Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Traders edgy over economy - The Business Times

Published August 23, 2010


WALL STREET INSIGHT

Traders edgy over economy

Mega mergers fail to inspire as jobs, manufacturing data sway wary market

By ANDREW MARKS

NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT

THE summer doldrums are firmly in place with what feels like half of Wall Street away on vacation but there is no mistaking the nervous tension pervading the stock market's psychology as August draws to a close.

Three straight days of advances early in the week produced hopes for a summer rally that might provide investors with some positive momentum, and a breakthrough of the range-bound trading.

But those hopes sagged in the face of another round of discouraging news on the employment front, and the nascent rally quickly gave way to a sell-off that has traders bracing themselves for a stressful week.

'It's hard to believe that there's going to be much meaningful action this time of year, when so many people are away and market volume is so low, but I've got the feeling from the jumpy way the market reacted to the weekly jobless claims data on Thursday that the market is pushing to the edge of a significant negative move,' said Mike Kennedy a money manager at Case Asset Advisers after last Friday's closing bell.

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