After sending software giant
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
down, down, down on Friday -- and dragging many other stocks with it -- investors are setting themselves up to bounce the market back when the opening bell rings today.
Investors active in the preopen market at
Instinet
, an electronic exchange where investors can get in their trades before the market opens, were moving tech shares higher. Microsoft, which closed at $49.19 on Friday after issuing an earnings warning, was lately trading at $50.56. Similarly, battered chipmaker
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
was also higher. It was lately fetching $33.63 on Instinet, up from its close on Friday at $32.44. And
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
was last trading at $88.50, up from $87.81.
Aetna
(AET)
, the large health insurer that has been going through restructuring, this morning announced more moves to get its house in order. It said it would cut 5,000 jobs and take after-tax charges of about $100 million in the fourth quarter to pay for the restructuring. The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer also said it would take an after-tax charge of $235 million in the fourth quarter related to good will in connection with
Medicare
markets. Other after-tax charges for the fourth quarter include $35 million for the spinoff of Aetna and $195 million for the sale of
Aetna Financial Services
and
Aetna International
. The sale of those two units was completed last week. The stock was not yet trading on Instinet.
Indeed, with the
Federal Reserve getting set to meet tomorrow and with hopes pegged to the fact the monetary policy making body will likely soon begin to cut interest rates to spur the economy, investors are ready to start the week on a more positive note. At 7:01 a.m. EST, large-cap
Nasdaq 100
futures trading on the
Globex
exchange were up 82.50 to 2685, putting them a healthy 94.74 points above
fair value as calculated by
TheStreet.com
.
Tracking the broader market,
S&P 500 futures were up 18.60 to 1344.60, about 15 points higher than fair value, as calculated by
Prudential Securities
. Fair value helps gauge how stocks will trade in early action, and today the signs are all positive.
Reflecting the mood change compared to last week, European markets are trading higher this morning. In Paris, the
CAC-40
is adding 67.48 to 5907.02, while the German
Dax
was lately up 104.63 to 6435.90. Across the Channel, the
FTSE
in London was 44.50 higher to 6220.30.
Asian markets, however, closed mixed. In Hong Kong, the
Hang Seng
was up 49 to 15024.53, while the Japanese
Nikkei 225
fell 68.39 to 14483.90.
For Friday's postclose trading, see The Night Watch.
