Stock Market Has Room to Rise, but Investors Have to Be Patient
Interest rates keep falling, and straws in the economic wind hint the recession at least isn't getting any worse and may even be abating. Friday, the government reported that U.S. unemployment last month dipped to 6.6% from 6.8%.</br></br>Still, some investors are getting nervous. Will the recovery begin soon? Will it be strong enough to pull us completely out of the recessionary rut, or so weak that the economy relapses after only a brief revival -- dragging stock prices down, too?</br></br>Relax. Analysts say events are unfolding about as they should. While the stock market may have raced ahead of the economic recovery, good times -- or at least better times -- lie ahead for investors with patience, they reassure.</br></br>Ironically, one sign that the recession is probably beginning to ease is the government's admission two weeks ago that the U.S. economy has been in a downturn since last summer.</br></br>"The government is usually the last to admit that we're in a recession," says A.C. Moore, a portfolio manager at Argus Investment Management in Santa Clara, Calif. "When the government does finally admit it, it's usually a classic buying time for the stock market because we're probably at the bottom and steps are being taken to bring us out."