The stock market continued its sideways dance in August, Wells Capital Management reported. Lingering investor wariness and the flow of capital into other areas that investors deem more favorable continue to slow growth, Jenson said Thursday. But Jenson and Wells Capital remain optimistic that the market could still manage 10 percent growth by year's end, though they acknowledge it could be a stretch.

"We continue to be optimistic about the market," he said. "There are strong underpinnings there, with a growing economy, growing corporate earnings. There's a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines — $5 trillion by some estimates — that could come into the marketplace. Corporate cash coffers are at their highest levels ever. We're starting to see merger and acquisition activity. All of these things bode well for the stock market."

For the market, and the economy as a whole, Jenson said Wells sees the glass half-full.

"There will be some negative numbers coming out over the next month or two, but we are still optimistic that the economic recovery and growth will continue through next year, that we'll actually receive some stimulation in 2006 and see GDP (gross domest product) growth in excess of 3 percent, up to 4 percent, over the course of the next year."

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Contributing: Associated Press

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