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

To: im a survivor who wrote (33724)	3/16/2001 9:16:02 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Before the Bell: Futures Firm, CSC Drops Friday March 16, 9:09 am Eastern Time <<NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. technology stock futures rose in pre-opening trading on Friday after government data showed tame inflation, and Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE:CSC - news) tumbled with a warning about profits. June futures for the technology-laden Nasdaq 100 index were up 15.50 points at 1,730. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index were up 2.80 points at 1,187.50. The futures rose after the Labor Department said U.S. wholesale inflation rose 0.1 percent and slipped 0.3 percent when food and energy were excluded. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the gauges to remain unchanged. The index could help guide the Federal Reserve when its policy-making panel meets next week to decide on interest rates. The inflation report ``will reduce any lingering reluctance on the part of the Fed to cut rates next week,'' said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics. Computer Sciences, the No. 3 provider of computer services, was down at $42 from a $54.10 close. The company warned on Friday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profits would be only a third of Wall Street forecasts. The company said profit margins had eroded sharply. Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock. Oracle Corp. (NasdaqNM:ORCL - news), the world's No. 2 software maker, firmed a bit to $14-45/64 from a closing price of $14-11/16. After markets closed on Thursday, Oracle said the weakening economy hit database and application software sales in the last quarter. It added that it expected the U.S. economy would continue to erode. The company also reported third-quarter profits that met lowered Wall Street estimates. Adobe Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:ADBE - news) rose to $27-1/2 from a close of $25 after the publishing software developer met its first-quarter profit target. However, it cut its sales forecast, cautioning that U.S. economic weakness could spread abroad. Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) slipped to $18.39 from a close of $18.50. The personal computer maker warned that its first-quarter earnings would fall short of expectations and that it would cut about 7 percent of its work force. Computer networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:CSCO - news) rose to $20-5/8 from a $20-5/16 close. Semiconductor maker Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) rose to $29-3/16 from a $28-1/2.>>