Higher Opening
The markets are poised to open stronger this
morning as the S&Ps are trading positive, in anticipation of their new
makeup. Tech is looking stronger as Cisco Systems was given a thumbs-up from
Merrill Lynch.
Standard & Poors is reshuffling seven companies
in the S&P 500 and the new incoming stocks are starting to get more attention ,as
fund managers will be selling the outgoing stocks and buy the incoming stocks.
This will take effect after the close on July 19. Those stocks being ousted
are two European companies, Royal Dutch Petroleum
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Nortel
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Placer Dome
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The new companies that will replace the previous
seven are American companies: Goldman Sachs
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Electronic Arts
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Service
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and SunGard Data
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Merrill Lynch upgraded Cisco Systems
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from a buy to a strong buy, citing that business is stable. Juniper Networks
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may benefit as well.
Brocade Communications
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received an "overweight" upgrade from Morgan Stanley.
Andrx
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pharmaceutical company, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an
approval letter for an additional indication for its lipid-lowering
drug, Altocor. The company expects to receive full approval for the new
indication sometime after September 2002.
Avista
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consensus analyst forecasts based on its projection of strong results from its
utilities and energy divisions.
The Financial Times is reporting on speculation that AT&T
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struggling to remain a Dow Industrials component. Dealers said the stock wasn’t
trading in London.
UBS Warburg upgraded the stocks of some lodging companies as business travel
leads to accelerating demand growth, Hilton Hotels
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“strong buy” from “hold,” Host Marriot
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