JEAN
PART I
First I break down MARKET VIEW. This takes about five minutes and here is what it looks like.
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The TSE 300 fell for a third-straight session, hurt by bank shares and oil issues
Canadian stocks fell as the declining C$ hurt bank shares. Gains in manufacturers like Northern Telecom
Ltd. helped temper the decline.
The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index fell 29.63 points, or 0.4%, to 7677.86.
About 91.8 million shares changed hands on the TSE, down from 115.1 million shares traded on
Wednesday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (cm/tse) lost 70› to $50.15, Toronto Dominion Bank (td/tse) slid
60› to $64 and Newcourt Credit Group Inc. (nct/tse) declined $1.20 to $66.30.
Nortel (ntl/tse) rose 75› to $92.65 and computer services company CGI Group Inc.(GIBa/TSE) rose $2.35
to $48.70.
Power Financial Corp. (pwf/tse), up $1.35 to $61.30, reported its profit before a one-time gain rose to 59›
a share, up from 49› a year earlier.
Teleglobe Inc. (tgo/tse) climbed $2.85 to $69.35 after it reported its first-quarter profit rose 49% to 58› a
share, from 43› a share a year earlier.
Oil issues fell on expectations that crude prices will fall after the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting
Countries said further production cuts are not expected until July.
Suncor Energy Inc. (su/tse) lost $1.35 to $53 and Talisman Energy Inc. (tlm/tse) fell 85› to $40.
Other Canadian markets were lower. The Montreal Exchange portfolio fell 14.43 points, or 0.4%, to
3875.87. The Vancouver Stock Exchange lost 0.04 of a point to 617.9. The Alberta Stock Exchange
Combined Value Index gained 7.47 to 2331.55. 161 issues advanced, 169 declined and 132 remained
unchanged.
Wall Street dipped into negative territory, bogged down by the falling fortunes of Dow
heavyweight Hewlett-Packard.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. led the U.S. market lower after the computer maker warned of
disappointing earnings ahead.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.61 points, or 0.4%, to 9172.23. If not for Hewlett-Packard's
decline, the benchmark
would have posted its second straight record.
The Standard & Poor's 500 composite index fell 1.49 points to 1117.37.
About 579.3 million shares changed hands on the Big Board, down from 604.7 million shares traded on
Wednesday.
The Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.82 of a point to 1865.36.
The NYSE "uptick rule" was triggered twice as the Dow fell 50 points, pared the loss to less than 25 points
and then slipped
again in late trading. Top federal officials have asked the NYSE to eliminate or ease the 50-point collar.
Hewlett-Packard delivered a body blow to computer stocks when it warned late Wednesday that its fiscal
second-quarter
earnings would miss expectations because of price cuts on its personal computers and Asian economic
weakness.
Hewlett-Packard shares (hwp/nyse) slumped US$11 5/16 to US$70 5/16,
The outlook alarmed investors, who took out their anxiety out on other computer shares.
Dell Computer Corp. (dell/nasdaq) dropped US$3 to US$95 1/4 and Compaq Computer Corp. (cpq/nyse)
fell 1/4 to US$31
9/16.
After the market closed, National Semiconductor Corp. warned its fourth-quarter revenue could be 20%
below its year-ago
period.
International Business Machines Corp. weathered the drop in computer stocks.
Louis Gerstner, chief executive of the Armonk, N.Y.-based company, said he expects revenue growth to
accelerate and it will
cut costs further to boot profit.
IBM shares (ibm/nyse) rose US$4 3/4 to US$125 13/16.
Microsoft Corp. (msft/nasdaq) rose US$2 to US$88 15/16. Last-minute negotiations between the company
and U.S. government antitrust officials sparked optimism that Microsoft would be able to proceed with the
release of its new flagship product, Windows '98.
Phillip Morris Cos. (mo/nyse) fell 5/8 to US$36 3/8, a 52-week low. Investors are concerned that
potentially costly lawsuits and federal regulations will continue to hound cigarette makers.
Major overseas markets were broadly lower.
London: Nagging fears over the future direction of global interest rates kept British share gains in check.
The FT-SE 100 index rose 24.4 points, or 0.4%, to 5948.5.
Frankfurt: The German Dax index fell 15.66 points, or 0.3%, to 5361.22.
Tokyo: A poor earnings outlook for some firms added to worries about the Japanese economy. The 225-
share Nikkei average slipped 36.12 points, or 0.2%, to 15,307.69.
Hong Kong:Stocks swung back from heavy losses to finish with solid gains. The Hang Seng index ended
up 122.66 points, or 1.3%, at 9591.95.
Sydney: The Australian share market fell as political instability in Asia sent the A$ lower. The all
ordinaries index lost 14.3 points, or 0.5% to 2759.4.
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I then reformat it so eac line is as complete as possible from left to right. (see next message) |
