Stock Market Commentary for Tuesday, April 19, 2005

The lackluster and volatile trading on Monday was simply the market struggling to find its feet after the recent sell-off.  It was nice to see modest Nasdaq recovery of 4.77 points, but there is no assurance that this wasn't simply a meager dead-cat bounce that could be followed by a continuation of the sell-off.  I remain optimistic for the longer term, but prepared for plenty of volatility (both directions) in the near term.

My view remains that the recent sell-off had much more to do with technical trading considerations and possibly some hot money from the recent sell-off of oil, than any true concern about economic and business fundamentals.  Traders and speculators love to find excuses to chatter about in order to drive up market volatility for their own short-term profit, but true investors should keep their eye on the long-term "ball".

Nasdaq trading volume was moderate (1.90 billion shares), and breadth was slightly negative, with 1.03 losers for each gainer.  The market was simply "treading water", waiting for either more selling or a recovery.

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-- Jack Krupansky