Looking on the Bright Side: Coming Week

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The market keeps charging upward as investors price in the unofficial end of the recession, but fund managers are sounding alarm bells about a near-term correction.

Economic data continue to be mixed, but the market has been accentuating the positive while ignoring the negative. For instance, on Friday, stocks jumped after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good," although he also warned that "difficult challenges still lie ahead."

The jobs report on Friday was more decidedly negative, but those data have become flexible to emphasize the bright side. The unemployment rate rose in more than half the U.S. states, according to the Labor Department. But news stories focused on the fact that 17 states and Washington, D.C., reported a drop in joblessness last month, more than triple the previous month.

"The markets don't really make a whole lot of sense for the economic data that we see today," says Dean Barber, founder and president of Barber Financial Group. "If you see housing starts go up from a multiyear low, that doesn't really mean things are great."

To be sure, it's uplifting to see that things have stopped getting worse, and hear the Fed chairman say that better days are near. The existing home sales report that Barber references from Friday showed the biggest improvement in sales since the National Association of Realtors started keeping track, and it's the third straight month of improvement.

A report on new home sales set for Wednesday, along with the weekly jobless claims report on Thursday are sure to have "the strongest impact on market jitteriness," asserts Michael Bulley, senior vice president of investment advisory firm Steben & Co.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting