"The focus turned to BP and investors started to sell off energy stocks," said Kenny Landgraf, principal and founder of Kenjol Capital Management.
"There's a lot of meandering and indecision among investors," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. "We'll continue to see gyrations in the market until investors find a level they're comfortable with, given the recent volatility," Hogan said.
There are all kinds of scary stories on BP, said John Carey, Boston-based money-manager at Pioneer Investment Management, which oversees more than $230 billion. Theres concern that the whole situation might end up in additional regulation and higher costs for the energy industry.
The global recovery is on track, said John Praveen, the Newark, New Jersey-based chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC, which oversees $693 billion. Bernanke has reassured the market that the Fed will do whatever it takes to keep the U.S. economy going. In addition to that, we had a positive report on Chinese exports easing concern about a slowdown.
THE share market has opened higher, with gains in the financial and materials sectors helping lift the market into positive territory despite a weak finish on Wall Street.
Bell Financial Group senior adviser CHRIS KIMBER said market players had been encouraged by a positive assessment of the US economy by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
"I think that allayed a few fears in the market," Mr Kimber said. "I think people are now looking for what's going to happen next. We have probably had enough bad news."
Mr Kimber said the market focus was on the prospect of a compromise being reached between the government and mining industry on the proposed resources rent tax.
I think that's the area that has been oversold, Mr Kimber said, adding that the share price of BHP was currently about $16 below our target.
Mr Kimber said he expected a positive finish to todays session, with the market trading in quiet conditions ahead of the long weekend in most Australian states.
"It is one of the day when we are following fundamentals of rising commodity prices rather than the Wall Street," said Juliette Saly, market analyst at Commonwealth Securities.
