Morning Watch Dec. 28
Stocks opened lower Thursday ahead of economic news and after shares of Apple Computer (AAPL) came under pressure amid concerns about the company’s past stock option granting practices. Shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) had lost six points. The NASDAQ ($COMPQ) was down 4.5.
Apple Computer is off $1.02 to $80.50 after the Financial Times reported yesterday that Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs was granted 7.5 million options during 2001 without the required authorization of the company’s board. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, also said that the SEC is investigating the allegations.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (MSFT) is trading down on news it is looking into a flaw in its new Vista operating system. The bug makes it possible to shut down a web site or gain greater access privileges. MSFT is down 11 cents to $29.91. Citigroup is the Dow’s biggest loser after the Wall Street Journal reported that the financial services giant is “in talks to buy a stake in low-cost Chinese airline Spring Airlines.”Economic data will come into focus a bit later this morning. November, existing home sales will be worth watching after yesterday’s new home sales report came in better than expected. The numbers are due out at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time and expected to show a decline of sales—to an annual rate of 6.15 million from 6.24 million in October. The Chicago’s Purchasing Manager’s Index [PMI] and Consumer Confidence are due out at the same time. Economists expect the PMI to show an increase to 52 in December, up from 49.9 the month before. The Consumer Confidence index is expected to edge down to 102 in December, compared to 102.9 in the previous month.
In other markets, crude oil prices are up 25 cents to $60.59 a barrel ahead of weekly inventory data. The EIA report is released one day later than usual due to the holiday earlier this week. Gold is higher, up $7.00 to $637.20 an ounce. After being sold off sharply yesterday, the ten-year Treasury not is up two ticks and its yield sits at 4.65%, compared to 4.6% two days ago. The buck is little changed ahead of the day’s economic news. Indeed, the day’s economic data does hold market moving potential and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bit more volatility today following the news. Profit taking following the Dow’s 100-point run past 12,500 yesterday might also affect trading. In addition, with many players away on holiday, thin trading might exacerbate the volatility and help the major averages make another big point move on Thursday.
By Frederic Ruffy
Apple Computer is off $1.02 to $80.50 after the Financial Times reported yesterday that Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs was granted 7.5 million options during 2001 without the required authorization of the company’s board. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, also said that the SEC is investigating the allegations.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (MSFT) is trading down on news it is looking into a flaw in its new Vista operating system. The bug makes it possible to shut down a web site or gain greater access privileges. MSFT is down 11 cents to $29.91. Citigroup is the Dow’s biggest loser after the Wall Street Journal reported that the financial services giant is “in talks to buy a stake in low-cost Chinese airline Spring Airlines.”Economic data will come into focus a bit later this morning. November, existing home sales will be worth watching after yesterday’s new home sales report came in better than expected. The numbers are due out at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time and expected to show a decline of sales—to an annual rate of 6.15 million from 6.24 million in October. The Chicago’s Purchasing Manager’s Index [PMI] and Consumer Confidence are due out at the same time. Economists expect the PMI to show an increase to 52 in December, up from 49.9 the month before. The Consumer Confidence index is expected to edge down to 102 in December, compared to 102.9 in the previous month.
In other markets, crude oil prices are up 25 cents to $60.59 a barrel ahead of weekly inventory data. The EIA report is released one day later than usual due to the holiday earlier this week. Gold is higher, up $7.00 to $637.20 an ounce. After being sold off sharply yesterday, the ten-year Treasury not is up two ticks and its yield sits at 4.65%, compared to 4.6% two days ago. The buck is little changed ahead of the day’s economic news. Indeed, the day’s economic data does hold market moving potential and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bit more volatility today following the news. Profit taking following the Dow’s 100-point run past 12,500 yesterday might also affect trading. In addition, with many players away on holiday, thin trading might exacerbate the volatility and help the major averages make another big point move on Thursday.
By Frederic Ruffy
posted by Stock Administrator @ 10:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home