-- Before the Bell-Coca-Cola slips, futures down --
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. <KO.N> shares
eased 87 cents to $45 in early pre-open trade on Friday, after
the world's largest soft drink maker backed Wall Street's
profit expectation for the coming year.
The company also said it will no longer provide earnings
estimates, saying it distracts from focusing on long-term
initiatives.
On the broader market, stocks are set to fall at the start
of the regular trading session, as indicated by weakness in
equity-index futures. The Standard & Poor's 500 March 2003
contract was down 9.10 points at 891.90 and the Nasdaq 100
contract lost 10.50 points at 1,034.00.
Also active were Intel Corp. <INTC.O> shares, which traded
down to $17.85 from $18.19 at Thursday's Nasdaq close.
J.P. Morgan on Friday said it started coverage of No. 1
chipmaker Intelwith an "underweight" rating, saying the company
is under pressure from slowing growth of PC sales.
((--Brendan Intindola, Wall Street Desk, 646-223-6111))
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nN13212067
XHR/US
Symbols:
US;KO US;INTC CH;KO DE;CCC GB;CCA PE;KO XE;KO CA;INTC XE;INTC
13-Dec-2002 12:55:33 GMT
Source RTRS - Reuters News |
