U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 85,000 jobs in December, according to government data on Friday, cooling optimism on the labor market's recovery. How will the data affect stocks? Mike Holland, chairman of Holland & Company, and David Spika, vice president and investment strategist at WHG Funds, shared their views.
“The employment numbers really gave us a reality check,” Spika told CNBC.
“The trend of the recovery is still in place, but what this showed us is that markets and expectations got a little ahead of themselves, in terms of the recovery.”
Despite the grim data, Spika said he still expects stocks to rise and suggested investors put their money into the large-cap, high quality names.
“With the dollar depreciation, and the rise in gold, there are concerns about our fiscal situation,” he said. “For 2010, it may not be such a big issue…I think that’s more of a 2011-2012 issue."
In the meantime, Holland said there is a “very lumpy cyclical recovery” going on in the markets.
“Overall, these numbers reflect that companies aren’t hiring—they’re getting some upturn because of the cycle.”
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Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Holland or Spika.
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