The market was particularly strange today. It started off with a bang, and before long was up around 100 points or so. Of course, a lot of this was due to Dupont's being up considerably due to their plan to sell some 20% of their oil subsidiary. Still, 100 is 100 no matter how you get there. Anyway, when upside momentum slowed down, selling set in, and all the major market averages were down except the Dow Industrials which closed up 36 after being up 100 as noted before.

You can expect these markets until the May 19 Fed meeting. Up one day, down the next, as investors fret over the Fed. These choppy markets are a pain, but they can present some interesting buys, if you have money and nerve. There are two stocks that I think offer interesting possibilities, both of which I own.

The first is Pfizer (PFE) which we wrote about a few weeks ago. The P.E. is high, and investors worry about that a lot, and I can't blame them. Still, they have a great new drug pipeline. And then there is Viagra, which is fast replacing Fido as man's (and woman's) best friend. The first four weeks' new prescriptions have set records. Week one ending 4/10/98 was 36,263, week two 113,134, week three 207,868, and week four ending 5/1/98 was 269,842! In Israel, where Viagra is still not approved, it is selling on the black market for around $30 a piece including delivery, proving the natives have more on their mind than corned beef. Bob Dole, who was a Viagra clinical trial participant said it worked great. Even Elizabeth Dole said it worked great. Anyway, watch this one, and if you have you can stand wide price swings, you might buy a little. The stock closed today at 110 7/8 down 1/4, trading as high as 113 3/4 near the opening, and as low as 110 near the close. If the market has a steep sell-off, it could go to 70, but if the market took off, it could go to 200. I'll probably tell you about the second stock on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

The Market Pro - May 11, 1998