M A R K E T .. S N A P S H O T -- Techs, blue chips ready for more gains
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:29 AM ET Aug 2, 2001
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The Nasdaq is looking to extend its winning streak to three straight sessions Thursday. Blue chips, which fumbled heading into the close Wednesday, are also expected to participate in the partying once trading begins.
Checking the futures markets, the S&P 500 contract ascended 8.80 points, or 0.7 percent, and were trading a solid 10.30 points above fair value, according to numbers provided by HL Camp & Co. Nasdaq futures also fared well, checking in with a gain of 31.50 points, or 1.8 percent.
In hares trading before the opening bell, Lucent Technologies (LU) edged up 5 cents to $6.18 after fumbling almost 9 percent on Wednesday as investors pummeled the stock amid downgrades from rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service. In addition, Lucent upped its offering of convertible debt to $1.75 billion from $1 billion, which represented a further drag on the stock.
In the Treasury sector, prices backpedaled modestly as investors anticipated strength in the equity market.
The 10-year Treasury note erased 2/32 to yield ($TNX) 5.08 percent while the 30-year government bond gave back 1/8 to yield ($TYX) 5.535 percent.
Thursday will see the release of weekly initial claims and June factory orders, seen declining 0.4 percent. and economic calendar and forecasts.
In the currency sector, dollar/yen shaved 0.3 percent to 124.25 while euro/dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 0.8825. The Bank of England unexpectedly shaved short-term rates by 25 basis points to 5 percent Thursday morning. |
