The markets are waiting for the Fed to cut rates further. But the average investor doesn't need to hold off until Wednesday afternoon.
Here's what the pros are telling CNBC on where to put your money today.
Navigate the Web
“We would actually point you towards a very low cost provider in a particular vertical—the travel vertical: Priceline. That’s one place we’ve seen a pretty meaningful slowdown is the online travel market. And Priceline is really the low-cost provider in that vertical and they inflected pretty meaningfully in Q3 and throughout Q4.”
John Aiken, Majestic Research
Bullish on Red Hot Chile
“I would look at things that are not very closely linked to the metals. I would look at things like the electricity generators in Chile. I would look at cargo plays. Remember, Chile is the only country in fact that has a free trade agreement with China and the U.S.. So structurally, trade is a good story there over the long-term. We’d be looking at some of the retailers, especially the ones that are expanding out into some of the fast regional economies close to Chile like Peru.”
Thierry Wizman, Bear Stearns
Exchange Plays
“Our top pick for 2008 is the Nasdaq , and that’s really a function of their changing profile, in terms of the acquisitions that they’ve announced and closing here in the first quarter of ’08. They’re going to be closing the OMX transaction, which will provide them diversity in terms of international presence as well a product diversity in terms of some derivative products, and then also adding the Philadelphia Stock Exchange here, which gives them a third or fourth leading pick position here in the domestic options business.”
Daniel Fannon, Jefferies & Co. Financial Services Analyst
Bargain Hunting in Financials
“A lot of the financial stocks, stocks that we’ve been wanting to add to, have jumped up a whole lot, and if you miss your opportunity, you might not get it again. A lot of the negativity has been priced in. When the mortgage insurers came out a couple weeks ago, and they were on the brink of bankruptcy, financials took a big hit, and a lot of people think that was the bottom. I don’t know for certain, but we have started to add to financials, and we’ve made money already.”
Ted Parrish, Co-Portfolio Manager Henssler Equity Fund Co-Portfolio Manager
How to Play Yahoo
“The sentiment is so awful on this stock [Yahoo ], I have to take the positive going in, just because expectations are incredibly low. You see a lot of potential catalysts and maybe a better-than-expected quarter, potential restructuring or massive headcount reduction, which I think can be good news for shareholders. There’s a lot of things that could go right for this stock in 2008.”
Rob Sanderson, American Technology Research Analyst
Bargains in a Wild Market
Volatile markets can eat a portfolio alive, but they can also create real bargains for investors, according to senior editor Jeffrey Kosnett of Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
Kosnett recommends: Apple , American Capital Strategies , American Express , AT&T , Goldman Sachs , Intel , Pfizer , Southwest Airlines and General Electric