Looking For Leadership
A weak showing in productivity for the first quarter has stocks set for a
mixed and tepid open Tuesday as traders brace themselves for earnings warning
season which shifts into full gear this week.
Productivity for the first quarter was revised downward to reflect a 1.2%
decline which was a poorer showing than the negative 0.6% analysts had expected.
The Nasdaq futures are up 13 points, and the Dow futures are down 5 points.
The S&Ps look to open up less than a point while the yield on the 10-year
Treasury is holding at 5.32%.
Tuesday Movers
Comverse Technology
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CMVT |
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PowerRating) announced earnings of 43 cents per share,
topping Street estimates by a penny. Comverse is also likely benefiting from a
Smith Barney upgrade and is currently trading up to 62.70 following a Monday
close of 58.66.
In the chips, Applied Materials
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AMAT |
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PowerRating) is edging higher after closing
slightly below its 50-day moving average. AMAT closed Monday at 50.06 and is
currently trading up to 50.55 in pre-market activity.
Also positive in the SOX is Xilinx
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XLNX |
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PowerRating), which is trading up to 43.80
following a Monday close of 41.59.
On heavy pre-market trading, bellwether Cisco
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CSCO |
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PowerRating) is looking at a
green open and is currently trading up to 20.10 following a Monday close of
19.73.