Preopen Trading

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Preopen Trading: Futures Point to Flat Open for Broad Market

Betsy Riley

News that WorldCom(WCOM Quote) was in talks to buy Intermedia Communications(ICIX Quote) was the big attention-grabber this morning in preopen trading on Instinet. It was sending Digex(DIGX Quote), in which Intermedia has a 54% stake, up 50 cents to $85. Intermedia was traded at $34.38, a big jump from its Friday close of $22.88. Worldcom hadn't traded on Instinet this morning.

Also on Instinet, Terra Networks(TRRA Quote), a provider of Internet access and content in Spanish- and Portugese-speaking countries, was up $1.50 to $44.50. Terra's merger with Internet portal Lycos(LCOS Quote) is expected to close next month.

And Niagara Mohawk(NMK Quote) was fetching a bid of $14.50, up 62 cents, on news that National Grid(NGG Quote) was going to buy the company for $3 billion.

At 7:45 a.m. EDT, futures were declining, but indicating more of a flat opening than a down one. S&P 500 futures were up 0.10 to 1523.40, in line with fair value as calculated by Prudential Securities. The thinly traded Nasdaq 100 futures were down 3 to 4115, almost 12 points above fair value, as calculated by TheStreet.com, and indicating that investors will be buying tech stocks when the market opens. Fair value is a good gauge of how stocks will trade in early action.

Europe's major indices were down at midsession, with France's CAC 40 0.6% lower, Germany's Xetra Dax down 0.2% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 off 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.4% overnight, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.4% (see today's Asian Markets Update for more).

For Friday's postclose trading, see The Night Watch.