Pullback ‘Not a Reason to Panic’: Trader
Online Producer
A terrible jobs report only took the stock market down 2.5 percent from all-time highs, Rosecliff Capital's Mike Murphy said Friday.
The U.S. economy created 88,000 new jobs in March, far short of the expected 200,000 positions Wall Street had expected. The U.S. Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent.
On CNBC's "Fast Money," Murphy said that a pullback in stocks had been widely expected.
"As of yesterday, we were down 1 percent off our highs," he said. "Today, S&P on a terrible print, is down another 1 percent, so we're approximately 2, 2 percent off on all-time highs in the S&P.
"I'm not panicking on that."
Murphy looked to Bank of America stock, which was down 1 cent midday.
"My point is more that I don't see this as a reason to panic," he said. "Yes, we're going to have a correction at some point, but I'm still going with a stock-picker's market, staying long the names that we like."
Dan Nathan of RiskReversal.com noted a slowing of momentum toward the upside, keeping the S&P 500 in the 1,540-1,560 range.
Citing the possibility that the market could see "a seasonally soft period of economic data," as well as geopolitical events that might spook investors, he took a slightly bearish tack.
"I'm a little cautious here," Nathan said, adding that leaning on a 1,530 level of support in the S&P was one way to approach the market.
OptionMonster's Pete Najarian said that he was looking to the volatility index, which approached but didn't break through the 200-day moving average.
A move toward $16 would signify more panic, he added.
"I actually did add to some of the financials today," Najarian said, adding that puts were part of his trade. "I've been out for a while. I'm back in."
Trader disclosure: On April 5, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Mike Murphy is long BAC; Mike Murphy is long AAPL; Mike Murphy is long JCP; Mike Murphy is long SDS; Jon Najarian is long PWE CALLS; Jon Najarian is short ZNGA puts; Jon Najarian is long EEM puts; Jon Najarian is short EEM; Jon Najarian is long VXX Calls; Jon Najarian is short VXX puts; Dan Nathan is short QQQ; Dan Nathan is short SPY; Dan Nathan is long SPY APR 153/148 PUT SPREAD; Dan Nathan is long GS MAY 145/135 PUT SPREAD; Dan Nathan is long FB APR. 12 WEEKLY 26/25 PUT SPREAD; Dan Nathan is long MSFT APR 28 PUTS; Dan Nathan is long AMZN APR 240/200/160 PUT FLY.
