M A R K E T--S N A P S H O T--C O R R E C T I O N
Shares set for sloppy open
Motorola warns, sends futures markets lower
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:45 AM ET Dec 7, 2000
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - A profit warning from Motorola and a cautious analyst note on Microsoft sent the stock futures markets straight down Thursday, suggesting a sharply negative open for shares.
December S&P 500 futures shaved 8.50 points, or 0.6 percent, and were trading roughly 8.70 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures erased 60 points, or 2.2 percent.
Dow, S&P and Nasadq stock Microsoft (MSFT) fell $3.69 to $53 in Instinet following a cautious note from Goldman Sachs. Analyst Rick Sherlund lowered earnings-per-share estimates for the software giant to $1.88 from $1.91 for fiscal 2001 given the evidence of sluggish retail PC demand.
"Consumer PC sales account for only about 10 percent of Microsoft's total revenues, so with corporate demand likely in line with expectations, our estimate revision is only relatively moderate," Sherlund added. He trimmed the December quarter revenue by $125 million while $200 million was cut from March quarterly revenue and $150 million from June's.
In the government arena, prices took a break after two straight days of significant gains. The 10-year Treasury note lost 1/4 to yield ($TNX) 5.345 percent while the 30-year government bond erased 11/32 to yield ($TYX) 5.54 percent.
On the economic front, Thursday will see the release of weekly jobless claims and October consumer credit, seen coming in at $8 billion. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data.
Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York. |
