STOCKS STALL AT '09 HIGHS

After the S&P 500hit its 2009 high last Friday, the major averages dropped marginally to start the week - the Dow was down 0.34%, the S&P 500 declined 0.33% and the Nasdaq dipped below 2000 – but the market remains close to its year-to-date high.

On a down day, the sectors with the most strength were Health Care and Energy, boosted by Merck and Pfizer, while Citigroup and Bank of America led the financial sector. One of the big stories of the day was the dollar’s strength compared to the Euro and British Pound, moving ahead of the Fed meeting later this week.

What's The Word On The Street?

The dollar’s movement ahead of the Fed meeting was pretty evenly spread out, says Tim Seymour, who mentions that the mining sector got the worst of the downward move today.  In the financial sector, Goldman Sachs underperformed but in the sector Guy Adami likes Raymond James , which he says has been a great play recently, but has gotten less attractive as it’s moved to higher levels.

What you saw on Friday was a late-day reversal, adds Joe Terranova, and today stocks didn’t pick up their gains. Today was a nothing day, he said, where traders are waiting to see what happens in the FOMC meeting and the treasury auction later this week. Today has had about half the normal options activity, adds Pete Najarian.

I don’t believe in commercial real estate, says Guy Adami, but a name that has been doing very well recently is Acuity Brands . There’s big short interest in this name, he says, and advises you to consider it as a shorting opportunity.


A Chorus of Voices: The Recession Is Over

The recent rally has added to optimism in the markets, and some market insiders are predicting that the market is just now pulling out of the recession. Blackrock Vice Chairman Bob Doll was one of these voices, saying: "I think we are in the process of ending here. Look, it doesn't end in every part of the economy on a given day. It is a process. But just like there was a bottoming process for the equity market, I think there is a bottoming process for the economy. And when the National Bureau of Economic Research gets around to it probably early next year they will tell us the recession ended maybe as we are speaking."

But is this still tradable, or have players on the sidelines missed their chance?

Tim Seymour reminds us that this is not your mother’s recession, commenting on the idea that the rally has run its course, saying that the upturn in the market has been justified and appropriate. The biggest concern moving forward is commercial real estate, says Joe Terranova, predicting that it will be a big topic in this week’s FOMC meeting.

Pete Najarian thinks it was an important move when Goldman Sachs put Merck on their conviction buy list and Eli Lilly on their conviction sell list. He likes Goldman’s moves with respect the pharmaceutical names, such as Johnson & Johnson and Merck who are attractive in part because of their dividends.