Securities Research Services

Monday, May 01, 2006

Energy and Metals Still Strong

If you merely focus on the index charts from a weekly perspective, we are right at support and ready to run higher. This is especially true on the S&P 500 and Dow. The tech sector however, while also at support, is showing signs of slowing momentum. We believe that this sector may once again lag the blue chips. Likewise, the small cap, Russell 2000 index is vulnerable for a correction. At this time it looks like institutional money is making way for a safe haven in the high liquidity blue chip stocks and it is avoiding high beta small caps and tech, but not necessarily selling these two sectors. Many commentators are looking for a rotation out of the energy and metal stocks as they believe commodities are overdone and likely topping. The truth is that the only true bull markets we are seeing right now are in energy and metals and trying to pick a top in a bull market is a recipe for pain. Market commentators will eventually be right in their calls for a rotation back into stocks from commodity-driven profits, but we believe that it is too early to make that call. We are seeing a great deal of strength in these two sectors at this time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What are blue chip stocks and high beta small caps?

Jurgen

SRSFinance said...

Blue chip stocks are stocks that are highly capitalized, nationally recognized, well-established and financially sound company. Blue chips generally sell high-quality, widely accepted products and services. Blue-chip companies are known to weather downturns and operate profitably in the face of adverse economic conditions, which helps to contribute to their long record of stable and reliable growth. These types of stocks are represented by the Dow and to a lesser extent, the S&P 500.

Beta refers to a stock's sensitivity. A stock with high beta will react to events and market pressures by moving much further percentage wise when compared to a low beta stock. Small cap stocks in general have higher beta measurments than blue chip stocks. A small cap is generally defined as a company with a market capitalization of between $300 million and $2 billion