I haven't been in the stock market for long enough to have a...

I haven't been in the stock market for long enough to have a thorough understanding of market psychology during bull/bear markets but Optimus8 got me wondering-

Does overall market sentiment affect speculative stocks such as Alchemy?

For me i consider speccies as defensive stocks during times when I'm feeling particularly bearish in terms of the overall international/domestic economy as i feel their movements come from intrinsic factors separate from the doom and gloom factors which drive top 500 stocks lower....

I for one feel ALY may benefit from a falling market as punters/investors look to put money into things which remain external to overall bearish factors.
Likewise during a rapidly rising market less money may be directed to these types of stocks as investors are more likely to be picking up mainstream buy and hold stocks.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

(Sorry if this seems not directly relevant to Alchemy so I'm quite happy for this to be overlooked if necessary)

Washington