WALL ST. WEEK AHEAD-Investors await Super Tuesday
Reuters, Sunday, January 18, 1998 at 18:01
By Huw Jones
NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street investors face a shortened trading week that will be heavy on earnings and light on economic data, with Asia's financial woes still the market's wild card.
The earnings reporting season will move into top gear. "We have a ton of companies reporting on Tuesday, which is normally referred to as Super Tuesday because all the major banks report that day," said Chuck Hill, director of research at First Call, an earnings tracking company.
"Now, with the holiday, it is going to be huge because there will also be companies that would have reported Monday," Hill said.
The New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq, and the American Stock Exchange will be closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday for the first time.
U.S. corporate profits in the final quarter of 1997 have been generally solid so far, but the market is more concerned about the impact of Asian financial turmoil on the bottom line this year.
"People will be on the lookout for earnings warnings. A lot of analysts are waiting to see if the management are warning us whether there will be problems in the first and second quarters of this year," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at CIBC Oppenheimer & Co.
On Tuesday, bellwether blue chip International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) will report fourth quarter earnings. Wall Street expects Big Blue to earn $2.15 per share.
J.P. Morgan & Co (NYSE:JPM) will also report fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, with $1.57 per share forecast.
On Wednesday, McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD) will announce its earnings for the fourth quarter. The forecast is $0.60 per share.
Software giant Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) will report fourth quarter earnings the same day, with expectations of $0.82 per share.
"The easy money in the market was really made in 1996 and 1997. Things are going to be a bit more difficult now, and it will require stock-picking to succeed," said Alan Ackerman, market strategist at Fahnestock & Co.
Last Friday, equities rallied amid relief that Japan's Nikkei stock index surged six percent on hopes that the government will introduce more measures to stimulate its economy.
Investors were also calmed by Indonesia agreeing to bail-out terms with the International Monetary Fund.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained 61.78 points to close Friday's session at 7753.55. The index of 30 blue-chip stocks was up 173 points for the week.
The week's economic data will include the November <lost a few words> balance on Wednesday, and December housing starts on Thursday.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service
Companies or Securities discussed in this article:
Symbol
Name
NYSE:IBM
Intl Business Machines Corp
NYSE:JPM
J |
