The Night Watch: Futures Gain Ground, as Does Juniper; DoubleClick Slammed

(Updated from 7:13 p.m. EDT)

After-hours traders are trying to put today's events -- both in the Middle East and on Wall Street -- out of their minds to focus on companies in the earnings spotlight tonight. But as the night wears on, concerned investors are hoping to get a feel for how the market will open tomorrow.

The S&P 500 futures on Globex lately were up .5 to 1345, about 2.5 points above fair value as calculated by TheStreet.com, and indicating some positive sentiment for the open. The thinly traded Nasdaq 100 futures were up 2.6 to 3072.5, about 33 points above fair value as calculated by TheStreet.com, and showing upward pressure for the Nasdaq's start.

Still, Wall Street experts are cautious. "This has been a very trying time for investors of all ilk," said Scott Bleier, chief equity strategist at Prime Charter. "I don't think anyone wants to go home long [this weekend], because of what's happening in the Middle East."

"On the back of the U.S. fall, the Nikkei 225 will probably open down 200 to 300 points," said Cliff Page, a deputy at Credit Lyonnais in Tokyo. Indeed, the benchmark Japanese stock index was down 190, or 1.2%, to 15,360 in early trading.

Topping tonight's list of most active stocks was Juniper Networks (JNPR). Shares of the networking equipment maker rose $5.39, or 2.7%, to $205 on Island ECN and gained $4.64, or 2.3%, to $204.25 on Instinet.

After the bell, Juniper announced third-quarter earnings of 17 cents a share, topping the 9-cent Wall Street target and the year-ago break-even result. (TheStreet.com covered Juniper's results in a separate story.)

Could Juniper's strong performance guide the market tomorrow? Not likely, said Bleier. "Juniper is an entity unto itself."

On the heels of Juniper's announcement, the company's archrival Cisco (CSCO) was seeing mixed action in nighttime trading. Cisco lost 19 cents, or 0.4%, to $49.63 on Instinet, but advanced 13 cents, or 0.3%, to $49.94 on Island.

Shares of DoubleClick (DCLK), also seeing heavy trading this evening, plummeted $4.13, or 22.8%, to $14 on Island and dropped $3.625, or 20%, to $14.50 on Instinet.

DoubleClick posted a 3-cent profit, in line with analysts' estimates and above the year-ago 3-cent loss. But the online advertising firm said that it was disappointed with the performance of its Abacus Direct data unit and was planning to take steps to restructure operations within the division. (TheStreet.com covered DoubleClick's results in a separate story.)

Silicon Storage Technology (SSTI), a memory chipmaker, listed a third-quarter profit of 37 cents, beating the broker forecast by a penny, and improving upon the year-ago 24-cent earnings. As a result, SSTI was up $1.06, or 4.7%, to $23.50 on Island and ahead $1.06, or 4.7%, to $23.50 on Instinet.

Good earnings news from Veritas (VRTS) sent its stock up $5.80, or 4.77%, to $127.44 on Island and up $4.86, or 4%, to $126.50 on Instinet. The management software company posted earnings of 16 cents a share, surpassing the 14-cent estimate and the year-ago 9-cent result. (TheStreet.com covered Veritas' results in a separate story.)

Shares of Gateway (GTW) -- which have been declining since Oct. 6 -- got a boost tonight, thanks to a good earnings report and forecasts going forward. The boxmaker's stock was up $3.37, or 7.7%, to $47 on Instinet. Gateway reported third-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, in line with analysts' predictions and up from last year's 35-cent profit. In addition, the company said that it is comfortable with 20% to 21% revenue growth next year. (TheStreet.com covered Gateway's results in a separate story.)

10 most active stocks on Instinet (6:30 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
Juniper Networks (JNPR)	204.25	+4.64	566,990
Cisco (CSCO)	49.625	-0.1875	425,724
Intel (INTC)	37.50	+0.375	293,274
WorldCom (WCOM)	23.25	+0.125	286,148
Silicon Storage Technology (SSTI)	23.50	+1.0625	211,707
Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS)	16.734375	-9.203125	164,960
Microsoft (MSFT)	54	-0.375	162,021
Lam Research (LRCX)	18.625	+0.625	150,100
Applied Materials (AMAT)	47.625	-0.4375	144,100
Dell (DELL)	23.375	+0.1875	142,749

This information is provided by Instinet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters (RTRSY). For further information, please contact Instinet at www.instinet.com.

10 most active stocks on Island ECN (7:30 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
Juniper Networks (JNPR)	205	+5.39	530,611
DoubleClick (DCLK)	14.6094	-4.12	325,694
Silicon Storage Technology (SSTI)	23.61	+1.0625	187,012
Intel ( INTC)	37.5	+0.25	121,873
Cisco (CSCO)	50.125	+0.125	109,619
PMC-Sierra (PMCS)	166	+7.5625	68,031
Lam Research (LRCX)	18.5	+0.5	60,135
Veritas (VRTS)	126.875	+5.7969	55,560
Yahoo! (YHOO)	55.625	-1.375	52,987
Ciena (CIEN)	114	+0.5469	35,221

Island ECN, owned by Datek Online, offers trading, mainly in Nasdaq-listed stocks, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT.

Confused? TheStreet.com explains how the rules change when the sun goes down in Investing Basics: Night Owl, a section devoted to after-hours trading.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints