Preopen Trading: Hewlett-Packard's Miss Sets Up Ugly Start for Stocks
So, the day's already gotten off to a bad start -- that's not a good sign for an already nervous market.
Hewlett-Packard
(HWP)
announced this morning that it missed fourth-quarter estimates by 10 cents. The company also announced this morning that it ended discussions to acquire the consulting arm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers
. The bid had been seen as a move to bolster the services part of its business. Hewlett-Packard, a computer and imaging giant, lately was down $5.13 to $34 in heavy before-the-bell trading on the electronic brokerage
Instinet
.
TheStreet.com
wrote more about
H-P's earnings in a separate story this morning.
Internet incubator
CMGI
(CMGI)
continued the slide it started last week after an online advertising company in which it has a majority interest,
Engage
TheStreet Recommends
(ENGA)
, announced lower-than-expected revenue. CMGI lately was down 6.4%, or $1, to $14.62.
Let's call a spade a spade. There's not much green on Instinet's list of the 20 most actively traded stocks in preopen action, with
Avis Group Holdings
(AVI)
,
Microcell Telecom
,
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report
and
Palm
(PALM)
the only gainers.
Avis was gaining on news that franchising company
Cendant
(CD) - Get Chindata Group Holdings Limited Report
is buying the car-rental company. Avis lately was $2 higher to $32.
The uncertainty of the outcome of the presidential election continues to send tremors through the markets. Futures were not pretty. The
S&P 500 futures on
Globex
lately were down 11.20 to 1361.30, about 11 points below fair value as calculated by
TheStreet.com
.
Nasdaq 100
futures were 79 points lower to 2815, about 92 points below fair value as calculated by
TSC
. That spells an ugly open for tech stocks this morning in early trading.
Europe's major indices were tentatively higher, with France's
CAC 40
up 0.3%, Germany's
Xetra Dax
up 0.1% and the U.K.'s
FTSE 100
up 0.2%. Japan's
Nikkei 225
lost 2.2% overnight, while Hong Kong's
Hang Seng
slipped 3.7% (see today's
Asian Markets Update for more).
For Friday's postclose trading, see The Night Watch.
