Soft Landing?
Better-than-expected earnings from IBM and relatively tame news in the
economic arena have stocks in a good mood Thursday, and all three major averages
are indicating higher opens. Earnings season shifts into high gear with earnings
due after the bell from Sun Microsystems and Microsoft.
The Dow futures are up 46 points, and the Nasdaq futures are up 23 points.
The S&Ps look to open up 2.3 points while the yield on the 10-year
Treasury is 5.15%.
In economic news, housing starts for December came in at 1.57 million units
which was slightly ahead of the 1.52 million analysts had expected, and weekly
jobless claims fell 37,000 to 306,000. While market bulls may have preferred to
see weaker numbers that would solidify the case for another 50 basis point rate
cut by the Fed, today’s numbers may indicate that a soft landing still remains a
possibility.
Thursday Movers
Apple Computer
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PowerRating) is trading higher Thursday after posting a
narrower-than-expected loss. Apple closed Wednesday at 16 13/16 and is trading
up to 17 9/16 in pre-market activity.
WorldCom
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PowerRating) rose 1 3/16 to 22 1/2 Wednesday to its highest level
since late October looks prepared to open at new highs. WorldCom is currently
trading up 1/16 to 22 9/16 in pre-market activity.
Internet content manager Vignette
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PowerRating) met earnings estimates but is
getting hit hard after lowering its future earnings expectations. Vignette
closed Wednesday down 1 11/16 to 12 5/8 and is trading down to 7 1/2 in
pre-market activity.
Intel
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PowerRating) was one of the exceptions to Wednesday’s 6% rally in the
SOX as it fell 7/8 to 30 1/2. Intel is looking at a slight bounce in Thursday
action and is trading up to 31 in pre-market activity.