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Wall St. calls for Motorola
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April 10, 2001: 6:22 a.m. ET
Markets await 1Q loss report, the first key tech sector quarterly results
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It's time for Wall Street to see just how bad it is. After three months of warnings, the first key tech sector company is expected to report a loss after the bell Tuesday. Anticipation about the report from Motorola will drive the market.
Maybe it's the relief of finally seeing some real numbers or a follow through of Monday's rally, but early indications point to a strong gain for the Nasdaq market. Taking fair value into account, the Nasdaq-100 futures gained more than 4 percent early Tuesday. Standard & Poor's futures were modestly higher, indicating an opening advance for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average.
 Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates) reports its first-quarter results after the bell. The mobile phone components maker has already warned that it expects a loss; analysts surveyed by First Call expect that loss to be 7 cents a share, compared with earnings of 20 cents a share in the first quarter of 2000. Shares of the company closed unchanged Monday at $11.50.
All three of the major indexes start the session with positive momentum from Monday's advance. But market observers are a little wary, since the gains came in light volume. That's due largely to the fact that this is a week full of religious holidays -- many traders and investors are preoccupied tending to kids who are out of school.
The Nasdaq composite rose about 1.5 percent Monday and begins at
1,745.71. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than one-half
percent and stands at 9,845.15, while the S&P 500 is at 1,137.59 after
its 9-point advance.
Asian markets closed mixed Tuesday, with Tokyo finishing lower for the second straight session and Hong Kong advancing. Tech and telecom stocks paced an early advance in Europe.
Treasury prices fell early Tuesday, boosting yields. The 10-year note yield rose to 4.96 percent from 4.91 percent late Monday, while the 30-year bond yield advanced to 5.53 percent from 5.48 percent.
The dollar lost ground against the yen but advanced versus the euro. Brent oil futures rose 26 cents to $26.09 a barrel in London.
 Also due after the bell Tuesday is the results from E*Trade (ET: Research, Estimates), the online financial services company. The First Call analysts' consensus is for earnings of 7 cents a share, compared with the breakeven quarter posted a year earlier. E*Trade shares finished Monday at $6.23, up 19 cents.
The British-based insurer Prudential has filed suit in Texas against American International Group (AIG: Research, Estimates) for allegedly interfering in its agreement to acquire American General (AGC: Research, Estimates). Prudential says that AIG acted illegally by making a more highly valued all-stock offer without filing a registration statement. American International closed Monday at $76.18, down 37 cents, while American General finished at $42.12, down 17 cents. 
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