A good week is on tap
If the stars align as analysts think, the week ahead should be a good one for Wall Street bulls.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com staff writer
February 25, 2006: 11:15 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - February started with a whimper. But on Wall Street, it just might end with a bang.
Granted, analysts say, any potential "bang" next week would just be a bang within a broader trading range. But for investors who have struggled through a typically mucky month for the markets, a little reprieve near the end would be well-appreciated.
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"I think we'll see an end-of-month advance next week," said David Briggs, head of equity trading at Federated Investors.
"Most of the quarterly earnings are out and nobody is forecasting an earnings recession, no one is calling for an economic recession," he said. "The market is gradually earning its multiple. There's no real reason to sell."
That sentiment certainly supported the stock market at the end of last week.
Oil back up
Oil prices rebounded on global supply threats amid unrest in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. A number of Federal Reserve officials -- including new chairman Ben Bernanke -- indicated that while an end to interest rate hikes is near, it's not here yet. Retailers Gap (Research) and Wal-Mart (Research) Stores forecast that their earnings will slow in 2006.
Yet, despite all these potential negatives for stock prices, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the week with gains and the Dow Jones industrial average closed not far from the 4-1/2 year highs hit earlier in the week.
The week ahead could be even better, with the stock market likely to be supported by this same resilience, as well as the tendency for the first few days of March to be upbeat, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.
"Longer term I'm bearish, but I'm pretty optimistic for next week," said Ken Tower, chief market strategist at CyberTrader.
"People have been wondering how many more bumps there will be in the Fed funds rate, and I think we'll get some clarity on that," he said.
After 14 consecutive rate hikes since June of 2004, the Fed funds rate, a key short-term interest rate, currently stands at 4.5 percent. Analysts say that stock market participants seem to have accepted that another rate hike is on tap for the next Fed meeting, in March. Yet, there is confusion about what the central bank may do after that.
In addition, "we'll get more information next week to suggest a small slowdown in housing, but no steep decline," Tower added. "I think that will reassure traders and investors that the economy is still on an even keel, if not booming."
: wichtiger Termin mit stark marktbewegenden Charakter; oft werden viele Märkte
