MARKET PREVIEW: Wall Street looks for bounce
U.S.
The U.S. markets hope to rebound today after getting hammered yesterday on warnings from Gateway (NYSE: GTW) and Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR). The double-whammy caused carnage among computer and chip stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial average falling 215 in its second-heaviest trading day, and the Nasdaq closing at 2597.93, nearly 50 percent below its March high.
Early indications show some bargain hunting underway. In pre-session action, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) were all gaining ground. Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) was also moving upward on the Island ECN trading system. The optical networking giant yesterday signed an agreement to supply equipment for AT&T Wireless' (NYSE: AWE) U.S. network upgrades.
On the election front, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear George W. Bush's application to throw out a Florida Supreme Court decision from last week that allowed the results from hand recounts in certain Florida counties.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) should see some action as it announced an $85 million deal to supply mobile phone network equipment in Thailand.
Expect the following technology stocks to be among Friday's most "="" http:="" www.zdii.com="" industry_list.asp?mode="news&doc_id=ZE506699&pic=Y"" rel="">actively traded issues: Cheap Tickets (Nasdaq: CTIX), Crossroads Systems (Nasdaq: CRDS), Micron Electronics (Nasdaq: MUEI), Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS).
The Nasdaq fell again Thursday, closing down 109 to 2,597.93. The Dow Jones industrial average posted a triple-digit loss as well, dropping 214.62 to 10,414.49.
At the Bell
The Dow Jones industrial average is expected to open up 77 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index for November futures contracts gained 9.80 to 1331.30 at 7:24 a.m. EST in 24-hour electronic trading.
The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index slipped 12 to 315.41.
Asia
The major Asian markets all gained ground. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 457.04 to 14,441.43 and the Nikkei 225 rose 186.82 to 14,835.33. Singapore's Strait Times inched up 2.77 to 1,955.00.
Europe
European markets were positive as well. London's FTSE 100 was up 36.50 to 6,178.70, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 83.65 to 6,011.73 and the DAX in Frankfurt rose 152.21 to 6,524.54 at 7:11 a.m. EST.
Reuters contributed to this report.