MARKET SNAPSHOT
Market may see split screens
Futures markets point to mixed open
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:59 AM ET Jul 19, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - U.S. stocks appear poised for a mixed open Wednesday as another flurry of earnings hits Wall Street, including many bellwethers in the technology arena.
September S&P 500 futures lost 2.50 points but were trading roughly 0.60 point above fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. - pointing to a steady open for the broader market. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, slipped 28.50 points, or 0.7 percent.
The market's reaction to earnings of tech behemoths such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel was mixed in pre-market dealings.
Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs) shed 1/2 to 78 in pre-market activity, according to Madoff Investment Securities in London. See Indications. The software kingpin reported a second-quarter profit of 44 cents a share after the close Tuesday, beating the First Call estimate of 42 cents a share. Microsoft made 40 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. See full story.
And Intel added 1 to 144, Madoff said. The chip behemoth (INTC: news, msgs) registered late Tuesday a second-quarter profit of $1.00 a share, beating the First Call estimate of 98 cents a share. On a post-split basis, net income totaled 50 cents a share compared to 26 cents in the year-ago period.
Treasury focus
In the Treasury market, prices slipped in what may be another session of cautious trading ahead of Fed Chief Alan Greenspan's testimony on monetary policy on Capitol Hill.
In fact, prices barely budged from the unchanged mark on Tuesday as Treasurys reacted to the stronger-than-expected CPI as well as the falling stock prices.
The 10-year Treasury note was off 6/32 to yield 6.17 percent while the 30-year bond trimmed 5/32 to yield 5.925 percent.
In economic news, Wednesday will see the release of the May trade figures, seen revealing a deficit of $30.3 billion. The number rarely generates big moves in the government market and has a greater effect on currency prices. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data.
In the currency arena, dollar/yen edged up 0.1 percent to 108.20 while euro/dollar shed 0.5 percent to 0.9202. See latest currency rates.
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Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
