The Sunny Side of Wall Street

The optimists carried the day Tuesday as a frenzy of bargain-hunting erased most of Monday's carnage.

By Frank Pellegrini Tuesday, Sept. 01, 1998
    • NEW YORK: The bargain hunters were out in force Tuesday, pushing the Dow's blue chips up almost 288.36 points at the closing bell -- erasing a good-sized chunk of Monday's carnage . NASDAQ followed suit, gaining 75.89. points. But TIME business reporter Bernard Baumohl says that the morning's wild volatility hints that even if the bears were napping during that late-afternoon surge, they're not in hibernation yet.

    "There's clearly a tug-of-war going on," he says. "One one side, there are the investors who believe that although we've had a serious correction, the bull market isn't over because the U.S. economic fundamentals are still strong. On the other, those who look at the rest of the world -- and at our own weakened president -- think that the markets' good days are behind us." For now, the optimists are winning, but Baumohl says this is a fragile prosperity -- "with one piece of bad news, it could very quickly back down" -- so on Wednesday, keep your eye on the ticker and your fingers crossed.