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Techs eye economic data, IPOs

2 min read

Investors will digest some economic news and IPOs before heading into the long weekend Friday. Asian markets were down, Europe moved up, and the Dow is set to open lower.

U.S.

Reports on personal income and spending in May will become the latest fodder for Fed speculation Friday. The reports are expected to show that income rose 0.3 percent last month, less than the 0.7 percent gain in April. Spending is expected to have gained 0.2 percent last month, down from a 0.4 percent increase. After the Fed opted to leave interest rates unchanged at this week's meeting, the markets are already looking ahead to the next meeting, on August 22.

In IPO news, StorageNetworks (Nasdaq: STOR) priced at $27 dollars for what is expected to be a hot debut. Four other offerings also priced f trading Friday: EXFO Electro-Optical (Nasdaq: EXFO), Netease.com (Nasdaq: NTES), Precise Software (Nasdaq: PRSE) and Mobility Electronics (Nasdaq: MOBE). AT&T (NYSE: T) is considering issuing tracking stocks for its consumer long-distance business, cable-television subsidiary and other divisions, in an effort to boost its sagging stock price, according to an article in Friday's Wall Street Journal.

Expect these stocks to be among Friday's most actively traded issues: Chartered Semiconductor, Intraware, Liberate Technologies, Research in Motion and SBC Communications.

Investors sold off tech and blue-chip stocks Thursday on earnings concerns as the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 130 points to 10,398.04. The Nasdaq composite fell 63 points to close at 3,877.30.

At the Bell

The Dow Jones industrial average may open about 51 points lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index for June futures contracts was down 7.1 to 1464 at 7:31 a.m. EST in 24-hour electronic trading.

The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index was down 5 to 481.76.

Asia

Trading in Asia was on a downswing. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.37 to 17,411, Singapore's Strait Times index fell 0.57 percent to 2,037 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.80 percent to 16,155.

Europe

European markets were moving up. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.92 percent to 6,296. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.37 percent to 6,488 and the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.40 percent to 6,902 at 7:07 a.m. EST.

Reuters contributed to this report.