Preopen Trading: At Home and Abroad, Investors Buoyant

Last week couldn't have ended soon enough, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index taking huge hits in the wake of a bunch of earnings warnings from technology companies. Nortel (NT) was the catalyst for the selloff when it announced that growth would not occur until the fourth quarter, dashing hopes for a recovery in the second half of 2001.

But this morning, the ghosts of sessions past seem to have been exorcised from markets as futures trend higher, while major foreign indices stick to the green side of the tape.

S&P 500 futures on Globex, an electronic exchange where currency and index futures trade, were off 3.6 to 1309.1. According to fair value, a mathematical level that represents the correct relationship between the S&P 500 futures and the S&P 500 itself, futures were up about 4 as calculated by Prudential Securities. Nasdaq 100 futures on Globex were up 32.5 to 2260. That's a gain of about 40 from fair value, as calculated by TheStreet.com.

Today, keep an eye out on the retailers. Both blue-chip retailers, Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD), will be releasing earnings information today. This'll give the market a much better idea of what's in store for stores. Wal-Mart is America's largest retailer, while Home Depot is a good indicator of construction and home improvement.

Over in Europe, markets were higher, with London clinging to midday gains like a cat on a lampshade. The FTSE 100 gained 14.5 to 6108.5, as the stumbling technology sector turned in gains. Drug companies and banking stocks were lower. Germany's Xetra Dax was up 39.1 to 6511.3, while Paris' CAC-40 gained 43.5 to 5628.3.

Tokyo's markets were up, something of a rarity lately. The beleaguered Nikkei knocked home a gain of 128.8 to 13,248.4 after traders shrugged off a not-so-good earnings forecast from NEC(NIPNY). Chipmakers, which have been destroyed in recent weeks, managed to actually make some gains, something that many said was a sign of a tech bottom. Then again, American markets took a day off Monday and hopeful traders operated without the specter of another American selloff on the horizon. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 36.4 to 15,527.4.

To find out more about international markets, see our global indices.

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

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