Bulls Get By in Poll

The bulls recaptured sentiment in TheStreet.com RealMoney Barometer survey this week, although not by much, considering how the stock market boomed last week.

The bulls took 37% of the vote, while the bears got 30%. Neutral sentiment was high at 33%. In the sectors, integrated oil was seen as most likely to rise, as crude oil prices continued their move north of $60 a barrel.

Homebuilding once more was seen as most likely to fall, and more bad data come out on housing sales, with the subrpime meltdown providing a backdrop. Energy equipment and services was the second-most bullish sector, and airlines were the second-most bearish.

Stocks were trading lower on Monday. Contributing to the pullback was a report from the Census Bureau that sales of new dwellings fell 3.9% to 848,000 annualized units in February, from a revised 882,000 in January. Economists had expected sales to rise to 985,000. ...