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Strategies & Market Trends : the Women of SI -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (928)	3/22/2000 9:02:00 AM
From: Rainy_Day_Woman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1691

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were seen opening flat to lower on Wednesday, with investors cashing in after a relief rally sparked by the Federal Reserve's decision to raise borrowing costs no more than the expected 25 basis points. Technology stocks were also expected to be pressured by news that Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU - news), the world's second-biggest maker of computer memory chips, saw its second-quarter profits fall far short of estimates. ``There will be some selling at the open,' said Larry Wachtel of Prudential Securities. ``You had a big moonshot yesterday. The Micron news may hurt techs.' The Standard & Poor's 500 futures index for June was off 1.30 points to 1,506.20 while the Nasdaq futures index for June lost 18 points to 4,500. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond gained 2/32 in early trade, with the yield flat with Wednesday's close at 5.97 percent. The Federal Open Market Committee on Tuesday raised the fed funds rate on overnight loans between banks by 25 basis points to 6.0 percent, putting to rest fears that the central bank would enact a more aggressive rate hike. A broad rally ensued. But the Fed warned of even higher borrowing costs by saying it still saw higher inflation as the main risk to the economy. ``I think people are getting a little nervous that the rally has moved up so quickly,' said James Volk, co-director of institutional trading at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Portland, Ore. ``There may be a little pullback in technology with the Micron news.' Technology stocks, which have sagged recently as investors have rushed back to cheaper old-line stocks, joined in the post-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan run-up on Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC - news) jumped 101.68 points, or 2.21 percent, to 4,711.68. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - news) soared 227.10 points, or 2.13 percent, to close at 10,907.34. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - news) gained 37.24 points, or 2.56 percent, to 1,493.87. In prepared remarks for an appearance before the National Community Reinvestment Coalition on Wednesday, Greenspan repeated now familiar comments, saying growth in the U.S. has been far stronger than expected. He said the ``remarkable acceleration' in productivity was a key factor in the expansion. Stocks expected to move on Wednesday included Chase Manhattan Corp. (NYSE:CMB - news), which said late Tuesday that its board set a three-for-two stock split and approved a 17 percent increase in its quarterly common stock dividend. Its stock closed at 89-13/16. New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT - news) said Tuesday after the market closed that venture capital firms Flatiron Partners, Highland Capital Partners and Chase Capital Partners, have bought $40 million of its three-year convertible debt for undisclosed terms. Its stock closed at 44-1/2. Bank One Corp. (NYSE:ONE - news) has hired Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. to advise it in the possible sale of WingspanBank.com less than a year after it launched the Internet-only banking unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Bank One's stock closed at 27-1/16.