Wall Street outlook - U.S. stock futures lower as oil tops $55 - UPDATE 1 18.10.2004 13:42 Zurück Headlines
LONDON (AFX) - U.S. stock futures were lower early Monday, tracking the
drift on European and Asian markets overnight as crude oil prices topped $55 a
barrel.
The Dow industrials futures were down 19 points at 9,906 ahead of 8 a.m.
Eastern. The Nasdaq 100s tracker was down 0.4 percent in the early-going;
volumes were thin.
A slew of third quarter earnings results and profit outlooks from U.S.
corporations will take the stage in U.S. markets this week - results from about
30 percent of S&P companies are on tap for the week.
Weak sales at toymakers Hasbro and Mattel were in an early focus. Reports from
IBM , Kraft Foods are among the companies slated to report later in the day.
The quarter at 3M missed the analysts per share earnings estimate by one cent;
it's looking for full-year sales volume growth of around 7 percent.
A proposed $8.1 billion gold mining merger underpinned gains on London metals
stocks.
South African mining group Harmony said it would "shortly post" a proposed,
stock-based takeover of South African miner Gold Fields .
Terms set 1.275 new Harmony shares or new Harmony ADSs for each Gold Fields
share, setting a 29 percent premium for Gold Fields shares over the past 30
days. Harmony said any deal is conditional on the proposed IAMGold - Gold
Fields merger not proceeding.
Elsewhere in sectors, European insurance stocks continued to post declines amid
concerns of a U.S. probe into industry practices announced last week.
European airlines were among leader decliners as oil topped $55 a barrel in
Asian trade. British Airways was last down 2.7 percent; Deutsche Lufthansa was
down 1.4 percent.
Focus stocks
Lexmark International third-quarter revenue was rose to $1.27 billion from
$1.16 billion, vs. analyst forecasts of $1.29 billion. Looking ahead, the
company expects percentage revenue growth in the "mid- to high-single digits" in
the fourth quarter and earnings.
The U.K.'s BOC Group , an industrial gasses group, rose 2.4 percent as
investors were unconvinced by a report in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung
newspaper that said Linde said it is not in talks over a 8.6 billion pound
merger of its industrial gas operations.
Axa SA withdrew its $2.5 billion offer for the 48 percent of Axa Asia Pacific
Holdings Ltd. it doesn't own after the target's directors rejected the bid as
too low.
Altria Group's Kraft Foods is mulling the sale of its Altoids mints and Life
Savers businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported. UBS was tapped as an
advisor for a possible sale. The businesses are seen raising more than $1
billion for Kraft; acquirers could include Hershey Foods or Cadbury Schweppes
, the report said, citing analysts. The possible sale was earlier reported in
The Deal.
Hasbro Inc. posted third-quarter net earnings of $88.7 million, or 45 cents
per share, up from $68.5 million, or 38 cents, earned in the same period last
year. Revenue slipped to $947.3 million from $971.1 million. CEO Alfred
Verrecchia called the results "disappointing."
Mattel, Inc. , another toymaker, said quarterly revenue fell 2 percent to $1.67
billion, missing analyst forecasts of $1.76 billion. Mattel Brands sales fell 9
percent, amid a 13 percent decline in Barbie sales.
Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. on Monday said indicated more cost cuts due
to a challenging market, but that fourth quarter sales are projected to meet
analyst estimates.
JP Morgan upgraded handheld device maker PalmOne to overweight from neutral,
citing signs of the carriers' commitment to the Treo model and the upcoming
launch of the Treo 650.
Shares of German software maker SAP gained 0.7 percent to 127.05 euros in
early trading after JP Morgan said it believes the group closed more deals in
the third quarter than previously expected.
Drugmaker Pfizer is expected later to announce plans to fund a clinical trial
of arthritis drug Celebrex for use to prevent heart attacks and strokes, the
Wall Street Journal reported. Shares were down 10 cents on the New York ECNs at
$28.40 in thin trades. The shares had been around 16 cents higher in European
trading of U.S. shares.
Video games publisher Eidos confirmed it is in discussions over the pssiblle
sale of the company and "is currently in the process of selecting a preferred
counterparty." It also said there will be a delay to the release of the PC
version of its Championship Manager 5 game. Instead of October, Eidos hopes the
to release the game "shortly before Christmas, although this may extend into the
New Year."
Rolls Royce said it had selected U.S. firms Goodrich and Hamilton
Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation-subsidiary , as
risk and revenue sharing partners for the Trent 1000 engine being developed for
the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner.
Late Friday, Amgen said the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in Boston
ruled in its favor in the patent litigation suit against Transkaryotic Therapies
Inc. and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.
This story was supplied by CBSMarketWatch. For further information see
www.cbsmarketwatch.com.
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