Market Looks to Open Higher Following Employment Data
So, here we are.
The
Bangles
may have had their
Manic Monday
,
Saturday Night
might have been groovy for the
Bay City Rollers
and
The Moody Blues
-- well, they apparently were quite fond of
Tuesday Afternoons
.
But nobody ever knew what the hell those guys were talking about anyway.
For the stock market, though, it's all been about Freaky Friday. Volume has been very light all week (especially yesterday) ahead of this morning's release of April nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate.
And while stock futures are way up this morning, if the numbers come in stronger-than-expected, look out. Economists polled by
Reuters
expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 358,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.0%. The market will also be closely watching the average hourly earnings component, which is expected to rise 0.4%.
This morning, futures traders are expecting the stock market to react positively to this morning's release. In early action, the
S&P 500
June contract was quoted up 5, about 11 points above fair value. The
Nasdaq 100
June contract was recently up about 11, suggesting some modest tech strength.
Yesterday's After-Hours Trading
By
Angela Privin
Staff Reporter
Lackluster volume and Swiss-like neutrality bled from the day into the night. While some
Island
Interlopers ogled the
Fed, others preferred to exchange obscenities, private jokes and endearments on stock message boards. One sweet message simply read, "I love you."
Siebel Systems
(SEBL)
celebrated its new digs with champagne wishes and caviar dreams.
Standard & Poor's
said Monday that the maker of customer service software will replace
CBS
(CBS) - Get Report
in the
S&P 500
. Shares rose 7/16 to 123 5/16 after the announcement, partied up to 134 in Monday's after-hours trading and gained 8% today, hopping 9 61/64 to 130 29/64.
Siebel took its place on the closely watched U.S. market index tonight, and traders welcomed it with a 2 9/16 shot to 133 on 350,000 shares on Instinet.
Pixar
(PIXR)
drew up 1 3/8 to 39 7/16 on 38,000 Island shares after the animation studio announced better-than-expected first quarter net income of $26.3 million, driven by its hit movie
Toy Story 2
. The children's movie grossed $244 million in the U.S. and $479 million internationally, making it the second-highest grossing animated film in the U.S. and the third-highest worldwide. The company is shooting for per-share earnings of $1.25 for fiscal 2000, garnering its confidence from the future release of
Toy Story 3
, which doubtless will feature toy camels smoking cigarettes.
The Northern California-based animation company, which specializes in computer animation, also welcomed Joe Roth, formerly of Pixar collaborator
Disney
(DIS) - Get Report
, and acclaimed animator Brad Bird to its board. Bird, like the artist formerly known as
Prince
, spells his last name with a curious symbol. Bird's looks like a cross between
Sesame Street's
bumbling
Big Bird
and a cross New York pigeon.
P-Com
(PCMS)
just plain plummeted after posting its results. The company manufactures and markets millimeter wave radio systems for the wireless telecommunications market. It says demand is soaring for its products, illustrated by a net sales increase of 50% in the first quarter.
So what if the company disappointed with first-quarter losses of 18 cents a share, while Wall Street pegged its expectations on a 4-cent loss? Can't a company be forgiven if it also reports a 250% increase in product shipments and announces a new $10 million U.S. contract order for its radios?
It was most likely the following quote from President and CEO Jim Sobczak that dampened confidence in the company's position in the fiercely competitive and dynamic telecom racket: "However, while demand was strong, material procurement costs and other start-up costs were a constraining factor during the quarter, and additionally impacted gross margin."
P-Com pooped out and pouted, plowing down 1 3/4 to 9 3/4 on 15,000 Island shares.
Nexell
(NEXL)
continued its daytime ascent after reporting that French researchers used the company's product to create a treatment for x-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID. Nexell supplies therapeutic and diagnostic products based in stem cell technology and the disease it helped create a treatment for what is commonly called "boy in the bubble disease," after the
John Travolta
movie that inspired a famous
Seinfeld
episode. It is a good thing that they found a treatment for people in bubbles; now the company is busy working on "market in the bubble disease," which some analysts say has afflicted well-known Western bourses.
Nexell's stock gained more than 30% tonight, pushing up 1 15/32 to 4 15/32 on 300,000 Island shares.
This information is provided by Instinet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters (RTRSY) . For further information, please contact Instinet at www.instinet.com.
Island ECN, owned by Datek Online Holdings, 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.
