|
Acampora aims high
|
 |
March 24, 1998: 1:44 p.m. ET
Prudential analyst sees the Dow hitting "at least" 10,000 by year end
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Ralph Acampora, Prudential Securities' chief technical analyst, and one of Wall Street's most bullish bulls, expects the Dow industrials to top 10,000 by the end of the year.
"I raised my forecast to at least 10,000. And the reason is -- the market is so powerful internally… It's very impressive. My advice is -- get in!," Acampora told CNNfn.
This is not the first time Acampora has put the words Dow and 10,000 in the same sentence. Last year Acampora predicted the Dow would top 10,000 in 1998 but he revised that toward the end of the year because of the Asian crisis, telling investors the blue chip index may not reach his target until 1999.
Under a worse case scenario, Acampora warned the Dow could drop as low as 6,000 by the middle of 1998.
However, like many on Wall Street, Acampora has been struck by the market's performance so far this year. After a slow start in January, the Dow has climbed more than 12 percent on the year and just last week hit five records in a row, ignoring continuing weakness in Asia, as well as a series of earnings warnings from high-profile companies.
"(Poor earnings) will impact the individual company, not the rest of the market. It is so strong, everything is strong - cyclicals, small caps," Acampora said.
On Tuesday, the Dow index gained 85 points by early afternoon to 8,901.
Acampora expects the impact of the Asian crisis on U.S. markets to be much smaller than had been anticipated, and sees any market correction as a temporary setback and a good opportunity to buy.
"Everybody's nervous (about a correction), but this is going to last a while. We'll go a lot higher between now and the end of the year," Acampora said.
Asked what's the highest level the Dow could hit by year-end, Acampora said 11,000, but was quick to add that 10,500 is a more likely level, leaving the 11,000 for sometime in 1999.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
