Catching Its Breath

Following Thursday’s big volume Nasdaq gain of 7.8%, stocks are looking at a
mildly lower open Friday.

The Nasdaq futures are down 18 points, and the Dow futures are down 20
points.

The S&Ps look to open down 2 points while the yield on the 10-year
Treasury is 5.64%.

Morning Movers

Online auctioneer eBay
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posted third quarter earnings of 7 cents
per share, beating First Call/Thomson Financial estimates of 4 cents per share.
After closing Thursday up 3 13/16 to 57 3/16, eBay is trading up to 65 in
pre-market activity.

In the B2B space, Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Commerce One
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booked
a lower-than-expected loss of 9 cents per share, which was a smaller loss than
the 12 cents per share that First Call/Thomson Financial had expected. Commerce
One’s revenues increased 80% from the previous quarter. After closing Thursday
at 64, CMRC is trading up to 68 in pre-market activity.

Despite beating earnings estimates, Swedish phone maker Ericsson
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is down sharply after warning of a fourth quarter slowdown. Following a Thursday
close up 9/16 to 14, Ericsson is trading down to 11 in pre-market activity.

E*Trade
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is adding to Thursday’s gains following a strong earnings
report. After gaining 3 1/16 to 14 1/2, E*Trade is trading up to 15 1/2 in
pre-market activity.

Thursday Follow-up

Fiber optic-based product maker Avanex
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was on of Thursday’s
screamers, rising 27 1/16 to 117 1/16 following better-than-expected earnings on
Wednesday. Avanex is adding to those gains and is trading up to 120 in
pre-market activity.

Microsoft
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was one of the key motivators in Thursday’s rally as it
gained 10 1/8 to 61 7/8 on nearly quadruple the average volume. Microsoft is
currently holding those gains and is trading flat at 61 7/8 in pre-market
activity.