t's called "playing the bounce," a stock trading strategy that sounds like light entertainment, but isn't.

This time of year, traders try to take advantage of the tendency by fund managers to dump some of their ugliest stocks. The fund managers cleanse stock portfolios before the end of the year so that unsightly stocks - such as home builders and mortgage companies this year - don't show up in year-end reports and scare off investors.

Also, by selling losers in October, mutual funds reduce the taxes that clients must pay, offsetting the capital gains that winning stocks would otherwise leave at tax time.......................

Full story: courant.com