But the real concern is not whether first quarter earnings were stronger than the fourth quarter, but whether orders and sales continue to pick up.
Basically what we're seeing is stocks that reported expected or better than expected first-quarter earnings have moved up, while any company that has really disappointed has gotten slammed. The market is looking for direction.
I think it's just carry over from yesterday. People are still very nervous about what's happening in the technology sector with earnings warnings. There's clearly some buyers stepping in today.
I think we will see companies report their quarterly earnings in line with expectations and that will give the market a boost.
I think everyone is waiting to see what actually happens with earnings this week and everyone is still a bit in shock from the drops at the end of last week responding to the pre-announcements.
People are really uncertain about whether we're going to see a lot more earnings disappointments or whether we're towardÊ the bottom of the cycle as the Fed started to ease.
I think everybody is worried that they got a little overextended and do not feel comfortable moving forward until we actually see some of the strong earnings that will come in,
It's the same old story. It's Nortel and BCE. Dynamite earnings out of both of those and the stocks just roared ahead. And so went the market.