Ciena Soars, Rate Cut Odds Fall

Despite a weaker-than-expected headline, Thursday's GDP report actually points to lesser odds of a Fed rate cut, Aaron Task says on "The Real Story" podcast. In addition to the PCE remaining above the Fed's "comfort zone", the upward revision to consumer spending, downward revision to housing's negative effect and inventory adjustments point to faster economic growth going forward, he says.

Moreover, the Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index was stronger than expected, and its employment index points to a possible upside surprise for Friday's payroll data. A strong jobs report would further lower odds of a rate cut but might give the market a boost because "the market doesn't really need a rate cut," Task says.

Task's first guest, Bob Faulkner, author of TheStreet.com Telecom Connection came on to discuss Ciena's (CIEN Quote) upbeat quarter and guidance.

"This is a lumpy business. Don't extrapolate" this quarter's gains going forward, Faulkner says. Still, Corning (GLW Quote) and Cisco (CSCO Quote) have also made positive comments about demand for fiber optics, he notes. "Business isn't booming, but I don't want it to be booming. I want nice, steady growth."

Speaking of booming, Apple's (AAPL Quote) stock continued its ascent Thursday. While Faulkner is long the stock and "loves Apple," he is buying some puts to protect his gains from a "sell-the-news reaction" to the pending release of the iPhone.

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