| Stock Market Update - Mon Apr 09 16:20:01 EDT 2007
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks kicked off a new week with a customary sense of caution heading into earnings season and some uncertainty as to what a strong jobs report means for the economy and interest rate outlook. With investors unable to trade on monthly employment data Friday, a market preoccupied with concerns about a significant slowdown in economic growth initially found some comfort after March payrolls rose a stronger than expected 180,000. An upward revision to February's figure and the unemployment rate unexpectedly falling to 4.4% provided further evidence that the economy remains in good shape, notwithstanding the downturn in the housing and manufacturing sectors, and that consumer spending should continue to grow at close to the recent trend of 3% real growth. Be that as it may, a tight labor market accompanied by rising wage costs leaves a Fed still fixated on the "high level of resource utilization" with little reason to cut interest rates anytime soon.
THE NR EYE: Indian stock markets regain NRIs’ trust
Non-resident Indians, it seems, are much wiser than their compatriots back home when it comes to investing in equity. Either that, or being cut off from the daily market grapevine puts them in the category of investors rather than speculators by default. In any case, NRIs are much better off not falling prey to the rumours and remaining steadily focused on the Indian growth story. They must be getting worried, though, each time the Indian stock indices take a plunge. And, this has not been a rare phenomenon. The last Black Monday, for example, when the Bombay Stock Exchange plummeted by 617 points, must have sent shivers down quite a few spines. The good part is, the Sensex has bounced back each time. For the speculator, such market tumbles bring gloom, but for the investor, it is something to cheer about.
The follies of marketing timing
Many investors try to "time" the market by "buying low and selling high." In theory, that's a great idea, but it's almost impossible to put into practice. If you try to outguess the market, you run the substantial risk of guessing wrong – of buying stocks too soon, before they get even cheaper, or of selling stocks too late, after they've fallen from their highs. But these are only the most obvious of the problems that can result from market timing. Here are some others to consider: You could lose your investment discipline. The best investors are the disciplined investors. They choose quality stocks and hold them for the long term, through good and bad markets. In fact, they have conditioned themselves to ignore short-term price swings in either direction, based on their belief that their patience eventually will be rewarded.
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