Sometimes it's hard to say something new and clever, when our comments of the recent past have been on target.

In our article of June 14, we stated "This market has been more of the same." As we noted in our article of May 24, 1999, historically, the market is down in the Spring, reaching a seasonal bottom around June 25. At least at that time, investors start to anticipate positive earnings reports starting around July 10. Hopefully, there will be few negative pre-announcements to unsettle investors. In the meantime the old favorites will have a tough time. They are great stocks, but this isn't their time for now. Resist the temptation to buy in too soon, as you probably will get better buying opportunities in the weeks ahead." If you followed that advice, you are no doubt better off for it.

It's hard for the market to advance, with most everyone obsessed with not only what the Fed will do on June 30, but also what words go with any action, as a harbinger of ominous rate hikes to come. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I wouldn't be surprised to see the market go lower through the 29th, with the 30th either bringing a relief rally if the Fed raises rates only 1/4 point and hints that there won't be any more increases for a while, or the market drops further at a point rise and an indication of further rate hikes to follow.

The only prudent approach is to reduce your market exposure by taking some money off the table, regardless of whether it comes from taking profits or losses. Repeating again what we stated on June 14: "Although I still think that the market will be higher than now at year-end, we will have some choppy times between now and then. As before, remember that the ball game for the old favorites is temporarily over, so don't jump at the early bargain prices. Patience should be rewarded, and that means keep accumulating a little cash."

We're not totally thrilled at quoting ourselves, but if we have to, we must forsake modesty for accuracy. After all, they don't call us the Market Pro for nothing. Stay tuned.

The Market Pro - June 24, 1999