WALL STREET OPENS LOWER
New York, Aug 23, 2000 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Share prices on Wall Street opened
lower Wednesday, as investors reacted to news on the oil front and some earnings
reports.
The American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories were at their
lowest levels in 24 years, sending light crude futures in London to almost 32
dollars per barrel.
In earnings news, financial software developer Intuit said that it lost 8.2
million dollars, or four cents a share, during the last quarter. Analysts had
been expecting a loss of nine cents per share.
Other companies expected to report earnings on Wednesday include retailer
Dillard's, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment and operating software
developer VA Linux, which is expected to close out its fiscal year with a
15-cent-a-share loss.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 28.57
points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,110.58, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite
index was off 22.70 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,935.51.
The S&P 500, which tracks the leading U.S. large-cap companies, was down 3.52
points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,494.61.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 19/32, to 108 5/32, which brought the yield
down to 5.67 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index measures all Nasdaq domestic and non-U.S.-based
common stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock market and is weighted by market
capitalization.
The Nasdaq composite index includes more than 5,000 companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average includes 30 "blue-chip" U.S.-based companies
selected by the editors of The Wall Street Journal and is the oldest U.S. market
index, dating back to 1896.
The DJIA was originally calculated by adding up the stock prices and dividing by
the number of stocks. The same methodology is currently used but the divisor is
adjusted to preserve continuity. EFE |
