Solid Earnings Boost Techs
With two days until the Federal Reserve FOMC meeting, technology stocks are
trading to the upside Friday, and that has set the stage for a positive open for
the Nasdaq. Aside from technology, stocks are looking generally flat.
The Nasdaq futures are up 16 points, and the Dow futures are down 1 point.
The S&Ps look to open up 1.9 points while the yield on the 10-year Treasury is
holding at 5.80%.
Morning Movers
Sun Microsystems
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to 119 7/16. The company announced a 2-for-1 stock split after the bell, and
that has Sun trading up to 122 in pre-market activity.
Also looking strong is optical equipment maker Ciena
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16 to 179 1/4 Thursday on the heals of better-than-expected earnings news. Ciena
is currently trading up more than 7 points to 186 1/2 in pre-market activity.
Big-cap techs also look for solid opens, as Intel
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pre-market up to 71 1/14 from a Thursday close of 70 1/16 and Applied Materials
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On Thursday
Electronic communications equipment maker and Hewlett Packard spin-off
Agilent Technologies
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share, handily beating First Call/Thomson Financial estimates of 20 cents per
share. After finishing the regular session at 46 1/2, Agilent traded up to more
than 55 in after-hours trade, and is currently trading at 53 1/2 in pre-market
activity.
Advanced Digital Information
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in at 9 cents per share, which was below the 14 cents per share that analysts
had expected. dvanced Digital closed Thursday at 14 3/8, and is currently
trading down to 11 1/8 in pre-market activity.