Michael Sheldon Decline Quotations

Right now, I think the market needs a catalyst in order to get out of this difficult environment. Hopefully if oil prices continue to decline and move back into the mid $50s, that could turn sentiment more positive on Wall Street.

Looking into the second quarter, what could move us higher is a decline in oil prices, lower bond yields, solid economic data that is non inflationary and stronger growth on the earnings front.

Today's weak market performance is the result of some worse-than-expected earnings reports and a decline in the consumer confidence report.

We're likely to see a correction this year after the run we've had, as well. But the outlook for third and fourth quarter earnings has been good, and if the economic data continue to improve, we could see a slightly more narrow decline that what people have been expecting.

The markets are rebounding a little after several sessions of weakness that stemmed from rising oil prices, rising fears of terrorism and a sharp decline in the dollar. Those issues have somewhat abated today, but they are issues the market will continue to face over the next few weeks. As a result, you could see more profit taking.