Cisco, AOL Earnings and Little Economic News

Author:: Justin Lahart
Publish date:: May 4, 1997 8:00 AM EDT

By Justin Lahart
Staff Reporter

With a dearth of economic data coming this week, traders will be focusing on

Cisco's

third-quarter earnings, expected after the close on Tuesday.

First Call

consensus estimates put the network leader's earnings at 52 cents a share. As for the whisper number -- there isn't one. If Cisco beats expectations, it beats the Street.

"That's why everyone got so excited when

Merrill

tweaked its numbers," one trader says. Friday, Merrill Lynch revised its earnings expectations for Cisco upward, sending Cisco's stock up 3 3/4 to 57 1/4. Looks like Michael Murphy might be wrong.

Other companies expected to report earnings this week are

America Online

(AOL)

Gaylord Entertainment

(GET)

TCI Group

(TCOMA)

Oxford Health

(OXHP)

News Corp.

(NWS) - Get Report

The budget deal, which still faces a vote, also will play a big role on Wall Street.

After last week's spate of crucial economic data, the Street's economists will get a bit of a break this week.

"It's a pretty dry week," says Suzanne Rizzo, U.S economist at

Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc.

"The

Beige Book

on Wednesday is probably going to be the biggest news."

Other than that, economists will be watching Thursday's release of

chain store sales

for April. That will give them some indication of the April

retail sales

number, due Tuesday the following week. That week will also bring the April

Producer Price Index

and the April

Consumer Price Index

-- the last major data due before the May 20 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

"All of that is going to be really jerking people around," says Rizzo.

As for this week: "It's a nice week to sort of take off and relax."

All in all, it looks like a quiet week in the stock market, according to Gail Dudack, market strategist at

UBS Securities

"I would not be surprised if the market went into kind of a drier phase

this week," she says. "Many of the positives have been factored into prices. In terms of negatives, I don't see much out there. That's why I think it will be relatively quiet."