NEW YORK — Wall Street will open for trading today at a two-month high as investors have grown more optimistic that the worst of the market’s rout might be over. But, analysts contend, the real test is still to come.
There will be no shortage of economic data and potential corporate news as traders get back to work after the holidays. The real hope is that the market can build upon Friday’s rally, when the Dow Jones industrial average snapped a four-week losing streak and closed above 9,000 for the first time since Nov. 5.
The past month has shown that the negative sentiment about things like corporate earnings and still-sluggish credit markets have already been factored into the market. Analysts say the next few weeks will determine if investors are comfortable enough to return to the market — with their fears of missing out on a rally outweighing concerns of a renewed downturn.
“There’s now an estimated $8.9 trillion sitting on the sidelines in cash and money markets,” said Stephen Leeb, president of Leeb Capital Management. “High cash levels and low stock prices historically go hand in hand.”
He said this huge amount of liquidity “has yet to include the massive amount of money that will be created as a result of the Federal Reserve’s recent unprecedented actions to stimulate the economy and financial system.”
That also could help bolster markets in the coming months.
Leeb and other analysts do not discount that the market may retreat and retest lows seen in November. The next few weeks will go a long way in assessing the market’s resiliency, even in the face of abysmal economic news.
This week, investors will be eyeing the Labor Department’s December unemployment report, due Friday. Employers are expected to have cut 475,000 jobs from their payrolls, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. That would be below the 533,000 jobs in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is expected to have risen to 7 percent from 6.7 percent in November. The government will also release its weekly jobless claims report on Thursday, which is expected to show another increase.
Other reports on tap this week include November construction spending, auto sales reports, a survey on the services sector, November factory orders, and chain-store sales.
The House Financial Services Committee meets Wednesday to discuss how the next administration might make use of the remaining TARP funds. A House panel will also hold an economic recovery plan hearing with testimony from some of the nation’s top economists.
Technology stocks may be in the spotlight this week with two major events planned — Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show.
