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To: Dealer who wrote (30299)	8/23/2000 8:57:19 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35685

MARKET SNAPSHOP--Investors look to lighten up Sloppy open developing By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 8:38 AM ET Aug 23, 2000 NewsWatch Latest headlines NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Market participants may be looking to lighten up on positions when trading commences Wednesday in the aftermath of the Fed's decision to hold rates steady Tuesday. The market expressed optimism that the central bank is on track to stage a soft landing for the U.S. economy -- the best case scenario for bonds and stocks. September S&P 500 futures shed 4.50 points, or 0.3 percent, and were trading approximately 1.20 points below fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, lost 28.00 points, or 0.7 percent. In shares trading before the opening bell, Intel (INTC: news, msgs) slipped 1 1/8 to 71, according to Madoff Investment Securities in London. See Indications. Over in the bond market, prices rose a touch following Tuesday's uneventful session that saw an incredibly muted reaction to the Fed's statement following the conclusion of its FOMC meeting. The 10-year Treasury note rose 6/32 to yield ($TNX: news, msgs) 5.755 percent and the 30-year bond added 1/8 to yield ($TYX: news, msgs) 5.71 percent. Wednesday will be another session devoid of economic news. The week's reports are all second-tier in nature. Among them: durable goods orders for July, set for release on Thursday, and existing home sales, due out on Friday. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data. In the currency arena, the yen flexed its muscles against the dollar, with buying fueled by comments from Ichizo Ohara, a senior official of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, who said the economy could withstand a rise in the yen to 103 against the dollar and that the central bank might nudge up short-term rates to 0.35 percent from 25 basis points by December. This month, the BOJ hiked rates for the first time in 10 years, outing an end to its zero-rate policy, which had been in place since Feb. 1999. The pair (C_JPY: news, msgs) traded at 107.18, off a heady 1.0 percent from the previous trading session. The dollar reached an intra-day low of 107.00 against the Japanese currency, its lowest level since July 13. See full story Meanwhile, the euro fell versus the greenback for the fourth straight trading session, reaching a low of 0.8912 Wednesday, a level not witnessed since May 19. In recent action, euro/dollar (C_EUR: news, msgs) fell 0.6 percent to 0.8916. View latest currency rates. "It is interesting that the euro is sagging against the dollar even as the European Central bank is hiking interest rates and the Fed is not," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. He notes that the ECB has been tightening the monetary screws during its money market operations and that the central bank is likely to formally raise short-term borrowing targets at the upcoming policy-setting meeting. "Traders believe foreigners are inclined to buy U.S. equities over Euro Zone equities, and these flows and these flows seem to be supporting the greenback right now." Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com.