The market wasn't sure which direction to take Wednesday following relaxed government restrictions on mortgage buyers Fannie Mae (FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks) and Freddie Mac (FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks) and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Dow and the S&P 500 both rose by less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq edged 0.4% higher.
On
CNBC's "Fast Money," Tim Seymour pointed to asset inflation, and rising prices in commodities and emerging markets. He noted that consumer durables had performed terribly and that the producer price index was discouraging, but the market doesn't seem to mind.
Jeff Macke advocated benign neglect of a falling dollar because it is advantageous to be the only country with deflating currency. On rising commodity prices, Najarian noted rising wheat futures and a sharp increase in copper. He reminded viewers of
Freeport McMoRan (FCX Quote - Cramer on FCX - Stock Picks) as a copper play.
Tim Seymour discussed plays on oil. He included
Petrobras (PBR Quote - Cramer on PBR - Stock Picks) and
Petrochina (PTR Quote - Cramer on PTR - Stock Picks). Seymour mentioned speculation that OPEC would cut production at an upcoming meeting.
Chart of the Day
"Fast Money" featured the
iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ Quote - Cramer on EWZ - Stock Picks), due to its 20% one-month run to the upside. Seymour noted that with a budget surplus, Brazil is now a net creditor to the world. He expected a pullback in the short term but advocated buying for the long term.
Sotheby's (BID Quote - Cramer on BID - Stock Picks) posted profits ahead of expectations today. Finerman called the company's revenue numbers "really good." Macke cautioned that the stock would be hampered by recession fears. He recommended going elsewhere.
Biogen Idec (BIIB Quote - Cramer on BIIB - Stock Picks) sold off on news that one of its Tysabri drug may cause toxicity in the liver. Najarian said the stock was oversold on the news.
In advance of
Sears' (SHLD Quote - Cramer on SHLD - Stock Picks) earnings tomorrow, Macke said the conference call would be "90 minutes of fury." He called Sears the worst of the big box retailers. He nevertheless recommended buying the bad news for a trade.
Another company reporting tomorrow,
Dell (DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks), is rumored to be due for an earnings beat.
The crew welcomed Jim Goldman to the show to discuss the news. Goldman said pessimistic estimates may engender a beat. Najarian added that
IBM (IBM Quote - Cramer on IBM - Stock Picks),
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote - Cramer on HPQ - Stock Picks) and Dell are all great names, and Dell is the cheapest.
Macke refuted the notion that Dell is completely out of the woods, saying that its new high-end "PC version of an iMac" won't survive in a tough economy. He suggested Hewlett-Packard as an alternative.
After oil hit $102 a barrel today, speculation that the metal was due for a breakout sent the Street atwitter. To explain the situation, Joe Terranova, director of Trading at MBF Clearing, joined the traders. He said that the chart looked poised for a technical breakout and that there is a lot of speculative buying interest.
Macke reiterated his view that investors are overthinking oil. With the dollar at all-time lows and international strife buoying costs, he recommended buying the
U.S. Oil Fund (USO Quote - Cramer on USO - Stock Picks) ETF.
Najarian suggested
XTO Energy (XTO Quote - Cramer on XTO - Stock Picks) and
Conoco Phillips (COP Quote - Cramer on COP - Stock Picks) as plays on rising oil. Seymour said to get into offshore drillers and explorers such as
Transocean (RIG Quote - Cramer on RIG - Stock Picks).
The "Fast Money" team took a moment to commemorate the first anniversary of the Shanghai Swoon, a huge drop in U.S. markets that coincided with tumultuous stock activity in China. Najarian said China stocks had pulled back, and he predicted a move higher. Macke argued that China is a levered play to the U.S. He recommended getting long.
Finerman suggested
Flowserve (FLS Quote - Cramer on FLS - Stock Picks) as a play on China, thanks to a new deal with
Sinopec (SHI Quote - Cramer on SHI - Stock Picks).
Seymour also counseled viewers to look at several Taiwan stocks, including the
iShares MSCI Taiwan (EWT Quote - Cramer on EWT - Stock Picks) ETF,
United Microelectronics (UMC Quote - Cramer on UMC - Stock Picks) and
Chungwa Telecom (CHT Quote - Cramer on CHT - Stock Picks).
Stockpickr Staff
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