<font color=blue>MARKET SNAPSHOT--Some strength in broad market
Futures navigating close to flatline
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:21 AM ET Aug 31, 2000 NewsWatch
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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Signs of buying interest are emerging in the broad market Thursday after Wednesday's struggle. Technology issues have reaped the brunt of the buying interest in the marketplace over the past couple of sessions thanks to heated sponsorship in the Internet arena.
September S&P 500 futures rose 1.40 points, or 0.1 percent, and were trading roughly 1.70 points above fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, dipped 3.50 points, or 0.1 percent.
In shares trading before the opening bell, AT&T (T: news, msgs) added 50 cents to $32, according to Madoff Investment Securities in London. See Indications. Ma Bell's Chairman and CEO Michael Armstrong, troubled by a slumping stock price, is seriously considering a dramatic restructuring that could include selling off AT&T's residential long-distance business, sources close to the company told the Washington Post. AT&T may also consider issuing a tracking stock instead, the paper added.
Over in the bond arena, fixed-income securities hugged the flatline out of the gate, with the 10-year Treasury note off 3/32 to yield ($TNX: news, msgs) 5.81 percent and the 30-year bond up 2/32 to yield ($TYX: news, msgs) 5.74 percent.
Thursday's economic news includes the release of weekly initial claims and July factory orders, expected to have fallen by 6.8 percent. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data.
In the foreign exchange arena, dollar/yen (C_JPY: news, msgs) traded off 0.1 percent at 106.46 while euro/dollar (C_EUR: news, msgs) inched down 0.1 percent to 0.8939. The European Central Bank nudged up short-term rates by 25 basis points Thursday, producing, however, no reaction in the currency markets.
The ECB indicated that the liquidity sloshing around in the markets represents a risk to price stability and that the prospects for economic growth remain favorable. The fledgling European currency remains at its lowest levels since mid-May.
Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
