selling climax

"We have not yet had a selling climax, a time when everybody who wanted to sell can't stand it any more and then sells."

The lack of a selling climax disturbs some analysts.

Selling climax refers to the slumping of stock or bond prices because investors panic all at once.

'I see a selling climax building up,' said Baring Securities' Nick Cant.

The mood changed from complacency in late September to outright fear, culminating in last week's selling climax when more than 600 million shares were traded on both Monday and Tuesday.

"Wednesday and Thursday had all the markings of a classic selling climax, and now with Treasury yields around 10 1/4 percent, I expect a period of lateral moves in bond prices," said Roger Froehlich, president of Technical Dimensions, an analysis firm in Mount Kisco, N.Y.