Halftime Report

Monday - Friday, 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET

Halftime Report

What Gets the Market to Rally: Murphy

Bernanke's Testimony Addresses QE & Sequestration
VIDEO4:1704:17
Bernanke's Testimony Addresses QE & Sequestration

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on Tuesday could be enough to get stocks rallying again, Rosecliff Capital's Mike Murphy said.

Stocks were setting up for any hint that Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill would signal an end to quantitative easing, he said.

But that didn't happen.

"He stayed on message," Murphy said. "I think that's enough to get the market back on track."

(Watch: Stocks Plunge Ahead of Bernanke's Testimony)

On CNBC's "Fast Money," Joe Terranova of Virtus Investment Partners disagreed.

The stock market was "in a soft position," he added, noting that momentum shifted downward at the start of the week.

Bernanke's testimony wasn't enough to boost investor sentiment.

"There was nothing really within the language to reverse that momentum shift," he said.

Terranova looked to valuation of the euro as a motivating factor, as well as movement from money managers.

"What actually gets you to jump off the cliff is the money manager who says, 'OK, let's hit the button It's time to sell. We see something in the market that tells us to do it,'" he said.

OptionMonster's Jon Najarian said that the uncertainty in Europe has shown up in since last week.

"We said there was unusual upside call buying in across-the-board gold stocks," he said, calling out ticker symbols for Barrick Gold, Goldcorp and Randgold.

"Take a look at the moves they've made, and take a look at how they've done since last Friday," he said.

Trader disclosure: On Feb. 26, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Joe Terranova is long VRTS; Joe Terranova is long SJM; Joe Terranova is long MJN; Joe Terranova is long AXP; Joe Terranova is long KORS; Joe Terranova is long GS; Joe Terranova is long SWN; Mike Murphy is long JCP; Steve Weiss is long C; Steve Weiss is long BAC; Steve Weiss is long AIG; Steve Weiss is long QCOM; Jon Najarian is long KORS; Jon Najarian is long KORS Calls; Jon Najarian is short VIX Calls; Jon Najarian is long PANL; Jon Najarian is short PANL Calls.