Futures Head Up with Cohen Comments
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures headed higher in pre-opening trading on Wednesday and leading technology shares firmed after the top Goldman Sachs strategist recommended buying stocks.
March futures for the technology-laden Nasdaq 100 index rose out of negative ground and were up 24.50 at 2,010.59. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index were up 4.60 points at 1,261.70.
The surge came after Goldman Sachs chief investment strategist Abby Joseph Cohen told clients to use their cash to buy stocks. She reversed the call she made in March 2000.
``Many of the imbalances identified during the past year have now been largely redressed,'' said Cohen, one of Wall Street's most respected strategists. ``Risk tolerance has been replaced by risk aversion.''
Technology shares reversed course and headed higher despite warnings from two leading high-tech companies.
JDS Uniphase Corp. (Toronto:JDU.TO - news) (NasdaqNM:JDSU - news) rose to $29-3/16 from a $28 close. After markets closed on Tuesday, the fiber optic telecoms parts maker lowered its forecasts for third- and fourth-quarter performance again, blaming a weakening U.S. economy and waning customer demand.
Broadcom Corp. (NasdaqNM:BRCM - news) was down at $43-3/4 from a $47-7/8 close after the communications chip maker cut its outlook for first-quarter profits and revenues. It said it had been hit by a slowdown in customer orders because of the sluggish economy.
Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - news), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - news), rose to $32-1/4 from a $31-1/2 close. The semiconductor maker's chairman said on Tuesday that he did not expect demand for chips to rebound quickly.
Software maker Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news), also part of the Dow index, was up at $60-1/4 from a $59-7/16.
WorldCom Inc. (NasdaqNM:WCOM - news), the No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company, rose to $17-15/16 from a $16-11/16 close. The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column said Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers has expressed interest in selling the company.
just another analyst with "hope" |
