Dow set for new record but Oracle<ORCL.O>hits tone
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - The Dow looked set to push to
yet another peak on Friday although after-hours disappointment
from Oracle <ORCL.O> will weigh on sentiment, dealer said.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 soared to all-time highs on
Thursday with bullishness about the robust U.S. economy forcing
the Dow further on its seeming inexorable advance towards
10,000.
On Thursday the Dow closed at 9,897.44, up more than 120
points.
Dealers said that barring shocks from February producer
price numbers -- due out at 1330 GMT -- the Dow may well go to
10,000 today.
"As long as the bonds are okay with the PPI numbers, then we
could see 10,000 today, yes," said one dealer.
The PPI was forecast to fall 0.1 percent against a 0.5
percent rise last time.
Globex S&P futures showed a 2.3 point advance on the June
contract to 1,319.3 with fair value seen at 1,311.10, signalling
a 50-60 point advance in opening Dow trade.
Technology stocks may come under pressure however after
Oracle's 16 percent share price fall to following news of
weaker-than-expected revenue growth.
The stock was seen bouncing a little from its $30.875 low,
and dealers said it looked likely to open around $32.
Also among hi-techs, Microsoft <MSFT.O> edged lower
following the New York close after it said it was on track to
meet Wall Street estimates and was experiencing a sequential
slowdown in revenues, as expected.
The stock dropped to $160-1/2 on Instinet and dealers said
they had no price indications for the New York Microsoft
opening.
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