Good Morning Margaret,
I hope that you will have a nice day but I do not think the market will
Friday October 17 8:32 AM EDT
Wall Street to open lower, awaits data, eyes techs
By Huw Jones
NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Friday with some follow-through on the downside likely after yesterday's sharp selloff, analysts said.
Housing starts in September are due at 0830 EDT/1230 GMT, followed by industrial production and capacity utilization for September at 0915 EDT/1315 GMT.
The market will also be eyeing technology stocks, which have been sold for much of the week due to disappointing earnings. Sun Microsystems (SUNW) is the latest casualty, said analyst Hildegard Zagorski of Prudential Securities.
''That's probably going to weigh on the tech stocks again, and if tech stocks get battered then that pulls down the rest of the market,'' Zagorski said.
The Dow tumbled below 8000 on Thursday after a batch of disappointing earnings, and new jitters over trade tensions with Japan. The Dow closed off 119.10 points at 7,938.88.
''We are approaching levels that could mean technical short-term trouble for the market,'' said Peter Cardillo, director of research at Westfalia Investments.
''The economic data will direct the opening, but we are headed for a lower opening and some profit-taking,'' he added.
NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Friday with some follow-through on the downside likely after yesterday's sharp selloff, analysts said.
Housing starts in September are due at 0830 EDT/1230 GMT, followed by industrial production and capacity utilization for September at 0915 EDT/1315 GMT.
The market will also be eyeing technology stocks, which have been sold for much of the week due to disappointing earnings. Sun Microsystems (SUNW) is the latest casualty, said analyst Hildegard Zagorski of Prudential Securities.
''That's probably going to weigh on the tech stocks again, and if tech stocks get battered then that pulls down the rest of the market,'' Zagorski said.
The Dow tumbled below 8000 on Thursday after a batch of disappointing earnings, and new jitters over trade tensions with Japan. The Dow closed off 119.10 points at 7,938.88.
''We are approaching levels that could mean technical short-term trouble for the market,'' said Peter Cardillo, director of research at Westfalia Investments.
''The economic data will direct the opening, but we are headed for a lower opening and some profit-taking,'' he added.
POSSIBLE LOST DATA
S&P stock futures were off 1.60 points at 958.20.
Nasdaq stock futures, however, were even lower, off 5.25 points at 1102.00.
Stocks were also rattled yesterday after the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted to order Japanese ships to be denied entry at American ports because shippers did not pay fines.
''I am not really sure how serious this Japanese trade dispute is,'' said Zagorski.
Cardillo said there were also some jitters due to the 10th anniversary of the Dow's 1987 crash.
In Tokyo, the dollar gained nearly a yen as hopes faded for a strong economic package to stimulate the Japanese economy. The dollar was trading at 120.45/50.
In Europe, the dollar/mark was testing session highs above 1.76. The greenback was traded at 1.7604/14.
In London, the FTSE 100 index was off 12.6 points or 0.24 percent at 5275.3.
In Japan, the 225-share Nikkei average closed off 229.07 points or 2.29 percent to end at 17,478.42.
The Wall Street Journal, in its Heard on the Street column, said analysts on Wall Street have given the thumbs down to GTE Corp's (GTE) bid for MCI Communications Corp (MCIC). GTE's earnings would be diluted, they said, and doubted if GTE's forecast savings would be achieved.
The New York Times, in its Market Place column, looks at McGraw-Hill Companies' (MHP) move to buy the Micropal Group, a British mutual fund research company that has been expanding in the United States.
Have a nice day
Frank |
