U.S. TRADING SUMMARY: U.S. stocks were lower Thursday morning as
the Dow Industrials fell 50 points at the open. By 10:50 a.m. ET,
the Dow was off 108 points at 9241. The technology-laden Nasdaq
composite was off six at 2310 after trading higher for most of the
morning. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down six at 1228.
Advances narrowly trailed declines on the New York Stock Exchange
on volume of 205 million shares. Kenneth Ducey, director of
trading at BT Brokerage, said markets were still nervous in the
wake of Brazil's devaluation of its currency on Wednesday. Shares
also were hurt by profit-taking. The long bong was up 12/32 to
yield 5.10%.
TOKYO/LONDON: Shares in Tokyo surged 2.5%, as a weak yen helped
investors shrug off news of Brazil's financial woes, which sent
other major Asian-Pacific markets reeling Thursday. The Nikkei 225
average climbed 335.26 to 13,738.86. In London, the FTSE 100 pared
earlier gains and dipped back into negative territory as Wall
Street opened mixed, confusing earlier market predictions.
Vodafone rose 3.6% as Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and BT Alex. Brown
set a price target of 15.00 pounds. Marks & Spencer plunged 12.3%
after a profits warning, dragging down Northern Foods, its major
food supplier.
CURRENCIES: The dollar opened slightly firmer on Thursday, as
global markets steadied themselves following the turmoil sparked
Wednesday by Brazil's currency devaluation, and wary market
players breathed a small sigh of relief. Dealers remained nervous
about the aftershock of Wednesday's 8.2-percent devaluation in
Brazil's currency, the real, but the markets were taking an
unusually sober view of the developments in Latin America, traders
said. In early New York trading, the dollar was quoted at 114.05
yen, up sharply from 113.13 yen late Wednesday in New York. The
euro was quoted at $1.1648, down from $1.1663.
MAJOR COMPANY/INDUSTRY NEWS: (All prices as of 10:35 a.m. ET)
** EASTMAN KODAK CO. (EK: 71-13/16, - 6-7/8) fell early Thursday
after the company reported lower-than-expected fourth quarter
earnings. Citing a slowdown in office imaging volume and turmoil
in Russia, Kodak reported earnings of $0.83 per share. The
consensus estimate among Wall Street analysts was $1.15, according
to First Call. See Full Story at
infobeat.com.
** Technology and communications giant MOTOROLA INC. (MOT: 70, -
7/8) Thursday said it expects first-quarter results to exceed
analysts' consensus estimates of $7.1 billion in sales and 23
cents in earnings per share. However, the company said in a
teleconference that it remains cautious about 1999 despite a more
positive outlook. Wednesday Motorola reported 1998 fourth-quarter
earnings that were down sharply from a year earlier but above Wall
Street forecasts.
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