense of optimism this weekend in San Diego, where I attended a hedge fund conference and separate tribute dinner for newsletter legend Richard Russell.
Among those in attendance - and feeling at least cautiously optimistic - was Prieur du Plessis, executive chairman of Plexus Asset Management, a South African-based firm with about $2 billion of assets.
The market's message is "the tide is turning," says Plessis, who cited the same valuation argument as BCA's Martin Barnes as well as these recent trends:
Outperformance of small-caps stocks over large.
Strength in growth-oriented sectors like tech, basic materials and consumer discretionary.
Strength in commodities and emerging market stocks.
These are the kind of signs "only would typically expect at a bottom," says Plessis. Even if the recent rally - over 20% for the Dow and S&P in the past four week - is a case of "too much too fast," the money manager believes the S&P has established a new trading range between the March lows (666) and January highs (935).
While the global economy remains "murky" and America's banks the "elephant in the room," Plessis believes a "bottoming area" has been established. He expects emerging markets, notably China and resource-rich nations like Brazil will continue their recent outperformance and says: "I suspect this is a trade that will be perpetuated over the next few years. "
Editor's note: Stay tuned later this week when we'll publish our exclusive interview with Richard Russell, who is not so favorably disposed - as anyone who's followed his recent work knows.
