After An Ugly First Quarter, Stocks Are Hoping to Party

Technology is another area drawing wide attention from money managers. The sector as a whole tumbled 15.57 percent in the first quarter but actually is up 0.67 percent for March. Telecomm has fallen slightly more than the broader technology issues for the quarter, but is up a robust 3.53 percent over the past month.

"I just think it's more of the fact that you can't have another Bear Stearns," says David Rovelli, managing director of US equity trading at Canaccord Adams, who sees opportunity in tech stocks. "As long as we don't have another big bank blowup I think we're going to be fine."

In a broad sense, investors are looking for the most beaten-down areas as pivotal points to put their money. But there continues to be enthusiasm for emerging countries that are snapping up US goods and helping drive commodity prices.

"These next three months are very hard to guess, but the fundamentals are there for recovery," Miralles says. "A recovery is not going to be driven by what's going on here in the United States. The recovery is going to be the emerging markets out there, the emerging middle classes. They got a taste of three meals a day and want to keep eating three meals a day."

One market getting some attention is the Mideast, where oil exporters are driving the economies there forward.

"My advice about the US markets is to diversify outside the US, because there are so many fundamental issues with our markets and our overall importance and place in the global economy is not what it once was and unlikely to return to where it was," says Bruce Fenton, president at Atlantic Financial.

"The US, despite its problems, is still a very large and important economy, so you should have some exposure, but typically American investors are overexposed and not looking enough outside the US."

Diversity, always popular with investment consultants, is getting an even broader focus in the wake of this market's high volatility.

"Right now is a very good time to evaluate who you are as an investor and your risk parameters," Baum says. "Once you do that there are some very good opportunities out there."

© 2008 CNBC.com

---

< Prev | 1 | 2