Bulls Take Poll Despite Disastrous Last Week

Damn the selloff, it's full speed ahead for the bulls in TheStreet.com RealMoney Barometer poll. And Monday's wild rebound rally showed that outlook was prescient.

On Monday, perhaps buoyed by a concerted effort by foreign governments over the weekend to shore up their wounded banks, investors sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring a record 936 points -- its biggest one-day point gain ever. That level came just 11 trading days after the index registered its largest single-day drop -- 777 points -- on Sept. 29.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also enjoyed banner days, with the S&P's gain of 104 points sending it back over 1000. The Nasdaq rose 195 points.

As for the poll, despite coming off one of the worst weeks ever for the stock market, the bulls took 629, or 45% of the 1,384 votes, while the bears got 441 votes, or 32%. Neutral was the sentiment of 314, or 23%.

In the sectors, automobiles was seen as most likely to decline, with commercial banks seen as most likely rising. That sentiment seems logical in that the carmakers' revenue is restricted by the tight credit market, which curtails prospective car buyers' ability to finance vehicles.

Commercial banks, such as Bank of America(BAC), have reaped the windfall of investment banks' demise.

The three major indices were filleted last week as investors fretted that liquidity injections by the government weren't reviving credit markets. The Dow and the S&P 500 each dropped 18%, and the Nasdaq fell 15%.

Below are the complete poll results.

Date	Bullish	Bearish	Neutral	Week Ending S&P % Change	Bullish Sector	Bearish Sector
Oct. 13	629 (45%)	441 (32%)	314 (23%)		Commercial Banks	Automobiles
Oct. 6	1,145 (34%)	1,559 (47%)	646 (19%)	-18%	Commercial Banks	Automobiles
Sept. 29	32 (39%)	35 (43%)	14 (17%)	-9.4%	Commercial Banks	Integrated Oil
Sept. 22	271 (39%)	260 (38%)	158 (23%)	-3.3%	Commercial Banks	Investment Bankers and Brokers
Sept. 16	261 (34%)	382 (50%)	117 (15%)	+0.1%	Precious Metals	Investment Bankers and Brokers

Sector	Total Votes	Percentage
Aerospace and Defense	18	1%
Airlines	34	3%
Automobiles	182	13%
Beverages and Food Products	11	1%
Biotechnology	4	0%
Commercial Banks	153	11%
Computers and Peripherals	29	2%
Consumer Nondurables	28	2%
Energy Equipment & Services	79	6%
HMOs and Hospitals	11	1%
Homebuilding	84	6%
Insurance	80	6%
Integrated Oil	153	11%
Internet, Software Services	16	1%
Investment Bankers and Brokers	149	11%
Media	26	2%
Multiline Retail	61	4%
Pharmaceuticals	11	1%
Precious Metals	148	11%
Semis, Semi Equipment	12	1%
Telecom Equipment	13	1%
Tobacco and Alcohol	15	1%
Utilities	34	2%
Wireless Communications	14	1%
NULL	1	0%
Total	1366	100.00%
Source: RealMoney.com

Sector	Total Votes	Percentage
Aerospace and Defense	16	%
Airlines	36	3%
Automobiles	19	1%
Beverages and Food Products	112	8%
Biotechnology	49	4%
Commercial Banks	286	21%
Computers and Peripherals	40	3%
Consumer Nondurables	64	5%
Energy Equipment & Services	85	6%
HMOs and Hospitals	16	1%
Homebuilding	11	1%
Insurance	20	1%
Integrated Oil	50	4%
Internet, Software Services	24	2%
Investment Bankers and Brokers	100	7%
Media	8	1%
Multiline Retail	7	1%
Pharmaceuticals	89	6%
Precious Metals	150	11%
Semis, Semi Equipment	15	1%
Telecom Equipment	11	1%
Tobacco and Alcohol	72	5%
Utilities	82	6%
Wireless Communications	12	1%
NULL	1	0%
Total	1375	100%
Source: RealMoney.com

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints