Productivity Productive
A better-than-expected third quarter productivity figure is helping give
stocks a boost Thursday at the open. Productivity rose 3.8% which topped the
Street estimate of 3.2%, and the number lends support to the camp that says we
remain in a strong economy with little threat of inflationary pressures.
The Nasdaq futures are up 45.50 points, and the Dow futures are up 38 points.
The S&Ps are up 7.90 points while the yield on the 10-year Treasury is
5.73%.
Morning Movers
Upbeat comments from Intel’s
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) CEO after the close Wednesday has
the chip giant working its way higher Thursday. Rosy forecasts about the
company’s fourth quarter have Intel trading up to 46 1/2 in pre-market activity. Intel closed Wednesday up 1/16 to 44 7/8.
Also higher in the chip arena is Xilinx
(
XLNX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) which has been under a
lot of pressure lately. Xilinx closed Wednesday down 5 to 67 7/16 but is trading
back up to 70 1/2 in pre-market activity. At its current level, Xilinx is about
5 points below its 200-day moving average.
Also among big tech gainers is Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) which looks to open
within striking distance of a new 2-month high. Microsoft closed up 3/4 to 69
5/8 on Wednesday and is trading up to 71 in pre-market activity.
Internet information infrastructure company InfoSpace
(
INSP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is set for
a positive open. After gaining 2 13/16 to 22 15/16 Wednesday on volume of nearly 19
million shares, which was more than double the average, Infospace is trading up
to 23 3/4 in pre-marketactivity.