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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lindelgs who wrote (2115)	9/19/2000 8:55:36 AM
From: lindelgs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Today's Market: Tech Stocks Set to Bounce At Open By Kristen French Staff Reporter 9/19/00 8:36 AM ET After two rotten days of selling, an early bounce this moring may follow recent patterns and lead to selling later in the day. Then again, some money managers may think this market looks a little oversold. Between Friday and Monday's action, the Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 187 to 3727, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 279 to 10,809. At 8:10 a.m. EDT, the S&P 500 futures were up 3 points, about 6 points above fair value, as calculated by Prudential Securities, and indicating an up open for the broad market. The Nasdaq 100 futures were up 22.5 points, about 37 points above fair value, as calculated by TheStreet.com, which indicates a strong bounce in tech at the open. Fair value helps gauge how the market will perform in early trading. With earnings pre-announcement season in upon us, a combination of a slowing economy, rising fuel prices, a depressed euro and concerns over declining demand for semiconductors and PCs has created a veritable battlefield. Earnings pre-announcement season kicked off last week and should last until the end of September, and investors have been quick to punish companies that warn of earnings weakness. Meanwhile, August housing starts (definition \| chart \| source) , should bring neither damage nor repair to today's markets. Housing starts came in at 1.531 million units, weaker than had been expected. Reuters forecast had expected a rise of 1.535. Futures did not move on the news. This morning, things were looking up for tech bellwethers IBM (IBM:NYSE - news) and Intel (INTC:Nasdaq - news). Both slid precipitously yesterday, but were up slightly in preopen action from closing prices yesterday. But not so for industrials, which continue to blame weaker demand, oil and the euro for expected shortfalls in earnings. Dow component Alcoa (AA:NYSE - news) will likely be today's first victim. The company issued a profit warning Monday after the close, citing higher energy costs and softening markets. Shares of the aluminumn manufacturer traded lower in extended hours trading. TheStreet.comwrote about Alcoa in a separate article . Diversified manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand (IR:NYSE - news) also warned that it sees lower-than-expected 2000 results due to a weaker Euro and slower demand for infrastructure-related equipment. The company's shares were lower in off-hours action. FedEx (FDX:NYSE - news) may be the next to fall prey to oil woes. The company reports third quarter earnings today. Higher fuel prices are a huge component of the global shipping company's costs. The euro should not do too much damage since the company operates only a small portion of its business in Europe. Whether or not oil prices can continue at current levels remains a big question. Tensions in the Middle East helped to push prices up further Friday, but they were off just slightly overnight. Today after the close, U.S. oil drillers will report on stocks' levels. TheStreet.com has been following the oil saga. Our most recent story ran yesterday. In drugs, Human Genome Sciences (HGSI:Nasdaq - news) announced a two-for-one split of its common stock. Elswewhere in the sector, Protein Design Labs (PDLI:Nasdaq - news) said postclose yesterday it signed its second deal this month with drug giant Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE - news). The stock was trading higher in off-hours action after tumbling Monday. THE STREET.COM