NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - TF North America Daybook - Friday, Jan. 18,
2008
MAJOR U.S. EQUITY INDEXES:
Wall Street is on track Friday to rebound from heavy prior-session losses,
helped by strong results and an increased outlook from International Business
Machines Corp. and a better-than-expected quarterly performance from chip maker
Advanced Micro Devices.
Earnings that were in line and a reaffirmed outlook from General Electric
Co. underpinned gains.
According to spread bettors IG Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is
expected to open up 124 points at 12,283. Separately, S&P 500 futures gained
13.80 points to 1,353.60, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 18.50 points to
1,874.50.
Wall Street extended its 2008 plunge Thursday sending the industrials down
306 points and to their lowest level since last March after a regional Federal
Reserve report showed a sharp and unexpected decline in manufacturing activity.
The Dow tumbled 306.95 points, or 2.46%, to close at 12,159.21, while the
Nasdaq composite index dropped 47.69, or 1.99%, to 2,346.90. The S&P 500 index
lost 39.95, or 2.91%, to 1,333.25. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury
note fell to 3.63% from 3.68% late Wednesday, and light, sweet crude fell 71
cents to settle at $90.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
ECONOMIC DATA:
- Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for
January, 10 a.m. ET, 74.5 estimate
- Conference Board index of leading indicators for December, 10 a.m. ET, -0.1%
estimate
EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS:
Company Symbol Period Estimate Time
Johnson Controls JCI 1Q .37 BMO
LaBranche & Co. LAB 4Q (.02) BMO
McMoran Exploration MMR 4Q .36 BMO
Wilmington Trust WL 4Q .64 8 a.m. ET
Figures in parentheses denote losses.
AFTER-HOURS ACTION:
After the closing bell Thursday, IBM forecast 2008 earnings of between $8.20
and $8.30 a share, above the current Wall Street estimate of $7.94 a share. The
company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.95 billion, or $2.80 a share, on
revenue of $28.9 billion. Profit rose 12% from a year earlier, when IBM earned
$3.54 billion, or $2.31 a share, on revenue of $26.3 billion.
Advanced Micro Devices reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.77 billion, or
$3.06 a share, versus a loss of $576 million, or $1.08 a year earlier.
Washington Mutual Inc. said it swung to a $1.87 billion loss in the fourth
quarter, hurt badly by the sinking value of its mortgage portfolio, and NYSE
Euronext said it agreed to buy the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in
stock.
COMPREHENSIVE EARNINGS LIST:
WL (8 a.m. ET), GE (BMO-ET), JCI (BMO-ET), LAB (BMO-ET), MMR (BMO-ET), WIT
(NTS), ACO (NTS), CBU (NTS), SLB (NTS)
BMO - before market opens
AMC - after market closes
NTS - no time supplied
Joseph Woelfel
jw
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