Scaling 'Wall of Worry' May Get Tougher Soon: January News Could Well Scare Off Investors
If the stock market likes to "climb a wall of worry,'' investors are going to love January. But they'd better pet out their grappling hooks. The wall could be mighty high.</br></br>Stock prices are higher this year. The Dow Jones industrial average is up around 11 percent; broader indexes slightly more. But despite some sharp up or down sessions, stock prices have done virtually nothing since the beginning of 1991.</br></br>What started out as such a promising year for investors has turned mediocre. But mediocre is still better than badÛÓwhich is precisely the sort of year (hat the stock market deserved, given the poor performance by the nation's economy.</br></br>With the year coming to an end, professional money managers are trying to retain those mediocre profits, In the last few trading days, all that the pros are hoping for is to avoid a ÛÏround tripperÛÛÓending back where they started last January.</br></br>The pros are fairly certain that the overall stock market won't disappoint them in December. Without any unforeseen fundamental developments of major proportions, the month has historically been a good one for stocks. And unless too many of the big-money investors panic at one time and small investors suddenly come to their senses and get out of the market, this month should be no different.