October 31, 2014

Four reasons the market will rally for the rest of 2014

From MarketWatch

Four reasons the market will rally for the rest of 2014

By Nicholas A. Vardy, CFA
Published: Oct 29, 2014


For all of the stomach-churning gyrations of the stock market in recent months, the U.S. market hasn't done all that much since we rang in 2014.

As of this writing, the S&P 500 is up 6.63% and the Dow Jones is up 1.72%.

This is hardly shaping up to one for the history books.That said, here are four reasons why I expect the market to end 2014 on strong note.

The market's manic mood

Unlike wide lapels or Farrah Fawcett hairdos, pessimism about the U.S. market never goes out of style. Measures of market sentiment, such as the CNN Money Fear & Greed Index, actually hit zero briefly last week. That Index is now up to 13, still indicating "extreme fear."

Americans haven't felt this bad about their country since Jimmy Carter's malaise years. According to a recent POLITICO poll, 64% of respondents believe things in the United States feel "out of control" right now. Exactly half said the country was “on the wrong track."

Five years ago, China was going to take over the world and gold bugs were partying like it was 1999. Today, even these pillars of investment stability are gone.

It's a sign of the times that the best way to attract the derision of the masses is to say something positive about the U.S. economy. Take the case of Goldman Sachs, which came out recently with a bullish piece on the United States. Citing "American exceptionalism," Goldman recommended that investors own stocks with high domestic sales. Yet, Goldman was mocked mercilessly for its bullishness on the U.S. economy.

One popular blog urged its fans to re-read the Goldman report "as many times as necessary until you pass out from laughter..."

A contrarian could not ask for more.

The U.S. economy is back on track

Looking beyond the dismissive commentary for a moment, realize that the headline numbers from the U.S. economy hardly portend a coming apocalypse.

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