Gateway Weighs Heavily
Warnings from Gateway and Altera have stocks in a negative mood Thursday,
despite some slowing economic news that should please Mr. Greenspan and his
hopes for a soft landing.
The Nasdaq futures are down 46 points, and the Dow futures are down 57
points.
The S&Ps look to open down 11.30 while the yield on the 10-year Treasury
has come down to 5.51%.
Personal income fell 0.2% for October, which was contrary to the 0.2%
increase analysts expected. It offers yet more signs of a slowdown in the
economy. Personal spending, on the other hand, showed an as-expected increase of
0.2%.
Jobless claims for the week rose 19,000 above last week to 358,000, and that
fits into an overall increasing trend in jobless claims that began in May.
Morning Movers
Gateway Computer
(
GTW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said disappointing holiday sales will
significantly affect its fourth-quarter profits, and that has driven Gateway
down more than 10 points from its 29.02 Thursday close.
The Gateway fallout is hitting rival Dell
(
DELL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) which is trading down
to a two-year low of 20 3/8 following a close of 21 3/4 on Friday. Dell is
currently trading down to October 1998 levels.
Also getting hit is Apple
(
AAPL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which is trading down to 16 5/8 after
a close of 17 5/8. Apple’s pre-market decline puts it at lows not seen since
April 1999.
Chip maker Altera
(
ALTR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is also impacting the Nasdaq Thursday following
a Wednesday announcement that its upcoming quarter will fall short of analyst
expectations. Altera closed Wednesday at 25 15/16 and is trading down to 20 in
pre-market activity
Traders will be keeping an eye on Cisco
(
CSCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) to see whether the
networking giant will hold that all-important 50 price level. Cisco is trading
down to 50 1/4 in pre-market activity following a close of 51 3/4.