Bears Show a Pulse in Poll

They say that sentiment is often a contrary indicator, but in TheStreet.com RealMoney Barometer it seems to reflect the prevailing trend.

Perhaps alarmed by Friday's stock market selloff driven by problems in subprime-mortgage lending, investors took a bearish outlook in our weekly poll. It was the first time the poll was bearish since Oct. 9.

Of the 1,389 votes cast, the bears recorded a convincing 618, or 44%. The bulls came in at 25% with 348 votes. Neutral continued its consistent showing with 423 votes, or 30%.

In the sectors, likely due to gold's recent rise, precious metals was seen as the sector most likely to rise. Homebuilding, faced with more signs of a persistent slowdown, was tapped as the sector most likely to fall this week.

Several companies were making M&A news. India's Hindalco will buy Novelis(NVL Quote) in a roughly $6 billion deal, and Tenaris(TS Quote) will acquire Hydril(HYDL Quote) for $2.16 billion.

Two other potential hookups might be finished. Nasdaq Stock Market's (NDAQ Quote) $5.3 billion bid for the London Stock Exchange has failed, and rumored talks between Sanofi-Aventis(SNY Quote) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY Quote) have come to an end, according to a published report.

Dow component Home Depot(HD Quote) added 1.1% to $41.45 after the seller of home-improvement goods said it might consider a sale or spinoff of its supply unit. The division has roughly $12 billion in annual sales.

The stock market was trading lower on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27 points, or 0.22%, to 12,554. The Nasdaq Composite was trading at 2448, down about 12 points, or 0.47%. The S&P 500 was at 1433.33, down about 5 points, or 0.33%.

Crude oil was down significantly on Monday. Light, sweet crude for March delivery was trading down $2.23 to $57.66 a barrel on the Nymex.

Below are the complete poll results.

Date	Bullish	Bearish	Neutral	Week Ending S&P % Change	Bullish Sector	Bearish Sector
Feb. 12	348 (25%)	618 (44%)	423 (30%)		Precious Metals	Homebuilding
Feb. 5	781 (54%)	272 (19%)	389 (27%)	- 0.6%	Energy Equipment & Services	Homebuilding
Jan. 29	901 (43%)	440 (21%)	737 (35%)	+ 1.8%	Integrated Oil	Homebuilding
Jan. 22	582 (40%)	357 (24%)	520 (36%)	- 0.6%	Energy Equipment & Services	Semis, Semi Equipment

Sector	Total Votes	Percentage
Aerospace and Defense	69	5%
Airlines	17	1%
Automobiles	26	2%
Beverages and Food Products	50	4%
Biotechnology	57	4%
Commercial Banks	33	2%
Computers and Peripherals	27	2%
Consumer Nondurables	31	2%
Energy Equipment & Services	174	13%
HMOs and Hospitals	26	2%
Homebuilding	19	1%
Insurance	50	4%
Integrated Oil	216	16%
Internet, Software Services	29	2%
Investment Bankers and Brokers	52	4%
Media	19	1%
Multiline Retail	14	1%
Pharmaceuticals	47	3%
Precious Metals	226	16%
Semis, Semi Equipment	29	2%
Telecom Equipment	50	4%
Tobacco and Alcohol	43	3%
Utilities	62	4%
Wireless Communications	18	1%
Source: RealMoney.com

Sector	Total Votes	Percentage
Aerospace and Defense	11	1%
Airlines	98	7%
Automobiles	67	5%
Beverages and Food Products	8	1%
Biotechnology	23	2%
Commercial Banks	131	9%
Computers and Peripherals	61	4%
Consumer Nondurables	8	1%
Energy Equipment & Services	30	2%
HMOs and Hospitals	13	1%
Homebuilding	296	21%
Insurance	16	1%
Integrated Oil	68	5%
Internet, Software Services	56	4%
Investment Bankers and Brokers	78	6%
Media	24	2%
Multiline Retail	36	3%
Pharmaceuticals	36	3%
Precious Metals	56	4%
Semis, Semi Equipment	168	12%
Telecom Equipment	37	3%
Tobacco and Alcohol	13	1%
Utilities	17	1%
Wireless Communications	27	2%
Source: RealMoney.com