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Wall St. stumbles on CPI
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February 21, 2001: 8:27 a.m. ET
Tech stocks were set to rally before surprise inflation report
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Battered for two straight sessions, U.S. technology stocks were poised to rise Wednesday, until a report showing surprisingly high consumer-level inflation in January reversed the market's direction before the opening bell.
Early indications pointed to a rebound in the Nasdaq market before the government reported that the consumer price index posted twice the expected gain in January, rising 0.6 percent overall and 0.3 percent excluding volatile prices for food and energy.
Nasdaq-100 futures, which had been up by more than 1 percent before the CPI report was released, reversed direction and dropped sharply, with fair value considered. Standard & Poor's futures also turned lower, indicating a drop for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average at the start of trading.
 The Nasdaq composite index comes off its second drubbing in a row, a 4.4 percent drop Tuesday after last Friday's 5 percent fall. The tech-laden indicator stands at a 7-week low of 2,318.35.
The CPI report could spell trouble for the market, especially because it comes in the wake of the Producer Price report last Friday, which showe a big 1.1 percent rise in inflation on the wholesale level.
The Dow Jones industrials stand at 10,730.88 after tripping nearly 69 points. The S&P 500 is well below the 1,300 level, at 1,278.94 after dropping 1-3/4 percent.
Tech stock woes plagued markets outside the U.S. as Tokyo's Nikkei index finished Wednesday at a 28-month low and European stocks started with losses.
Treasury prices were mixed early Wednesday. The 10-year note yield was unchanged at 5.11 percent, while the 30-year bond yield edged up to 5.46 percent from 5.45 percent late Tuesday. The dollar rose against the yen and slipped versus the euro. Brent oil futures gained 8 cents to $26.70 a barrel in London.
Two Dow components, Procter & Gamble (PG: Research, Estimates) and Coca-Cola (KO: Research, Estimates), are forming a kids' dream venture -- meshing their juice and snack food operations. P&G shares closed Tuesday at $75.71, up 87 cents, while Coke lost 89 cents to $58.47.
Lucent Technologies plans to put its Optical Fiber Solutions unit on the auction block, possibly in as little as two weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Shares of Lucent (LU: Research, Estimates) slipped 33 cents in Tuesday trading to $12.34.
Check out food and beverage stocks
Agilent Technologies (A: Research, Estimates) Tuesday joined the list of big-name tech companies warning that its fiscal 2001 revenue won't be as strong as it had expected. The maker of testing and measurement equipment, which did manage to top earnings estimates for its first quarter ended in January, fell $6 to $44 Tuesday.
Even though it missed revenue estimates for the latest quarter, accounting software maker Intuit (INTU: Research, Estimates) still managed to top earnings forecasts. The maker of the popular Quicken program also said it expects third-quarter and full-year results to be within the range of expectations. Intuit shares rose $2.09 to $34.78 in after-hours trading Tuesday, almost erasing the $2.13 loss incurred during regular hours.
 Martha Stewart Living (MSO: Research, Estimates), the publishing and merchandising operations of its style-setting namesake, posted fourth-quarter earnings Wednesdayof 12 cents a share, higher than the 10 cents forecast by analysts surveyed by First Call as well as the 5 cents earned a year earlier. Its stock was tasteless enough to tumble $1.32 Tuesday to $22.06. 
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