HEXUS.sharewatch: Great week for distributors

After a bit of a wobble last week, all three indices on our list showed positive gains once more last week.

One reason for this prolonged spell of investor optimism is the growing evidence that the bottom of the market may have been reached. Following the massive corrections of the past two quarters, any sign of stability and predictability, let alone growth, is likely to provide uplift to share prices.

Broadline distributor Ingram Micro announced its quarterly results last week and, while revenue and profit were both down on a year ago, they exceeded analyst expectations.

"With the recession now affecting all regions, we do not expect a pick-up in sales for several more months, perhaps for the remainder of the year," said Ingram CEO Greg Spierkel. "However, we don't feel the market getting worse at this stage and expect second-quarter sales to follow a historical seasonal pattern."

Fellow disties Avnet and Tech Data have also shown significant rises. They will have benefitted from the aforementioned relative optimism and evidence of continuing innovation like Avnet's new on-demand video service won't have done them any harm either.