Red Open; Dow Loses 1,000
Stocks are headed sharply lower Wednesday as fourth quarter earnings and
revenue worries are walloping stocks. Slightly stronger-than-expected economic
numbers are not helping matters either.
Pressure on Intel and IBM looks to push the Dow back below 10,000 for the
first time since March 15.
The Dow futures are down 190 points, and the Nasdaq futures are down 95
points.
The S&Ps look to open down 21.50 points, while a rise in the 10-year
Treasury has sent the yield down to 5.62%.
September’s Consumer Price Index figures came in slightly higher than
expected, with the CPI showing a 0.5% increase and the core rate increasing
0.3%. Analysts had expected a 0.4% increase in the CPI and a 0.2% increase in the core rate,Â
New housing starts for September came in at 1.55 million units which was
modestly higher than the 1.54 million analysts expected.
Morning Movers
Dow component Intel
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cents Tuesday, but worries over the fourth quarter and downgrades from Merrill
Lynch and CS First Boston are weighing on the stock Wednesday. After closing
Tuesday at 36 3/16, Intel is trading down to 34 3/4 in pre-market activity.
Also weighing heavily on the Dow Wednesday is IBM
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third quarter earnings estimates but sold off sharply after the bell on fourth
quarter revenue worries. IBM closed Tuesday up 1 7/8 to 113 but traded down to
99 1/2 on Instinet.
RF Micro Devices
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issuing a warning about future revenues and earnings. RF Micro Devices closed
Tuesday down 3 3/8 to 23 and is trading down to 12 3/4 in pre-market activity.
Tuesday Follow-up
One of Tuesday’s winners that avoided the selloff was Broadvision
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which gained 2 1/4 to 26 1/16 after news that the company would be added to the
S&P 500. Broadvision is trading down to 23 1/16 in pre-market activity.