Daily Stock Picks: NVTL, PALM, SXE, IOC, APOL

The Housing Report, showing that more homes sold than expected, boosted the market today. However, the market poked out of the range I thought we would trade in, baring any shocking GDP or other news/data, and quickly came back to trade into that range. The market is very much playing the waiting game right now, and it is not just about the GDP. The bets on the GDP have long since been made and it will take a shocking number to move these markets. What will move them is more information on TARP 2, stimulus and earnings guidance.

Rank	Previous Rank	Symbol	MLT+Swing	Days in Top 5
#1	(#1 --)	NVTL	0.84	9
#2	(#5 +3)	PALM	0.77	2
#3	(#2 -1)	SXE	0.76	9
#4	(#3 -1)	IOC	0.70	4
#5	(#5 -1)	APOL	0.67	9

Even with clarity on those issues the market is still going to be waiting. Waiting to see if the stimulus works, waiting to see if the expected recovery in the second half actually materializes, waiting to see how high unemployment is going to rise. Those are the factors that the market is really trying to grab hold of here, so while the GDP report is important, it is far less important than you may think (unless there is a real shocker of a report, which is rare for GDP). However, the fact that we are now one month into the year and with the market still waiting does speak to something: The market is losing confidence in a early third quarter recovery.