Investors: Afraid to Stay In and Afraid to Be Left Behind

While no one knows exactly what propelled the Dow from a 316 point drop to close up 552 points Thursday, one idea makes some sense.

Although some pundits said it was Bush's speech that turned the market around, I have my doubts.

A more likely reason, cited by several key market observers, is a sense that the bottom must be close and now is the time to get some of that cash sitting on the sidelines back in the game.

It is known that hundreds of billions of dollars have exited the market and are sitting in bonds or cash instruments.

Most of the investors who are sitting on the cash know that when the market does turn, the largest gains are usually early in the recovery.

Timing the market is a gamble under the best of circumstances, however in these tough times it is particularly risky.

It is unlikely investors will hear any good news soon, especially above the roar of doom.

But they face competing fears: Fear that the market has a long ways to go down before hitting bottom and fear that it will find the bottom and they will miss the big gains that may follow.

Which fear is strongest will guide the market in the coming days.