MARKET SNAPSHOT
Tech muscle-flexing in store
Cisco earnings to bolster Nasdaq
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:43 AM ET Aug 9, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - A climb in shares of Cisco Systems following the networking giant's earnings report is set to give the tech sector a nice boost Wednesday.
September S&P 500 futures added 6.10 points, or 0.4 percent, and were trading roughly 6.40 points above fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, put on 67.00 points, or 1.8 percent.
In Instinet pre-market dealings, Cisco Systems (CSCO: news, msgs) put on 2 7/8 to 68 3/8. See Indications. After the close Tuesday, Cisco posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, beating the First Call estimate by 1 cent. Read the full story.
In earnings news, Wal-Mart checked in with a second-quarter profit of 36 cents a share, matching the First Call estimate. The Dow-component made 28 cents a share in the year-ago period. Totals sales checked in at $46.1 billion - a 20-percent increase over the same quarter last year. The stock ended up 2 1/2 to 57 5/8 on Tuesday amid a broad rally in the retail sector.
A number of other retailers unleashed their results Wednesday.
Federated Dept. Stores (FD: news, msgs) posted second-quarter earnings of 30 cents a share, beating the First Call estimate of 26 cents a shares but short of the 61 cents a share earned in the same quarter last year. Shares ended off 5/8 to 25 3/8.
Late Tuesday, meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: news, msgs) checked in with a second-quarter profit of 21 cents a share, which was 2 cents above the First Call estimate. The company earned 17 cents in the year-ago period.
And Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. posted a first-quarter profit of 25 cents a share, surpassing the First Call estimate by a penny. The company made 14 cents in the year-ago period. The stock (RL: news, msgs) closed up 9.5 percent to 18 13/16 on Tuesday.
In the fixed-income market, prices were close to flat levels as participants awaited the afternoon sale of $10.0 billion in 10-year notes. Tuesday's sale of $10.0 billion in 5-year notes was met with healthy demand, underpinning the market along with the positive productivity figures.
The 10-year Treasury note lost 1/8 to yield 5.94 and the 30-year bond edged up 3/32 to yield 5.75 percent. See Bond Report.
No economic data is set for release on Wednesday, with the week's remaining big news -- the July retail sales report and the producer price index -- due out on Friday. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data.
In the currency market, the greenback weakened against the yen for a second straight session. Markets are bracing for a rate hike from the Bank of Japan on Friday when it meets to decide the fate of short-term interest rates.
But the battle between the BOJ and the government, which is at odds with the BOJ on when to end the zero-rate interest policy in place since Feb. 1999, continues. The BOJ believes recent positive economic data suggests it's time to end the zero-rate policy while government officials are of the view that a tightening would be premature. See related story.
In recent trading, dollar/yen shed 0.6 percent to 107.88 while euro/dollar fell 0.6 percent to 0.8969. See latest currency rates.
Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
