Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Clappy who wrote (45029)	12/11/2001 9:19:31 AM
From: Dealer	Respond to of 65232

M A R K E T .. S N A P S H O T -- Investors look to nibble on shares Fed meeting expected to produce 1/4 pt cut By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 9:04 AM ET Dec 11, 2001 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Stocks are poised to gain yardage once trading commences on Tuesday in anticipation of a central bank move to push short-term rates lower. Investors are widely predicting another 25-basis-point rate cut to take the overnight fed funds rate to 1.75 percent. The greatest attention will fall on the statement released by the Fed following the rate cut announcement in the afternoon. After the Nov. 6 meeting, the Fed maintained a bias to ease due to "heightened uncertainty and concerns about a deterioration in business conditions" both in the U.S. and abroad. Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, believes the Fed will maintain its downside risk assessment Tuesday. But Shepherdson pointed out that the markets have had a dramatic change of heart about the state of the economy and are now telling the Fed quite clearly that while a 25-basis-point easing is expected, any further cuts are not necessary. "Indeed, the message from the long end of the curve is that inflation risks are rising despite plunging energy prices and slowing wage gains," Shepherdson commented. The yield on a 10-year Treasury note, in fact, has risen by a substantial 35 basis points since the start of the month. Futures gain yardage In the futures markets, the December S&P 500 futures contract sprinted 1.50 points, or 0.1 percent, and was trading 0.50 points above fair value, according to numbers provided by HL Camp & Co. Nasdaq futures jumped 11.50 points, or 0.7 percent, while the Dow Jones Indicative Index added 13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 9,934. HL Camp notes that since 1995, Fed days during the month of December have seen the markets trade with 100 percent volatility - meaning there have been significant moves in both directions during the day. In addition, the Dow Industrials has closed up 83 percent of the time on such days. Techs are likely to get a boost thanks to good news from Nokia. The stock swelled over 7 percent in Instinet pre-open dealings. The Finnish telecom giant (NOK) was upbeat in its mid-quarter update, telling investors that it expects fourth-quarter earnings to come in at the top end of projections or even exceed them. . In analyst actions, Lehman Brothers lowered its view on McDonald's (MCD) to "market perform" from a "strong buy" due to new Mad Cow fears in Japan. The firm expects the fast food behemoth to ratchet earnings expectations to the low end of previous forecasts when it gives its mid-quarter update late this week. The stock, up 0.4 percent Monday, was one of four Dow components to end higher. But Lehman upped Wendy's (WEN) to a "buy" from a "market perform." In earnings news, Kroger (KR) posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that was in line with Wall Street's expectations while warning that softer sales would trigger a shortfall on fourth-quarter results as well as job cuts totaling around 1,500 over the next 12 months. The stock closed on Monday off 5.3 percent. Normal consolidation Robert Dickey, technical strategist at RBC Dain Rauscher, said consolidation is very normal for a market that has moved up a large amount in a short period of time. "The strength of the advance is compelling, however, with good internal statistics and broad participation by many groups and stocks," he said in a research note. "Although some choppy action is normal, the overall trend is higher and buys during a brief pullback will likely be well rewarded over the next few months," Dickey opined. Treasurys climb Treasury prices extended gains for a second session after reaching deeply oversold levels last week. The 10-year Treasury note climbed 1/8 to yield ($TNX) 5.085 percent while the 30-year government bond ascended 13/32 to yield ($TYX) 5.535 percent. Tuesday will see the second-tier release of the October wholesale trade figures. Key reports will be unleashed Thursday, with the November retail sales repot and the producer price index on tap. Check economic calendar and forecasts. In the currency sector, the dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 126.00 yen while the euro lost 0.1 percent to 88.97 cents. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------