MARKET TALK: Should Hear From 'Big 4' By 4:30
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern)
MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT
3:43 (Dow Jones) Look for Microsoft (MSFT) numbers at around 4:15 p.m. ET.
Consensus calls for 43c EPS on revenue of $6.5B. Sun Micro (SUNW) (3c on
sales of $3.89B) should hit right around 4:00, along with Nortel (NT) (loss
of 48c on sales of $4.47B), and EBay (EBAY) (net 9c on sales of $165M)
should come in at about 4:30. (TG)
3:37 (Dow Jones) EBay's (EBAY) earnings releases are becoming almost
routine: Analysts predict a good quarter with upside, the online auction
company beats estimates, and everybody's happy. Expect more of the same when
EBay reports its 2Q after the close. Many analysts are predicting upside to
their official estimates. Thomson Financial/First Call consensus: 9c EPS on
$165 million in revenue. Stock recently down 2.5% at $64.94. (RS)
3:27 (Dow Jones) AT&T (T) at $30? Some takeover experts think so. Just a
week and a half after Comcast's (CMCSK) low-ball bid for AT&T's cable
business, the beleaguered telecom giant's stock has surged more than 20% to
about $21 a share. But though investors say the sum of AT&T parts might now
add up to a stock price in the high $20s, that doesn't mean AT&T is a
screaming buy. "If everything went well, a year from now you could have a
very nice return," said Tom Burnett, president of Merger Insight, an
affiliate of Wall Street Access. "But, even if AT&T gets a friendly deal at
a better price, the problem is, this is a highly regulated industry...So
even if Comcast gets AT&T to agree, you are talking at least a year of
regulatory roadblocks." (JAW)
3:15 (Dow Jones) That nice gain in the DJIA is now a thing of the past. Blue
chips have reversed course, fairly quickly, with P&G, Alcoa, Citi, and
Boeing leading the decline. Microsoft still up, but well off highs in front
of tonight's numbers. The SOX has also cooled off, now up 3.4% from the
earlier high of about 7%. Nasdaq telecom index has turned south as well.
DJIA off 41 at 10528, Nasdaq Comp up 10 at 2027, and S&P 500 slips 2 to
1205. (TG)
3:10 (Dow Jones) There's at least one encouraging sign for junk bonds. While
spreads between junk and Treasurys have been widening recently, spreads
between the best and worst high-yield credits have narrowed for three
straight months now, with the latest being a drop to 579 from 591 basis
points between June 15 and July 16, says Merrill Lynch. That's down from a
peak of 896 BP in December. (RTB)
3:00 (Dow Jones) Accenture (ACN) won't be the sole IPO this week. After the
close, Natus Medical, which makes medical screening devices for newborns, is
planning to price 4.5 million shares between $10 and $12 through Dain
Rauscher Wessels. (RJH)
2:53 (Dow Jones) It's been a while, but a widely-watched indicator of U.S.
labor market conditions is back. The New York Post's Layoff-O-Meter is now
more than three-quarters of the way to a "Bloodbath" reading following
Wednesday layoff announcements from Kodak (EK) and American Express (AXP).
(SV)
2:40 (Dow Jones) If RF Micro Devices's (RFMD) fiscal first-quarter earnings
didn't quite excite investors, earnings news from its largest customer Nokia
(NOK) did. Investors bid up RF Micro shares by more than 20% after learning
that Nokia's sales of mobile phones, which account for about 70% of
revenues, were up 10% from 2000 at EUR5.34 billion. "Nokia's conference call
gives us some measure of comfort that RF Micro Devices will not see dramatic
shipment forecast revisions," said Dale Pfau, analyst at CIBC World Markets.
(EGS)
2:27 (Dow Jones) Accenture (ACN) had to shed its better-known Andersen
Consulting name as part of its divorce from Andersen Worldwide, but its $200
million rebranding campaign has been paying off, CEO Joe W. Forehand says.
The firm does a regular brand-awareness survey and its latest one showed it
was within 1% of the the highest awareness ranking it had when it was still
Andersen, he says. (RJH)
2:12 (Dow Jones) At a press conference on stolen art, Treasury Secretary
O'Neill, asked for the umpteenth time whether the strong dollar policy was
over, replied no, again. He reminded reporters they'd know when it was over
because, as he's promised, he'll hire Yankee Stadium and a marching band to
make the announcement. (MC)
2:01 (Dow Jones) Wit SoundView says Comcast (CMCSK) won't increase its bid
for AT&T (T) unless another bidder emerges. If another would-be buyer does
surface, Comcast could sweeten its offer, but for every 10% increase in its
bid, Wit would decrease its price target by around $2. Target remains $44
until new info presents itself, and firm says it would prefer to be
opportunistic buyer closer to $35 a share. Comcast off 3% at $36.42. (TG)
1:54 (Dow Jones) Nymex crude futures pare gains posted in knee-jerk reaction
to early reports that OPEC is mulling output cut. Retreat in prices, one
analyst says, reflects market skepticism about OPEC commitment to what would
be its third output cut of the year. Further, while talk is of one million
b/d cut in quotas, whether it would translate into a like amount in actual
production remains to be seen. August crude +56C at $25.45 after rising as
high as $25.80 and facing resistance at $26.00. (MXF)
1:45 (Dow Jones) Presidential economic advisor Lindsey expects the economy
to move back to robust growth by next year, and says tax cuts are necessary
to make it happen. (MSD)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 07-19-01
03:44 PM
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