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Non-Tech : The Dazzling and New Women of SI Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (154)	4/29/2002 9:17:26 AM
From: Rainy_Day_Woman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 228

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- A flimsy bid was surfacing in the pre-open Monday, signaling a tepid start for stocks following a grueling week that dealt the averages their most crushing blow since late September. Tech stocks in particular have felt the sting of unrelenting selling pressure from impatient investors tired of waiting for that elusive pickup in capital spending that will revitalize companies' bottom lines. The pickup in capital spending, in fact, continues to get pushed out, with Wall Street analysts not predicting any meaningful recovery until later in the year. Tech companies have also made it clear during the current earnings season that they are still not seeing the kind of demand that will allow them to ramp up production in any significant way. Checking the futures markets, the June S&P 500 contract advanced 3.60 points, or 0.3 percent, but was still trading around 1.70 points under fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. numbers. But Nasdaq futures sprinted 5.00 points, or 0.4 percent, and were trading roughly 2.00 points ahead of fair value figures. Among shares trading ahead of the official opening bell, Dow stock Boeing lifted 3.7 percent following a positive write-up in the latest edition of Barron's. The publication asserts that the stock's recent sell-off appears overdone and that it's trading at a discount to the S&P 500. Boeing shares have fallen 13.4 percent since the start of the month. Additionally, Merrill Lynch upped its intermediate-term rating on the aerospace giant (NYSE: BA - news) to a "strong buy" from a "buy" on belief that large civil aircraft demand is bottoming and that the company's defense business will provide a catalyst in the coming months. Gold stocks appear ready to continue Friday's rally, with a climb in spot gold prices in London to two-year highs providing the fodder. The gold group's main gauge (: ^GOX - news) tacked on over 6 percent last week amid widespread selling in the rest of the market. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM - news) , meanwhile, rose almost 1 percent in pre-open action. Earnings scorecard So far three-quarters of S&P 500 companies have unveiled their first-quarter results and are showing a year-over-year decline of 12.2 percent, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. The earnings compiler notes that the biggest drag on first-quarter earnings came from the tech and energy sectors. While the transportation sector witnessed the headiest decline in absolute terms, First Call noted that the sector has the smallest representation in the S&P 500 Index. Looking to the coming months, First Call said it doesn't expect much credible information on third- and fourth-quarter earnings until June at the earliest. That said, the earnings forecaster observes that the second-quarter pre-announcement season is "off to a great start." While it's still extremely early to offer meaningful predictions, First Call said the ratio of negative to positive pre-announcements are far less negative than in the second quarter of last year at the equivalent point. First Call estimates that second-quarter profits will increase by 3 percent year-over-year, which would mark the first up quarter after five consecutive down quarters. Additionally, it would be the first sequential positive quarter since the first quarter of 2000. Data focus Earnings news robbed the spotlight from economic data over the past couple of weeks. Not so this week, which is jam-packed with some of the month's most crucial information on the economy. Those numbers include the April consumer confidence index, the April Institute of Supply Management Index and the April employment report. Monday saw the release of March personal income and personal income expenditures, which both rose by 0.4 percent each, right in line with expectations. But income and spending levels were lower vs. the first two months of the year. and check economic calendar and forecasts. Modest decline for Treasurys Government bond issues took a break after having a field day late last week on the back of considerable weakness in the equity market. The 10-year Treasury note slumped 6/32 to yield (: ^TNX - news) 5.085 percent while the 30-year government bond eased back 6/32 to yield (: ^TYX - news) 5.605 percent. In the currency segment, the dollar inched up 0.1 percent to 127.93 yen while the euro added 0.2 percent to 90.32 cents.