MARKET PREVIEW: Japan's slump could weigh on techs
A big dip in Japan's high-tech sector could dampen enthusiasm on merger Monday, though a deal with i2 Technologies and Aspect Development was already making waves. Asian and European markets moved down, and the Dow is set to open significantly lower.
U.S.
A big tumble in Japan, caused by crumbling tech stocks, could weigh on the Nasdaq Monday. Data also showed Japan sinking into recession in the last quarter of 1999, but currency and bond traders seized on positive aspects of the data and official comments pointing to a turnaround this year; the yen reached a six-week high against the dollar.
Internet commerce software developer I2 Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ITWO) should see some attention Monday after it agreed to buy Aspect Development Inc. (Nasdaq: ASDV) for $9.3 billion in stock.
On the earnings front, Solectron (NYSE: SLR) was slated to report its second quarter.
Expect the following stocks to be among Monday's most actively traded issues: GST Telecommunications, i2 Technologies, iVillage and Microsoft.
Technology stocks made modest gains Friday as the Nasdaq composite tacked on 2 points to close at record high of 5,048.86. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82 points to end at 9,928.82, off more than 4 percent for the week.
At the Bell
The Dow Jones industrial average may open about 130 points lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index for June futures contracts was down 18.3 points to 1399 at 7:34 a.m. EST in 24-hour electronic trading.
The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index was down 5 to 674.77.
Asia
Trading in Asia was moving down. The Nikkei 225 slipped 2.84 percent to 19,189, Singapore's Strait Times index slipped 2.56 percent to 2,042 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 4.12 percent to 17,096.
Europe
European markets were also headed south. London's FTSE 100 fell 2.05 percent to 6,434. The CAC 40 in Paris dropped 2.73 percent to 6,332 and the Xetra DAX in Frankfurt was down 3.20 percent to 7,720 at 7:11 a.m. EST.
Reuters contributed to this report.