Sonki, Ibexx, and all,
We may have a bad day!
UK shares seen opening lower amid fresh Asia woes
Reuters Story - January 22, 1998 02:42
LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 index was seen
opening as much as 40 points lower on Thursday, after further
Asian market falls and as Microsoft warned that the
region's economic woes will hurt this year's results.
"Everyone has been far too quick to say the Asia situation
has been solved," said one senior equity salesman. "The storm
clouds are gathering again...I think there are more (earnings)
downgrades to come."
A decline on Wall Street was also seen weighing on UK
shares, while the S&P 500 March future was trading 9.4 points
lower -- suggesting a sharply lower opening in New York today.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was down 3.8 percent, while
other Asian markets were once again under pressure as the
plunging Indonesian rupiah upset the region.
Microsoft reported fourth quarter earnings of 85 cents a
share, at the top end of analyst expectations, but warned that
economic weakness in Asia would hurt results in the year ahead.
Its shares -- responding to results released after the market
close -- fell $1 in after-hours trading.
The Dow ended down 78.72 points or one percent, after being
down some 60 points as London closed on Wednesday in the wake of
lower-than-expected earnings from IBM. |
