06:36 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1173.10, 18.9 points below fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1713.50, 41.5 points below fair value. The 30-year bond is up 16 ticks at 5.423%. The front end has resumed its outperformance however with the bullish curve steepening bias. Gains in fixed-income have come on the back of another round of equity concerns. Euro weakness and dampened rate cut expectations in Europe may be encouraging the better flight to quality buying in dollar-denominated fixed-income.
06:34 ET European Markets : FTSE -1.60%, DAX -1.65% -- European stocks under pressure this morning with most bourses off more than 1%. Market hit by another round of earnings concerns as well as an ever-dampening speculation surrounding the prospects for an ECB rate cut tomorrow. Phone-equipment stocks such as Ericsson, Alcatel and Marconi hit hard on the back of Nortel Networks’ second warning of the year. The company said it expects a per-share loss of $0.10 to $0.12, compared with last month’s forecast of just a $0.04 per share loss. Not to be outdone, the late-day warning from Palm has also had an impact, dragging Psion, Europe’s biggest maker of hand-held computers, down about 10%. While Palm met expectations for Q3, it warned that it expects a $0.08 loss per share in fiscal Q4 Also of interest, we would note that San Paolo-IMI, Italy’s second-biggest bank, has slipped on concerns that commissions will decrease in Q1 of 2001on the back of slumping equity prices.
06:33 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +0.93%, Hang Seng +1.13% -- Asian stocks mixed last night, though the Nikkei did gain almost a full percent with talk of asset allocation trades out of fixed-income. Firmer tone in the yen continued to weigh on exporters, with Honda still on the defensive amid concerns about European demand. More talk of public fund buying, along with positive sentiment surrounding soon-to-be announced emergency economic measures also proved supportive. Hong Kong higher with short covering boosting blue chips such as China Mobile and HSBC. Korea and Taiwan weaker. Korean market internals absolutely horrific with decliners outnumbering advancers by a more than 3 to 1 ratio. Liquidity concerns at Hyundai Engineering and Construction the main driver of the sell-off. Taiwan hit by technical resistance just below 6000, while better profit-taking was also reported.
06:22 ET Viacom (VIA) 46.25 |
