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Wall St. hardly Blue
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July 19, 2001: 6:31 a.m. ET
Investors seen offering tepid response to IBM, Nokia results at open
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. investors get a chance to respond Thursday to results from IBM and cellphone maker Nokia that matched forecasts while awaiting earnings from Microsoft, whose products almost certainly run the computer screens they're watching.
Early indications pointed to a modestly higher opening for tech stocks. The Nasdaq-100 index advanced, a sign that the Nasdaq market will start the session higher. Standard & Poor's futures were mixed, an indication that the broader market represented by the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average will begin little changed.
International Business Machines Corp., the world's biggest computer maker, posted a second-quarter profit late Wednesday that matched analysts' forecasts. But Big Blue reported lower sales from a year earlier -- and company officials suggested that weakness in some businesses, the strong dollar and investment losses could weigh on results in the second half of the year.
IBM shares fell $4.28 to $100 in after-hours trading Wedneday after dropping $4.25 in regular hours.
Finland's Nokia (NOK: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, said Thursday that second-quarter profit fell 16 percent as demand waned. But the figure was at the top end of expectations. Nokia's American depositary shares fell 46 cents Wednesday to $17.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) is the headliner among the companies releasing results Thursday, and those won't come until after trading ends. The largest company devoted solely to making computer software is expected to report a decline in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to 43 cents a share from 44 cents a year earlier, according to analysts surveyed by the research firm First Call.
As has been the case with other technology leaders, analysts will be combing through the announcement and subsequent conference call for indications about how the company's outlook. Microsoft shares dropped $1.25 to $70.57 Wednesday.
The other big name due after the bell is Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates), the maker of
workstations and software. Sun is expected to report a decline in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to 3 cents a share from 20 cents a year earlier. Sun dimmed 60 cents Wednesday to $13.99.
A lot of companies report results before trading begins, but none of them are Dow components. Among the biggest names will be insurer Allstate (ALL: Research, Estimates), drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY: Research, Estimates), paper products maker Georgia-Pacific (GP: Research, Estimates), toymaker Mattel (MAT: Research, Estimates), PepsiCo (PEP: Research, Estimates), both the long-distance (FON: Research, Estimates) and wireless operations (PCS: Research, Estimates) of Sprint, and package deliver United Parcel Service (UPS: Research, Estimates).
Joining Microsoft and Sun after the bell are online auctioneer eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates), telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks (NT: Research, Estimates) and chipmakers PMC-Sierra (PMCS: Research, Estimates), TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT: Research, Estimates) and Vitesse Semiconductor (VTSS: Research, Estimates).
The Dow Jones industrial average begins the session at 10,569.83 after
losing 36 points. The Nasdaq composite index is at 2,016.17 following a 51-point drop, while the S&P 500 starts at 1,207.71 after a nearly 7-point decline.
Treasury prices fell in early trading, boosting yields. The 10-year note yield rose to 5.12 percent from 5.09 percent late Wednesday, while the 30-year bond rose to 5.54 percent from 5.52 percent.
The dollar declined against both the yen and euro. Brent oil futures rose 3 cents to $24.22 a barrel in London.
Asian markets finished mixed, with Tokyo ending higher and Hong Kong declining. European stocks were mixed in early trading as investors reacted to the Nokia earnings report.
The economic reports due Thursday aren't normally big market movers. Before the bell, the Labor Department unveils jobless claims for last week, with economists surveyed by Briefing.com expecting the number to fall to 430,000 from 445,000 the prior week.
The Commerce Department releases the trade balance for May, which is expected to have dipped slightly to $32 billion from $32.2 billion in April.
After the markets open, the private Conference Board reports on its Index of Leading Indicators for June. The index is expected to rise 0.3 percent, compared with a 0.5 percent increase in May.
AT&T's board late Wednesday unanimously rejected an unsolicited $44.5 billion bid for its cable unit from Comcast (CMCSK: Research, Estimates). That could open the door to other potential bids. AT&T closed Wednesday at $20.94, up 13 cents, while Comcast was 6 cents lower at $37.49. 
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